Posts Tagged With: psychotherapy

Day 4511: Attention

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Ann Koplow

Because I want my protest song to get more attention, I tried to share it on Twitter yesterday.

While also trying to pay attention to my busiest work day, I could not upload that song to Twitter despite trying several possible solutions.

My producer Riccardo, who always pays attention to my struggles with technology, suggested that I needed to set up a SoundCloud account first. It seems to me that I always need to pay attention to too many steps in order to get things done. For example, I haven’t had time to pay attention to which distribution platform I should use to get my music on Spotify.

Being a psychotherapist full time and giving my patients the attention they need makes it difficult for me to give enough attention to getting my music out there.

However, I was able to pay attention to Riccardo’s suggestion and I got my protest song up on SoundCloud!

Then, when I finally posted it on Twitter, it got zero attention.

I always get SOME attention when I post to my 35.7K followers on Twitter. So I tried again by asking a question (which usually gets more attention).

Again, zero attention.

Fighting back the shame that occurs when we want attention and don’t get any, I tried to find out if it were me, my song, or Twitter that was the problem.

That got responses, some indicating they were also having new problems getting attention on Twitter.

Then, because my cat Joan always gets attention, I posted this:

Attention is such an interesting issue. It turned out that I was so caught up in paying attention to Rachel Maddow and getting attention for my song on Wednesday evening that I forgot to give attention to something very important — taking my medication. I’m hoping that lapse in my attention doesn’t have any attending consequences.

There are too many things I need to pay attention to!

What do you notice when you pay attention to the rest of this post?

Here’s what I find when I look for attention on YouTube.

Thanks to all who are paying attention, including YOU!

Categories: original song, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, Doja Cat, May 9 2025, medication, psychotherapy, shame, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the music business, the new pope, Twitter | 11 Comments

Day 4360: Place and Time

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Ann Koplow

In this place and time, “Place and Time” seems like the right title for today’s blog.

Let’s start with a definition of a certain type of place.

I hope this blog is a phrontistery. I also hope it’s a place for feeling, but I don’t know if there’s a word for such a place.

Now let’s turn to time.

I wasn’t sure where to place these other images, but there is no time like the present.

I don’t believe that most people are narcissists; I do believe that too many of them have access to power during this place and time.

Here’s what I find when I search for “place and time” on YouTube.

And while I originally placed the following image in a past blog, I think this is a good time to repeat it, as I head in to my work as a therapist.

Here and now is a good place and time to express my gratitude to YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Bluesky, cats, December 9 2024, Elon Musk, narcissists, psychotherapy, Queens of the Stone Age “Time and Place”, quesadillas, The Daily Bitch Calendar, time travel, Twitter | 8 Comments

Day 3907: Overthinking

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Ann Koplow

I don’t want to be overthinking today’s blog post, so we’ll see how that goes.

People come into therapy stating that their main problem is overthinking. Let’s see if I can find a helpful definition of overthinking.

I don’t know if I’m overthinking my latest song — “I Don’t Wanna Be Late (Don’t Wanna Be Early Either” — but I keep writing new verses, including these:

Now I’m thinking about writing a verse about overthinking.

I don’t wanna overthink. Don’t wanna underthink either.

It could drive a person to drink, trying so hard to be neither.

What’s so bad if you overthink? So you include everything and the kitchen sink?

What’s the crime in underthinking? It won’t kill you if your pondering starts shrinking.

©️ Ann Koplow, 2023

Do you see overthinking in the rest of my blog post for today?

The Daily Bitch seems to be suggesting one cure for overthinking.

Here’s “Overthinking” by Sophie Pecora:

Please don’t be overthinking any comment you might want to make, below.

Thanks to all who help me go from overthinking or underthinking to just-right thinking, including YOU.

Categories: original song, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “I Don’t Wanna Be Late (Don’t Wanna Be Early Either)”, cats, encouragement, gratitude, psychotherapy, September 13 2023, Sophie Pecora, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the writing process, Twitter | 11 Comments

Day 3669: Responding

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Ann Koplow

Because I’m a psychotherapist, a blogger, and a denizen of Twitter, I spend a lot of time responding to others.

