Jennifer Mann, LCSW

Sometimes we have a person (or people) in our lives who are deeply upsetting or actually threatening to our psyches. What typically makes it all the more challenging is that this person doesn’t see his/her behavior and we are often blamed, labeled as crazy or the bad one. Some of the smartest gas lighters will accuse their victims of gaslighting (so dangerous and toxic.) You are not crazy. You’re having a human reaction to crazy. This person will have you believing c...ertain things about yourself. We can ask ourselves 2 questions after a few nice breaths. 1. What is this person telling me about myself? 2. What do I believe about myself? Difficult people often have us believing UNTRUE things about ourselves. With enough exposure to this person, he/she can actually change your perceived reality, including self beliefs. It can be very helpful to separate his/her message from your belief about yourself. Difficult people are often: Narcissists Overly aggressive Passive aggressive Blame shifters Lacking in accountability Twist truth Find untrue supporting evidence and Stick with it, even if untrue. If they are wrong they can’t admit it and will fight you. If you prove them wrong you may get (silence) in return because they can’t admit this. You cannot change a difficult person. But you can work through your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations surrounding this person; which may ultimately give you the ability to respond differently. Jen

Not feeling OK is.... OK. It’s perfectly OK and normal and part of life. And, if there is someone in your life telling you it’s OK when it truly isn’t... that’s very.... INVALIDATING AND UNTRUE and confusing and possibly scary. To know, and be told you’re wrong and not to feel your totally human emotions... well, that’s what’s not OK. ... Jen See more

Life is actually THIS hard right now. You’re not imagining it. You’re not doing something wrong. No one has it more figured out. And no, you’re not crazy. JenLife is actually THIS hard right now. You’re not imagining it. You’re not doing something wrong. No one has it more figured out. And no, you’re not crazy. Jen

Tell the little you: You shouldn’t have been put in that situation. There was nothing OK about that. And breathe.Tell the little you: You shouldn’t have been put in that situation. There was nothing OK about that. And breathe.

Some bodies are more sensitive. They feel things deeply. They DO have reactions to chemicals, unhealthy food, and unhealthy people. Some bodies cannot keep going and going. Honor this. Respect it. Treasure your beautiful body. And don’t let anyone convince you that it is: UGLY OR WEAK Do not allow anyone (family, doctor... anyone!!) to tell you that you are simply anxious or insinuate something is off within you or your mind.... Not everyone can run, go, or do. As a matter of fact, some people are doing that as a distraction. They cannot stop and they want to. The grass is not always greener. Love that body! It’s yours. Wishing you so much self love and compassion and inner peace and calm. Wishing you a beautiful forcefield of serenity that no one can penetrate, unless absolutely welcome and invited. Jen

Your fight, flight or freeze response once served you. It protected you from something that was unsafe. For a moment, can we say thank you? Breathe in. Exhale. Thank you for being there for me. Instead of beating ourselves up for our responses (yelling, anxiety, hyperarousal, numbness, frozen, fighting, fleeing, interpersonal relationships) to triggers (people, places and things) today, let’s meet our response with a nice deep breath and simply notice it. You can heal. The body can heal. You can start today with some deep Voooooo breathing. This stuff is powerful.