In Flux

Embracing transitions and change.

by Abigail Brenner, M.D.

Connecting the Dots

We all have our personal life themes—those really big, recurring issues that seem to repetitively insinuate themselves into our lives, forcing us to take yet another look. Read More

Journeys: Exploring Your World, Inside and Out

Journeys are one of the most powerful and literal tools for making passages or transitions because they manifest our internal drives and desires in the outside world. The journey is a deliberate effort to move beyond ourselves Read More

Lust, Love, Like

We have become conditioned to gravitate toward that which makes us feel good and gratifies our immediate needs, and have difficulty staying with that which is painful and anxiety-provoking—especially relationships. Read More

The Practice of Presence

Understanding comes into being from the now, the present, which is always timeless.

Krishnamurti

7 Strategies for a Happy Holiday Season

Yes, it's here again. The holiday season is upon us. Traditionally, the last few weeks of the year are packed with non-stop activity---often a dizzying number of parties and social obligations, making plans for family members coming to visit or traveling back "home" to be with family. Then there's shopping for just the right gifts---for how many people did you say? Read More

Moving On Through Loss: What You Need to Know When a Significant Other Dies

Not all deaths are alike. Death at the end of a long, full life is sad; we miss those we loved, those intimate others who shared a life with us and influenced us by their presence. Although the passing of parents is difficult, often bittersweet, it nonetheless is the natural, organic way that life progresses. Read More

Transition Through Loss: What You Need to Know When a Significant Relationship Ends

Passages through loss of a relationship are among the most difficult you may encounter, underscoring the primacy of your bonds to others. It's often through your encounters with others that you most readily access significant parts of yourself. You see yourself mirrored back through the eyes of others. Read More

5 Ways Rituals Help Guide You Through Transitions

You may be wondering what rituals have to do with change and transition since many of us think of ritual as something primarily connected to religion. While this is true, ritual goes well beyond the prayers and ceremonies usually associated with religion. Read More

The Alchemy of Transition

...When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too. ~ Paulo Coelho Read More

5 Tips to Help You Respond Effectively to Change

Why do some people thrive through change and transition while others experience great difficulty? Are there individual characteristics or traits that explain how people weather the storm of change? Is there a personality profile that describes better coping skills and contributes to a better outcome? All good questions, but the fact is there just aren't simple answers. Read More

E~motions of Change = Energy in Motion

Doing nothing accomplishes nothing. If you're looking to change, that's not the way to go. And just going through the motions accomplishes something but... Read More

The Nature of Change

Life happens, and what happens is something called change. Some changes are the result of biology and the passage of time, within the natural cycle or order of things. Others are self-generated, under our own control and willful effort, or dependent upon encounters with significant others-family, friends, colleagues, and intimates. Read More

5 Ways to Find Closure From the Past

The ending of a significant piece of one's life -- a relationship, a job, a stage of life, or a way of thinking -- may be difficult and even painful for many of us. Something that you once counted on as very important to your life is over and done. Read More

Abigail Brenner, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice. She is the author of Transitions: How Women Embrace Change and Celebrate Life and other books.

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