Sometimes I feel guilty that I’m not responding more quickly and completely to responses here and on Twitter, but I’m responding to guilt the way I suggest others respond — I’m letting go of it.

Lately, I’ve been responding better to people who respond differently than I do. For example, when my husband Michael and I saw the musical Preludes this weekend, we discovered we were responding very differently: I liked it and he disliked it. Instead of responding negatively to that, I accepted Michael’s viewpoint and was also able to stay with my positive feelings about the play. I have to admit it’s taken me many years to reach that evolved level of responding.

Because responding effectively and appropriately can be complicated, I tweeted this simple Daily Bitch resolution/solution yesterday:

Now I’m wondering how you’ll be responding to that and the other images in today’s blog post.

The Daily Bitch seems to be letting go of guilt about how she’s been responding.

Here are musicians responding to each other in the movie Whiplash.

Thanks to all who are responding to this blog post here and now, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, January 17 2023, letting go of guilt, movies about music, Preludes, psychotherapy, Stop & Shop, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Twitter, Whiplash, Yale Appliance | 9 Comments

Day 3548: Still alive

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Despite the many close calls I’ve had since I was born in 1953 with a very unusual heart, I’m still alive to blog another day and to share my latest images with you.

Tomorrow (which is National Talk Like a Pirate and National Butterscotch Day), this wife will be working from home providing psychotherapy for people who are still alive. (Usually I’m in-person at the hospital on Mondays, but since I’m still alive after my T.I.A. last week, staying home seems like the smart thing to do.) Because my love of group therapy is still alive, my plan is to keep doing this work for as long as I’m still alive.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “still alive.“

As long as I’m still alive, I’ll be expressing gratitude for YOU.

Categories: adult congenital heart, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: close calls, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, Dorchester, Jonathan Coulton with Sara Quin and Dorit Chrysler, National Days September 18 and September 19, psychotherapy, self-care, T.I.A., the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 20 Comments

Day 3389: Coincidence?

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Is it a coincidence that I’m starting off this blog post with a definition of coincidence?

For weeks, I’ve been considering asking a question about coincidences on Twitter, but the time just didn’t seem right. Here’s the question I finally asked last night:

I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but several people replied that there was no such thing as coincidences. A lot of people told stories that reminded me of coincidences in my life.

Do you see coincidences in my images for today?

Is it a coincidence that I’m writing about coincidences on For Twelve Day when there are so many coincidences about the number 12?

Is it a coincidence that I find this on YouTube when I search for “coincidence?”

I’m grateful for all the coincidences and dances that coincided for everyone to be here now, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “Coincidance”, cats, fried haddock, Handsome Dancer, National Days April 12 2022, National For Twelve Day, psychotherapy, quotes about coincidence, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Twitter, Yogi Tea | 12 Comments

Day 2282: Your favorites here!

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Ann Koplow

When I was grocery shopping yesterday with one of my favorites (my boyfriend Michael from Boston), I saw this sign:

My favorites are here, there, and everywhere. Where are your favorites?

Some favorite thoughts about favorites are here!

It’s helpful to write a list of favorites — also called “a gratitude list.” It’s one of my favorite ways to improve somebody’s mood.
It’s NOT helpful for parents to play favorites among their children.
Favorites is spelled “Favourites” in the United Kingdom.
Yesterday, one of my favorite people, who has the same kind of unusual heart as one of your favorite bloggers, asked me to be on one of his favorite podcasts about congenital heart conditions.
Last week, I started writing another original song about a favorite subject (“Comfort”) which I hope will be one of your favorites.
This past weekend, my favorite Michael and I watched the latest film by our favorites the Coen brothers and now The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is one of my favorites.
April is one of my favorite months, even though one of my favorite poets — T. S. Eliot — said it was the cruelest one.
I encourage people not to play favorites with their feelings, but to accept all of them.
I try to capture favorite images every day with my camera and my latest ones are here!

