Growing up Through the Life Cycle: Recent Episodes
by Jenny Brown
In this episode, Jenny addresses the following scenario: A pastor has befriended a new church member and finds that after a very positive connection full of compliments, the relationship has become increasingly critical, with negative gossip about him spreading around church members. Jenny discusses the nature of fast-tracking of togetherness in a relationship. What pacing of a new relationship prevents […]
This scenario involves an adult daughter, her mother and her husband and father. She writes: “Another issue that keeps coming up is when I got married and moved out of home. We would visit once a week but to her it wasn’t enough. She wanted us to move in with her and my dad. […]
In this episode, Jenny addresses the following question: “How do I deal with my distant adult brother, who cuts off from our family at the first hint of any tension?” Jenny notes how helpful it is to see the perspective over time– that is the backdrop of the current challenge. This family has a history […]
In this episode, Jenny addresses the following question: Can you possibly address how efforts at Growing Yourself Up are the same or different when facing a narcissistic individual? In my case, my own mother. Many sources I’ve read on narcissism suggest that often the best course of action is “no contact” (which is obviously in […]
A conscientious parent can sometimes find themselves over focussing on one or more of their children. The appropriate level of connection and supervision can gradually increase to a worry driven response to a child – especially a child that we are more sensitive to. At this time of lockdown and school closure, this pattern can […]
Couples finding an even balance between connection and space to be individuals is central for the health of their relationship. How do you work on this balance when spending so much time together in Covid-19 lockdown? It’s easy to experience varying degrees of suffocation in a relationship and to use emotional distancing to manage this. […]
Having an external drama to be absorbed in can become a detour from experiencing and addressing other more generalised tensions and issues in our lives. The anxiety sponge of the current crisis is so easily fed by an intense repetitive news cycle and amplified by social media posts. We can superficially feel better and experience […]
Withdrawing is a natural response to stress. What happens when it is socially mandated? What do we need to watch out for in following societal obligations while watching that we don’t inadvertently contribute to vulnerability to mood symptoms? Stay tuned for the weekly series: Week 2 = When the unfolding COVID-19 ‘Reality TV-like Drama’ moves into […]
“Our family could have been a more supportive resource if individuals were able to balance their efforts to keep going with time to talk with each other about our struggles in the midst of grief.” – –J Brown, Growing Yourself Up, Chapter 15 Old Age and facing Death : Denial or honest preparation. In this […]
This pod cast tells of the story of a disillusioned grandparent Helen and how she shifted her efforts away from her expectations of access to her grandchildren and towards her relationship with her adult son: “Helen’s efforts went onto shifting her focus away from her grandson and back to her own son. She could see […]