I sometimes introduce myself as YodaNinja. "Yoda on the outside, Ninja on the inside." Outside, I seem calm and composed. When I speak (or write), what I say can be profound, perplexing... or both. But my inner world is another story. Deep inside of me is a Ninja battleground where thoughts, emotions, ideas, and utter randomness all fight for my attention. Every once in a while, they actually cooperate and I have to say, I'm deadly. But then they go at it again... and "Everybody is Kung Fu fighting." I'm a dad, a husband and a guy whose mind has a mind of it's own. My recovery from my addiction to numbing myself (with pretty much anything I can get my hands on) is a lifelong journey. I live with depression, anxiety and adhd... and sometimes they don't get along very well with my family, or with the rest of my life. Professionaly, I make my living as a Counselling Therapist in Edmonton, Canada. I teach on addiction and psychopathology at City University, and I have a small counselling practice where I use superheroes and other geeky stuff to help people make peace with their own personal YodaNinja. This blog is part of my healing and writing keeps me grounded. I hope that something I have written may add a little bit to your journey. Keep it Real
Man or woman, this article about healing will appeal to you. Please click on the photo above for a link to the article on Healing the Man Inside. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign … More Healing the Things that Keep Us Fenced In
Maybe it’s time to put the past behind you? I did not have a problem that needed resolution. I had a situation that needed perspective. Tracy P. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing past my past. Stuff happened that sometimes still haunts me and I find it difficult to move through it. Most times … More Your Past is Not a Problem, it is just a Perspective.
For more about healing and an article guaranteed to bring you joy, click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest … More Do You Need Some Inspiration For Your Healing Today?
Perhaps is not fatalism or giving up. It is radical and bad-ass. It is a refusal to give up, it is radical acceptance and defiant hope when life is persistently difficult. Perhaps acknowledges how difficult things are, while you do what you can do to make a change. For more on the power of perhaps, click … More Your Recovery Needs this One Powerful Word
For more about healing and an article guaranteed to bring you joy, click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest … More To Heal, You Need to Recover Your Ability to Have a Little Fun
Addiction is a simple path. Recovering your health will not be easy, but it is usually simple. If it is complicated, it just won’t get done. For more on Addiction: A Simple Path, click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best … More Recovery is Not Easy, But it is Simple
For more about addiction and what a successful addict is like, click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest and … More The Quicksand of Addiction
Dr. Seuss is not just for the kids. He has a lot to teach about addiction and mental health. ___ Dr. Seuss wants to talk about addiction and those pesky mental health crises, but not the same thing they are. Kid, you’ll move mountains! That’s where you began. Maybe in pain, or in anger, or … More What Dr. Seuss Can Teach Us About Healing and Recovery
For more about control, power and recovery, click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest and best of my writing. … More Control and Your Mental Health
Perhaps Today Will Be Better? ___ Perhaps is a word of change. It is a word that is both uncertainty and possibility all wrapped in one. It believes in spontaneity, chance, and wonder. It is playful. It gives flexibility to our thinking and an openness to new things. Perhaps today will be better. Perhaps is not … More Perhaps this is One of the Most Radical Words of Your Recovery
Getting High on Recovery 