phobia, exposure therapy, anxiety

When a Fear Becomes a Phobia

We can all identify certain things we are afraid of.  Public speaking, snakes, heights, spiders, social situations, enclosed spaces, flying, clowns, and injections (think flu shot) are among some of the most commonly reported fears.  When it comes to these fears, there’s a spectrum of fright intensity that ranges from intense dislike to total avoidance of anything that has to do with the thing or the situation that causes the fearful emotional response.  In the …

grief, pet loss, losing pet, grief counseling, stages of grief

When a Furry Friend Departs this World

A few months ago, something I had been dreading for years happened.  Our 14 year old dog, Pierre, died.  Despite his age, it was something that was relatively unexpected. Over the course of a few days his health quickly deteriorated and my wife and I sat by his side in the emergency vet and painfully watched him go into cardiac arrest and die after a procedure that we hoped might buy him a little bit …