Water constitutes 60% of the body’s contents. Many of us are so concerned about being hydrated, that Americans are often referred to as the Hydration Nation. We carry the clear stuff with us everywhere, and everyday. Water is, after all, the essential element in carrying nutrition to our cells, and generating circulation, digestion, respiration and cardiovascular functions which are necessary to sustain life.

There are many different ideas about why we don’t seek therapy. Some believe that it is only for wealthy, White people, others believe that you don’t go outside the family with your problems. Some of these thoughts keep us struggling more than we need to. Here are some of the more prevalent ones.

The holiday season can be a challenging time for most anyone as the stresses of finances, increased demands of time and tasks, and unrealistic expectations show themselves in a grand way.

There is an emerging movement around the world to use expressive arts in healthcare settings because of the numerous benefits to overall wellness. Large research hospitals such as Duke, Stanford, Ursaline, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Sloan-Kettering and Northwestern, and others, have long understood the value of bringing the expressive arts into the hospital proper. Medical science is finding that artistic activities can actually prolong patients survival rate by reducing stress levels, increasing relaxation, improving immune system functioning, reducing and improving blood pressure, heart rate and respiration, and reducing pain.

Art therapy is a modality in the psychology field that’s focus is on the transformative power of nonverbal language. Because art therapy brings together the fields of art and psychology, it integrates visual arts, human development, behavior, mental health, creative process, imagination and personality. It is based on the belief that the act of art making can help us understand more of who we are, enhance lives, and lead us towards personal growth through self-expression.

Our society is virtually obsessed with the concept of sexy. Everywhere we look - magazines, newspapers, television, movies - the word sexy is being thrown at us. So let's take a few minutes to think about what sexy really means in this society.

To keep the memories of abusive experiences aside, some lock their emotions, thoughts, and experiences away. Some describe their disturbing memories as if they are in a file folder, hard drive, cabinet, on a shelf, or out of the body. For others, the “containers” are described as being hidden from view, out of sight, maybe out of mind. Despite being sealed shut by these distractions, each container wants to be unopened, despite the person’s fear of opening them.

No one ever told her that the memories would come back to haunt her. Time had tucked it all away when no one believed her about the abuse. Drugs and alcohol were the only things that listened. They believed in her.

As the year has come to a close, I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on the experiences, lessons, and even challenges that it brought. Like a tide washing over the beach, in and back out again, the year came and went. It left, just as quickly as it came, but not without exquisite shells in its wake.

How many times have you just “known” that something was not good for you, and you did it anyway? How many times have you said to yourself “this time it will be different” or “I won’t do that again,” to find yourself doing the very thing you don’t want to, yet again. Why do we do this to ourselves, even though we want something different?

Sit down, and let me tell you a story, a fable that tells of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is a fable, written by Aesop, that you may be curious to learn, and can tell us of addiction’s common deceptions. Perhaps you will find the lesson in the beginning, or even at the end, but you will be curious about what you will soon learn, as you read on.

Consider how old you are. Now, consider how old you feel. Perhaps those numbers are the same. For many of you, they won’t be; they will be completely different numbers.