Grief and loss Archives - Therapist for Sensitive and Gifted

My Scrap Angel: Life Lessons Learned While Quilting

Have you ever started a creative project that went so badly you trashed it? I have–more times than I’d like to admit. I had heard that mistakes can be our finest learning experiences, but I’d not relished that idea until I reclaimed one of my discarded pieces, and unexpectedly discovered how to reclaim my life, too. An hourglass quilt block I had made from scraps contained too many mistakes to use, so I pitched it.

Sharon Barnes May 30, 2018

I Hate Mothers Day

Reflections on How to to Heal our Lives, Feed our Souls, and Grow our Dreams I hate Mother’s Day. Awful though it sounds, I’ve hated mother’s day for a very long time. I’ve also felt guilty that I hated it. I also know it’s not politically correct, so I’ve not said it out loud. But it’s time to admit it. I hate Mother’s Day. I first hated it when I was in my twenties. I

Sharon Barnes May 10, 2018

Remembering Columbine: Helping Creative, Highly Sensitive & Gifted Adults Heal from Trauma

Remembering Columbine – healing trauma for creative sensitive gifted people. Nineteen years ago this Friday, April 20, 1999, my husband Gary and I connected for a rare lunch together. As we munched on our sandwiches under a restaurant patio umbrella, we saw police car after police car roaring south through Lakewood on Wadsworth Blvd, sirens wailing . Chills went up and down my spine as we also heard the rumble of big military type helicopters overhead.

Sharon Barnes April 19, 2018

Happy Halloween

Today is Halloween – the one day in the year that we dress up in costumes, put on masks and . . . . well, we pay attention and even homage to parts of ourselves that we hide and put away the rest of the year. Psychologically speaking, this is a very healthy and an even necessary thing, especially for highly sensitive people, which, of course, includes many creative and gifted people as well. For

Sharon Barnes October 31, 2016

Healing Trauma in Creative, Sensitive and Gifted People

Healing Trauma in Creative Sensitive Gifted People: Many creative, sensitive, and gifted people are traumatized by the media coverage of the 15th anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City. Of course it’s appropriate to commemorate this world-changing event. So to help CASIGYs™ heal from this and other trauma, I’m republishing my article – Healing Trauma in Creative Sensitive Gifted People Six weeks before the Columbine High School shooting in April

Sharon Barnes September 11, 2016

How to Prevent Holiday Meltdowns!

Have past holidays been a nightmare due to ‘inevitable’ holiday meltdowns? Do you dread upcoming holiday family gatherings? It may not be a fun thing to admit, but there wouldn’t be so many movie and sitcom comedies about disastrous holiday family gatherings if it weren’t so common. So if you’re not looking forward to holiday family gatherings, know that you’re not alone, and that if you wish, you can let go of any guilt or

Sharon Barnes December 19, 2014

World Suicide Prevention Day – September 10, 2014

World Suicide Prevention Day – September 10, 2014 Join me in Lighting a Candle near a Window at 8 PM to show your support for suicide prevention, to remember a lost loved one, and for the survivors of suicide. Each year 800,000 people worldwide die from suicide- more than wars and homicide combined. CASIGYs- Creative, Acutely Aware, Super-Sensitive, Intense, and/or Gifted You-s are especially prone to Existential Depression. Stay tuned for more info and more

Sharon Barnes September 10, 2014

Remembering Columbine

[This post was published April 20, 2013] A few evenings ago, I had the privilege of eating dinner in the Bistro at Aspen Grove, in Littleton, Colorado (USA) with a good friend and colleague. She and I talked about the Boston Marathon, her niece who ran it this year, how my friend found out about the bombing, how her niece fared in the race, and most importantly WAS SHE SAFE? (She was.) My friend got

Sharon Barnes April 20, 2013

At the Level of Daily Life, There is Loss

At the level of daily life, there is loss. If we spiritualize it away, we cannot use it to grow. …This usually means allowing ourselves to be touched by life, to participate in it. We learn by experience. The unexperienced life does not teach anybody anything. There are no spiritual shortcuts. Rachel Naomi Remen.

Sharon Barnes July 31, 2012

The Next Best Thing to Winning Is Losing!

The next best thing to winning is losing! At least you’ve been in the race. Nellie Hershey Tullis

Sharon Barnes July 30, 2012

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