Hello, Have you spent much of your life taking care of everyone else while your own needs were overlooked? Maybe you've struggled with money, relationships, feeling neglected, unheard or suffered abuse. Maybe you feel generally well, but wish you could feel less stressed. Sometimes, those early experiences of being overlooked, dismissed, or expected to put everyone else first continue to influence how we see ourselves, our relationships, and even what we believe we deserve. That's part of why...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Hello, I feel ready to share a little bit about a recent loss; yes it is "only" a pet loss, but attachment is attachment, so this loss feels intensified, and in the blog you'll see why. If you've ever encountered a loss that you feel others minimized or that society glazes over, this blog is most certainly for you. https://www.hertism.com/autism-blog/pet-loss-and-the-grieving-brain Best, Michele
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello there, My latest podcast is out; it explores similarities with those who identify as empath, those who are trauma survivors and those who are autistic; it does not insinuate that this means that if yo uare empath you "are" autistic but it might help you explore some surprising commonalities and correlations that you might not have thought of before. It's between 20-30 minutes Listen HERE. Best, Michele ,
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello, Over the last 30 days or so, I've been focusing on not only financial therapy but also the topic of empathy. A few clients have been struggling with boundaries (because of heightened empathy) within relationships and that usually connects to struggling with boundaries with money. Sometimes (OFTEN) it is their spouse or family, lacking the empathy that is becoming problematic in the relationships. Sometimes it is memories of parents who were lacking empathy. More often than not, it's...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, how are you? I thought today we'd discuss trauma. I think in effort to explain trauma online, we have made trauma too simplified. We know what we’re supposed to call trauma when something terrible happens. What we’re much less likely to notice are the adaptations that happen afterward, particularly when they become useful, productive or socially acceptable. Being hyper-independent can look like competence. Reading everyone’s mood before you speak can look like emotional...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hey there, Have you ever looked back and wondered, "What was I thinking?" Maybe it was a relationship. A purchase. A job. An investment. Putting up with someone toxic. Here's the interesting part: most of the time, we weren't making a bad decision; we were making the best decision we could with the information, stress level, and emotional state we had at the time. Our brains don't simply collect facts. They filter them through past experiences, fears, habits, and even our attachment style....
5 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, I get asked by clients once in a while, what I'm investing in. I don't mind the question. When I talked to a friend of mine recently, he asked if I was going for a certain stock that was rumored to go wild when it went public; I said no. I'll explain more in a moment. I'm not trying to find the next stock that's going to double overnight. That's too risky, and I only do that when I have an extra 10k or so to blow; and I normally don't see money as something to gamble with. At 59...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Hey there, Join me for this months free support group session on June 26th at 7:00 PM Eastern, where we'll explore the emotions that quietly drive our financial decisions. Most of us have been told we have a spending problem, a saving problem, or a budgeting problem. But what if the real issue runs deeper? Drawing from my book How to Heal Financial Anxiety, this session will guide you through a powerful exercise to uncover the feeling beneath the financial behavior; because when we understand...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, Why I’ve Been Thinking About Water The Data Center Question Nobody Is Talking About What Grocery Prices Are Still Trying to Tell Us The Curious Case of Gasoline What I’ve Been Investing In (And What I’ve Been Reducing) Why Intelligent People Reach Completely Different Conclusions Which Financial Anxiety Pattern Are You? Over the past several weeks, I have found myself spending an unusual amount of time thinking about water. Where I live in Chester County, Pennsylvania, residents have...
5 months ago • 4 min read