Finding The Middle Path For Enhanced Life-Balance
Are you someone who tends to think in absolutes because ambivalence feels challenging? Ambivalence is the simultaneous existence of opposite feelings. Most of us dislike it because it is an uncomfortable state. We want to feel one way or the other about someone or something. Your life will improve greatly by learning to tolerate ambivalence and by using Middle Path as a guide. What follows are tips for individuals who struggle with extremes and "all or nothing" thinking:
1. Be open to seeing things from different angles. There can be many ways to solve a problem. Do some research and investigate how other people have solved similar problems. Who do you admire who may have some good skills in this area? Don't be afraid to ask for help.
2. Change is constant and nothing stays the same, not ever. This is life. Things may feel stressful and hard now, but very few things remain the same. Life may not always feel this difficult but struggling to keep things from changing guarantees a difficult existence.
3. Learn to tolerate ambivalence. When viewing a problem or situation try to spend some time in the "gray area." Many think in "all or nothing" aka “black or white” terms. Extremes in thinking really limits the quality of one's life. Learning to tolerate the "gray" can lead to a richer, fuller and more fulfilling life. Learning to tolerate ambivalence is a developmental task and a sign of emotional maturity. Tolerating this discomfort takes practice. Learning to breathe through the discomfort, comforting yourself through the discomfort, continually reminding yourself that you’ll survive the discomfort will help.
4. What is the Middle Path? It is Balance plain and simple. The middle path requires acceptance and change, and a balanced life requires both of these elements.
About Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness Manhattan
Kimberly Seelbrede, LCSW is a New York State licensed Psychotherapist, EMDR Practitioner and Couple Therapist with a private practice in New York City, Montana and virtually. As a wellness psychotherapist and holistic consultant, she has receive advanced, extensive training in Trauma Therapy, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Nutrition & Integrative Medicine For Mental Health. She is passionate about honoring the exquisite interplay of the mind-body connection. Kimberly Seelbrede specializes in anxiety & mood disorders, trauma and women’s mental health. She brings over 20 years of counseling, coaching, and healing experience to her holistic practice and transformational work.
In addition to online therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship struggles, Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness offers a wide variety of online services to fit the needs of busy professionals. New Yorkers often lead fast-paced and complex lives, which makes work-life balance and managing career, family and social obligations a challenge. Psychotherapy and wellness practices provides the support to help clients cultivate resources, resilience and enhanced emotional health, as well as uncover conflicts and obstacles that may interfere with having the life they desire.