Justin’s Blog: “The Jog”
120+ Articles Driven by Research and Practice
Just Because You Tremble Doesn’t Mean You’re Doing It Wrong
Both in the office and in my life I offer a simple reminder: just because you tremble or are afraid or feel distressed DOESN’T mean you’re doing it wrong. In fact, maybe it’s very right. An unbelievably common misconception among human beings is distress = bad. Sure, distress is uncomfortable. Yes, it signals something feels […]
Read More >Fear and Hope in 2020: A Christmas Devotional
A vaccine for Sars-CoV-2 is just beginning to be administered to the public as 2020 is coming to a close, and a palpable ‘shot in the arm’ brings hope for the ravages of COVID-19 for many. Consider with me what life was like prior to 2020? What was going well? What made you long for change? […]
Read More >Psychological Flexibility and Christians
One of the things that is very grounding about the Christian faith is that there is not only truth/Truth we follow, but hopefully a willingness to pursue disciplines that either a) aren’t comfortable, or b), may not necessarily make sense immediately. This is very helpful in therapy when clients don’t throw up resistance to the […]
Read More >Sitting With Suffering: The Life and Legacy of a Good Man.
I had no plans to write this article today on loss and suffering. But the more I ponder the life and legacy of “Papa” and the times we are in, I believe more and more it’s a message to share. When hurting and suffering takes over and the complexities of life are weighty, I believe […]
Read More >Stuff Your Pockets
My daughter Hattie went into hoarding mode this Halloween. Within 5 minutes, she was in MEGA-CUMULATION mode. Emily and I got some good parenting moments; “Hattie, you can choose 2 items from that basket.” (We had to say that about 30 times.) I laugh often when she’s around food, toys, or playground equipment- like an […]
Read More >The Real Cost of Therapy
How much do you charge? This is a very loaded question, indeed. I’m going to give you straight answers to how much therapy actually costs, and why. If you are a consumer of health services, you’ve likely asked it many times between doctors, dentists, and insurance plans. Therapy is no different, yet it is unique […]
Read More >The Unforgivable Sin and Scrupulosity
The unforgivable/unpardonable sin (also called the eternal sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) can induce some level of fear for even the most convinced of Christians. To the person who gets stuck on the concept, such as in OCD, Generalized Anxiety, and/or scrupulosity, misery would not be too strong of a word to describe it. Personally, I suffered for several years […]
Read More >The Gospel of Anxiety
America today sees one of the highest levels of anxiety of any place in the world.[1] We are clamoring for attention online, wanting to be seen, to be loved. Suicides by teens and young adults appear to be higher than they’ve been in years.[2] We are the wealthiest nation on the face of the planet,[3] and we can’t […]
Read More >A Biblical Rationale for Exposure Therapy
“You want me to do what?!” Many of my clients, and particularly for the sake of this article, Christian clients, are a bit surprised when I ask them to practice exposure. Repeating scary, terrible thoughts on paper or aloud. Doing things that feel risky. It seems as a clinician I’m disrespecting your beliefs and don’t […]
Read More >Face Fear, Flee Temptation
“You need to pray about that.” “Resist those thoughts; they are from the enemy.” “Don’t think on such things.” I often hear confusion from Christians on how to engage- or not engage- with fear based thoughts, urges, and sensations. This led me to do a deep dive into Scripture to see if there are […]
Read More >Developing a Growth Mindset
When we recently moved to the house we are currently in, we got an extra bonus with some “smart home” features. Far from a ‘techie,’ I quickly got frustrated in the first week. When I didn’t know how most of it worked, I began to become irritable. This is not a growth, learning, or curiosity […]
Read More >I Am Second guest post: 21 Tips For Thriving
I Am Second honored me by asking to provide an article on the topic: 21 Ways To Thriving Mental Health from an Anxiety Specialist. Hit Hard By the Pandemic Katherine* was hit hard by the pandemic, and she didn’t understand why. “I mean, my routines and orderliness can be a little overboard, but I’ve never had […]
Read More >Walk by Faith, Not By Coronavirus
I am honored to be surrounded by incredible people who exhibit incredible strength and faith in the most trying circumstances. These past few weeks as the Coronavirus has led to increased fears, panic, product hoarding, and expressed racism, I have seen the stellar example of many clients and friends wading these uncertain waters with confidence, […]
Read More >Fear Not
The Bible has a lot to say about fear and anxiety. In fact, some variation of “do not be afraid” is the most common directive in Scripture, occurring in some fashion more than ‘do not steal,’ ‘do not kill,’ and even ‘love your neighbor.’ How Does Anxiety Work? When we study these constructs in research, […]
Read More >What Is Love?
For many, a popular electronic song of the 90’s came to mind when you saw that title. I certainly hope so. It’s an amazing song. It’s also an amazing question. What is love, really? I love my parents; I love fall weather; I love guitar; I love burgers. But what does it mean? The ancient […]
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