The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By Matt W Sandford, LMHC   In part 1, I discussed the profound impact that entertainment has on our culture today and offered my view on why it has developed such a strong hold over so many of us. I then proposed that there is a line between entertainment being a healthy and energizing resource or becoming an unhealthy and potentially addictive source of avoidance, emotional and relational numbing and spiritual deadness.   So, how do you make your entertainment work for you, bringing refreshment and energy? 1.       The first step is honesty. Evaluate the types of entertainment you gravitate to and their influence on you. Ask yourself why you like the entertainment you do. Does it make you feel connected when in reality you are more disconnected? Does it make you feel important or smart or special? Does it make you forget your troubles? We choose the things we do for a reason, and usually that reason goes deeper than simply, “it...

By Jennifer Graham, MS, IMH “Are you telling the truth?” You might be able to recall the childhood memories associated with this question! Let me portray perhaps an all too familiar scene: Johnny: “Mom! Jimmy hit me! Jimmy: “Did not!” Mother: “Jimmy, are you telling the truth? Did you hit your brother?” Little Jimmy is caught in a moment; a host of thoughts fill his mind: “Great, here I am again. If Johnny was tougher I wouldn’t be in this mess! Technically it wasn’t hitting… my hand just brush against him with unusual strength! I have really been giving it my all in P.E. class. This is just like Johnny to open his big mouth. No, I didn’t hit my brother, Mom, maybe Johnny is not telling the truth…” The reality is that Jimmy did in fact hit his brother but he struggles in his mind and emotions about stepping forward in what is true. He expends his whole mental process because there is something that he thinks is greater and is attempting to protect and/or hide. You have heard it said...