A New Year...A New You
New Office is Open!
Big Changes this Holiday Season
As 2017 comes to a close, I wanted to blog about some quick, but very important updates regarding the future of Restoration Therapy Nashville/Brentwood.
Moving: It has been challenging to fit in over 30 clients into about 1.5 days in office each week in Nashville and Brentwood. So, I have procured a new full-time office location to make scheduling much easier for everyone. The new location will open January 1st, 2018 and both prior locations will be closing. Until then, we will meet at our normal space. The new location address is:
4205 Hillsboro Pike (Suite 305 – Hobbs Building), Nashville, TN 37215
The new office has a lovely waiting area, coffee/water, and the most comfortable couches in the Nashville area! Also, parking is free and right on site.
Groups: One of the things I have been really interested in pursuing and will now have the space to move forward on are groups. Here are fliers for both upcoming groups and they link to my groups page where you can find more information and inquire!
Thank you for making it through this long blog! I greatly appreciate the chance to work with you and hope this holiday is filled with reflection and joy for you and your loved ones.
Reviews: In today's world, reviews make a huge difference in online presence. If therapy has been helpful for you and you would be willing to take a moment and write a review on one of the platforms I am listed on, it would be greatly appreciated. Click HERE to find links for review.
If you know of anyone in need of a therapist, I will be taking on new clients. Please feel free to pass along my information.
Happy Holidays,
Dave Jaeger M.M.F.T.
A Word From Brene
Lonely
"I don't think people understand how stressful it is to explain what's going on in your head when you don't even understand it yourself"
Trends. In the therapy setting, I often see particular themes in the lives of my clients and in my own personal journey.
Today, I thought I would address one trend I am seeing a lot of lately. Loneliness.
Loneliness defined:
sadness because one has no friends or company. (This is harsh right???)
the quality of being unfrequented and remote; isolation.
Loneliness sounds like:
"People are not interested in me"
"I don't want to be a burden to others"
"Sometimes it is easier to just stay home"
"I am too much...or not enough"
Loneliness feels like:
Lost with no direction...feeling there is no way out
Numbness, lacking control
Nothingness
We all experience loneliness in our lives. Some experience it for longer periods/more frequently than others. Loneliness happens often because we have moved, a relationship has ended, during travel, or when we miss home. Those situations are a normal part of life and we often don't have much control over them.
However, there is a second kind of loneliness. This form is often more difficult and happens when we feel a deep seeded sense something is wrong with us, we don't fit, and feel hopeless in the ability to create real connection. No circumstance causes this, it is more a place we find ourselves in. Even if we did connect, we feel that quickly people would see through us and find beneath the surface a person not worth knowing.
This loneliness tells us it is easier to stay home and watch Netflix than to connect. It leaves us feeling like every call/invite we receive is not a genuine invite or comes from a place of others feeling bad for us or obligated to invite us. Why would others want us around? Why would anyone care how I am doing?
It reminds me of a Donald Miller Quote from Blue Like Jazz where he says: "I have always been afraid those who know me a little will like me a lot, but those who know me a lot will like me a little". Loneliness can leave us feeling like friends can and most likely will leave at any moment. If failure is inevitable, we feel hopeless in even trying...we quit seeking connection before we even give it a shot. We eliminate ourselves before the game has even started.
Failing by not trying is easier than failing when we put in effort and are left rejected. Fear of rejection may be the single biggest driver of loneliness. We fear, so we try to protect ourselves. An easy way to do that is to isolate. We can't get hurt when we isolate.
But we can get lonely.
I have many more thoughts on this I will share over the next few weeks. For now, I would love to hear your thoughts on loneliness, its causation, its escalation, or simply what it feels like. Hope to hear from you...until next time.
As always, you can find me here:
Restoration Therapy Nashville - 909 18th Ave South, Nashville, TN
Restoration Therapy Brentwood - 9001 Overlook Blvd, Brentwood, TN
Mobile: (615) 428-5513 - Dave
Miller, D. (2007). Blue like jazz. Logia.
Mindfulness
Many of my clients find themselves dealing with anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, and a general frustration with trying to slow their brain down.
They share how the above list interferes with family time, weekends, productivity, and steals peace of mind. A brain that never stops is exhausting. It is also a nemesis that leaves us often feeling stuck in our attempts to find a solution.
One resource I personally use and many of my clients find helpful comes in the form of an app called Headspace. Headspace offers guided mindfulness exercises that typically last about 10 minutes each. If you use the free version, you will have unlimited access to 10 guided mindfulness exercises. Let the guide (Andy), do all the work, and you get to simply relax and get lost in a journey of breathing, relaxing, and re-centering.
I hope this resource can not only be helpful for you, but also add some tools to your belt that you can use throughout the week to check-in with yourself, slow down, and refocus. The whole idea is getting our mind and body back to the present moment. Our entire life is composed of present moments. I find many of us spend more time in the unpredictable future and the unchangeable past than being here, now.
Join myself, and a number of my clients in this journey and let me know what you think of it. I wish you the best this Friday and hope this weekend will be filled with you living fully in each moment. Moments are all we get!
As always, you can find me, here:
909 18th Ave South, Nashville, TN 37212 - Restoration Therapy Nashville
9005 Overlook Blvd, Brentwood, TN 37027 - Restoration Therapy Brentwood
(615) 428-5513
Meditation and sleep made simple. Headspace. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.headspace.com/.
Intrusive/Negative Thoughts
Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Trauma, and many other mental health concerns often are held in place by intrusive negative thoughts. We can often feel victims who have no control over these unwanted thoughts. Perhaps, there are options to work towards addressing these negative thoughts that can bring relief?
Stopping by Woods on a Snowey Evening - Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert Frost
I found this commentary on the poem quite interesting and you can find it here:
"Have you ever wanted to escape from the world for a little while? Perhaps to go watch some woods fill up with snow? Leave Facebook to accumulate friend requests and wall posts for you, let the e-mails pile up, record a mischievous away message on your cell phone, stuff the homework, the papers, and the tests under the bed? Well, then this is a poem for you.
Sometimes we crave a little vacation from responsibility. Sometimes we get hungry for alone time like the speaker does in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." In a world in which we are constantly stimulated by the Internet, TV, phones, and ads, and in a world in which we are busy, do we get to spend much time alone?" (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008)
Thoughts worth pondering. I shared this today as I reflect on how busy life has been and my yearning to slow down and seek peace...hope this connects with you as well.
As always, you can find me at:
Restoration Therapy Nashville - 909 18th Ave South, Nashville, TN 37212
or
Restoration Therapy Brentwood - 9005 Overlook Drive, Brentwood, TN 37027
(615) 428-5513
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Retrieved May 18, 2017, from http://www.shmoop.com/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening/
Book Review - Self Compassion by Kristen Neff
I recently finished this book and it will go down as one of the most important reads of my life. Dr. Neff takes on the senselessness of the self-critical mind many of us deal with on a regular basis. She does this through rational thought, specific examples, and offers incredible resources and exercises to help develop a sense of self compassion.
If you have or are currently dealing with anxiety, negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, body pain, a critical view of self, perfectionism, stress, or are simply in a hard time of life, this book will be an incredible resource.
Neff, K. (2013). Self compassion. Hodder & Stoughton.
You are also welcome to set up an appointment and dig deeper into making self compassion more prominent in your life. I have office hours in Nashville on Thursday evenings and Saturdays (909 18th Ave South, Nashville, TN 37212), or Mondays in Brentwood (9005 Overlook Drive, Brentwood, TN 37027). You can schedule an appointment here:
