The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

 By: Brian Murray, LMHC, NCC Taking things personally is attributed to low self esteem behavior. Low self esteem is caused by a negative view someone takes of themselves. This view creates a distortion of how you see yourself which translates into a negative perception of how you think someone else may see you. If you have a strong sense of low self worth and shame and don’t think highly of yourself, you will think and feel someone else may have the same viewpoint. This personal devaluation is like a filter that creates a distorted sense of self. So when somebody says something to us, the filter that we use to view ourselves gets applied to the incoming message. The message gets distorted by “personally” applying that filter. For example; a message that was meant for something good or positive gets filtered out and gets received as something bad. It got personalized. In order to stop taking things personally the filter has to change. This requires building in new thinking...

By Brian Murray and Christine Hammond Sitting on the couch at home on a Friday night watching television when a jewelry commercial offering a Valentine’s Day special appears. Her.   I bet that even with this commercial he still will “forget” about Valentine’s Day.   I should know better than to expect anything from him because I just wind up getting my feelings hurt and disappointed.   Look at him, he’s not even making any signs that this ad is even on.   Boy do I love that necklace, not that he would get it for me.   Maybe I just have to buy it for myself.   “Would you like more chips dear?” Him.   Wow here we go again, another season of having to put up with these manipulators.   “Can you believe these people, every year they play on emotional heart strings.   What a crock!” Her .   I knew it.   He’s so complete devoid of any emotion that it just tears me apart.   It’s not really about emotiona...

By: Matt W. Sandford, LMHC What is self care? Self care means attending to your self – increasing and/or maintaining your personal emotional well being. An objection to self care that I’ve heard people say is that it seems self indulgent. This objection is commonly rooted in the Christian understanding that our calling is to serve and focus on others. There are, in fact, scriptures that seem at first to be in support of this viewpoint. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be serve d, but to serve , and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Phil 2:3-4 There are actually plenty of passages we could reference to support this idea. But I want to consider a few other passages to help us to gain balance as to the intention of the passages on serving. “Whatever y...