How to Use Mindfulness to Stop being a Perfectionist. San Jose therapist Sharon Martin, LCSW, uses mindfulness to combat perfectionism. Mindfulness is an effective way to stop worries, anxiety, and pressure to achieve and perfect.

How to Use Mindfulness to Stop being a Perfectionist

  Perfectionism can make it hard for you to enjoy your life. Are you ready to stop being a perfectionist and start enjoying your life? Do your exacting standards and quest for perfection actually get in the way of happy and fulfilling relationships and experiences?   Perfectionism is an unhealthy and unforgiving striving for achievement. Perfectionists want things to be […]

How to Set Boundaries with Negative . Do you know some negative people or energy vampires? Setting boundaries is the key to managing difficult relationships with people who annoy you and deplete your energy.

How to Set Boundaries with Negative People

  Negative people deplete your energy Negative people are like “energy vampires”. I first encountered the term energy vampire when I read Judith Orloff’s book Emotional Freedom (affiliate link) a few years ago. No matter what you call them, we’ve all encountered them. Energy vampires are those people who exude negative energy, drain you emotionally, and leave you empty and annoyed. […]

How Women Can Overcome People Pleasing and Perfectionism

How Women Can Overcome People-pleasing and Perfectionism

    Why are women susceptible to people-pleasing and perfectionism? While people-pleasing and perfectionism aren’t exclusively women’s issues, women are socialized in many cultures to be care takers, put other people’s needs before their own, and be passive. They worry about what other people think of them; they don’t want to displease or be seen as “difficult” or “high maintenance”. […]

Healing Shame and Self Criticism

Healing Shame and Self-Criticism

Healing shame Shame is a feeling that you’re wrong, bad, unimportant, or unworthy. Shame defines you as “less than” or “damaged”. The terms guilt and shame are often used inter-changeably, but guilt actually refers to a feeling or belief that your behavior is wrong or bad. Shame is a much more painful experience as it’s felt internally as a core […]

Create a Routine to Promote Good Mental Health

Create a Routine to Promote Good Mental Health

    It’s January. You’re back to work and the kids are back to school. It’s time to put a routine in place that supports good mental health and wellness. Many of us plan to set up new routines and develop good habits in January. January feels like a fresh start, so it’s the natural time to recalibrate our habits. […]

What are Cognitive Distortions?

What are Cognitive Distortions?

Cognitive distortions are also known as thinking errors, thinking distortions, irrational thoughts, distorted thoughts, and negative automatic thoughts.   Cognitive distortions are ways that you twist up your thinking to see yourself, your situation, and other people in a negative light. They’re basically your mind playing tricks on you; convincing you that you’re not as good as everyone else, people […]