One of m favorites, these days, is dancing to favorite songs with my favorite Michael. One of my favorite songs for dancing is here!

It’s not peculiar that I’m ending this post with thanks to all who helped me create it and (of course!) to you, because that’s one of my favorite things to do!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: accepting all feelings, April, favoritism, Gratitude list, Marvin Gaye, psychotherapy, Stop & Shop, T. S. Eliot, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Coen Brothers, The Waste Land | 22 Comments

Day 1942: Obviously

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Ann Koplow

Obviously, sometimes people are going to say things you obviously don’t want to hear.

Yesterday, somebody in therapy was obviously perturbed about people expressing unsolicited and often indirect opinions about what they obviously thought she should do.

Obviously, we made a list of how she could reply.

Obviously, having a list of possible replies to upsetting comments can help reduce stress.

Obviously, I like to take photos and share them with my readers.

What’s obvious about those photos, to you?

Obviously, my handwriting is difficult to read, so it might not be obvious that we talked, wrote, and drew about dreams in a therapy group yesterday. Obviously, it would be helpful if I typed what I wrote.

DREAMS

When I was a child, I had a dream I didn’t want to wake up from. It was so beautiful and soothing and cool. Magical land with lots of colors — pastels. (I was) walking or riding down a road. Not like nature, not “normal” but safe and sweet and lovely. Trees and structures …

I was never able to dream that again.

However, many years later I was at Disney World on a ride about imagination and one of the parts of the ride looked like my dream.

Obviously, I enjoyed that ride at Disney World.

Obviously, “The Obvious Child” by Paul Simon is a great song to include here.

Obviously, I’d like to know your reactions to this post

Obviously, I gather and share gratitude in this blog, even if the words aren’t always completely obvious.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Disney World, Figment, group therapy, Journey into Imagination, Paul Simon, psychotherapy, responding to advice, sharing dreams, shoulds, The Obvious Child | 20 Comments

Day 1837: SAD

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Ann Koplow

What is your first association with SAD?

My first association with SAD these days is that it’s a negative and judgmental way to end a tweet. SAD.

My second association, these days, is Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is

a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy.

Don’t brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the “winter blues” or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.

I’m happy to quote the Mayo Clinic, above, about SAD. I’m sad to report that many people I know are currently dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder. I may have some SADness, too, because I struggle to keep my mood and motivation steady during this time of year.

The steps I take to keep my mood and motivation steady include

sharing my thoughts and feelings,
helping others,
eating healthy and comforting food,

avoiding snow and ice,

being inspired by others,

seeking light wherever I can find it,

and listening to music.

At least, Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” reminds me that summer is on the way.

Yesterday, in my therapy group, people talked about making gratitude lists to help themselves feel less sad. My gratitude list includes all those who helped me create this SAD post and — of course! — YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Eggplant Casserole, group therapy, Lana Del Rey, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King quotes, Mayo Clinic, psychotherapy, seasonal affective disorder, Trump tweets, tuna noodle casserole, winter blues | 21 Comments

Day 1824: Why am I feeling this way?

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Ann Koplow

Why am I feeling this way?

Yesterday, somebody in therapy asked that question and then another question about feelings. Because of the way I was feeling, I wrote both questions up on the board.

Now, I’m going to ask myself those two questions.

Why am I feeling this way?

I’m not sure. It could be the extreme cold, the lack of light, this time of year, the news, politics, pain I feel when I use my dominant arm, and awareness of other people’s suffering.

What is this feeling?

I’m not sure. It’s probably a mixture of fear, sadness, anger, and empathy.

Now I’m going to ask myself those two important questions, again.

Why am I feeling this way?

I’m not sure. It could be my son, my partner, my family and friends, my work, my blogging community, my home, our cats, and awareness of my other blessings.

What is this feeling?

I’m not sure. It’s probably a mixture of gratitude, happiness, and hope.

Why am I feeling that it helps to ask those questions? Because of my experience.

Why am I feeling this way about these photos?