By Laura Mahr After six weeks of Mindfulness Meditation for Building Resilience to Stress, lawyers from the 28th Judicial District Bar have the answer… There are few things we lawyers love more than our brains. Which is why, when our brains tell us we are tired, most of us lawyers tell our brains […]
By Cathy Killian The Lawyer Assistance Program holds support groups across the state for lawyers who are actively engaged in a recovery process (recovery from all kinds of issues, not just drug or alcohol problems). Often these meetings are topic driven, providing lawyers an opportunity to uncover, examine, explore, and share their attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, […]
After working at the NC Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) for the past 5 years, I can say with confidence that most of what we see clinically is lawyers’ and judges’ responses to the serious difficulties of life and a career in law. Not that there isn’t true psychopathology, because there certainly is. But it is […]
Lawyers are especially adept at maintaining a façade. “Never let ‘em see ya sweat” is wonderful advice for entering into a tough mediation, negotiation, or lengthy trial. The problem arises when we take an adage like that to heart so strongly that we completely disconnect from our authentic internal experience. Most lawyers we see at […]
The emerging scientific field known as positive psychology helps us understand how the brain can change, and that we can purposefully change it to create more positive emotions. Positive emotions, in turn, broaden our cognitive capacity, allowing flexible, open-minded thinking for creative problem solving and building of personal resources such as skills, knowledge, and relationships. […]
The legal profession is a helping profession. Most days lawyers find themselves trying to solve problems for their clients. We are paid to have answers and to fix situations that have gone awry. One of the difficulties for professionals who are supposed to have the answers for others is that it is difficult for them […]
“Anger is liquor to the “dry drunk” alcoholic. Once anger comes in, just like alcohol, it has to wear itself out; it goes through the body just like liquor.” These were the words of a PALS volunteer to me recently. They struck home. I have been working with lawyers and judges dealing with alcohol issues […]
One of the leading mental health issues facing lawyers, including lawyers suffering from alcohol addiction or depression, is anxiety. Anxiety can be a terrible emotional experience. It is a feeling that something horrible is about to happen, that is not actually happening. A mechanism in our body has been triggered to put us into a […]
You have probably noticed the rash of recent biographies about the founding fathers. Why do we have this thirst for insight into the lives of our heroic American forefathers? We seem to long for a sense of greatness in ourselves and our leaders that seems missing in our complex modern lives. A forthcoming biography focusing […]
One morning I went to a place beyond dawn. A source of sweetness that flows and is never less. I have been shown a beauty that would confuse both worlds, but I won’t cause that uproar. – ‘Rumi No matter how we grow up -wealthy or poor, well loved or forsaken – we form a view of life. […]
” . . . [H]appiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.” – Victor Frankel Thomas Jefferson’s phrase has long resonated in the minds of Americans. But only recently has there been extensive research on what makes people happy. For many years, […]
The lawyer explained, “just don’t have time to see my doctor.” Or, the explanation of what he did not have time for could have been, go to support group meetings, see a therapist, play with my kids, or take my spouse out to dinner. One of the great benefits and burdens of technology has been the […]