The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Christine Hammond LMHC “This is ridiculous,” James said after witnessing his soon-to-be ex-wife losing it because she didn’t get her way. She sounded like a 2-year-old who didn’t get a piece of candy with the same level of irrational reasoning. Her arms were flinging around, she threw a few small objects, her voice raised a couple of octaves, and she puffed out her chest as if she was ready to fight. All of this was over a location adjustment for exchanging their child. This wasn’t the first time James watched this display. In fact, her erratic behavior greatly contributed to their pending divorce. Her fits of rage were unpredictable, volatile, forceful, absurd, and even threatening. He encouraged her to get help but she refused, insisting that if he just did what she asked then she would never get mad. Desperate to keep the peace, James even tried giving into her demands. But it was not enough. The more he caved, the more she expected. He became a shell of hims...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC For many, high school graduation day rightly marks a transition from childhood to adulthood. No longer acting like a child, this new adult is properly equipped to embrace life and move forward with excitement and determination. Unfortunately, too many graduates fail to make this shift and thus drag out the transition well into their twenties. Not all of this is the graduate’s fault. Parents who don’t want their children to grow up frequently fail to teach the basics of life, refuse to allow them to fail, rescue too early, overindulge their wants, and coddle their child. Society, in turn, creates an atmosphere of plodding, declaring that there is plenty of time to grow up later. Now is the time to enjoy life and postpone responsibility. But this philosophy has its downfall. According to Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development, this transition period is a shift from the fifth stage, Role Identity vs. Role Confusion, to the ...