Welcome to Linda Mesing Cook Blog
August 2017- Discovering Virtuous Character Strengths
August 2017---Discovering Virtuous Character Strengths It is hard to believe that summer has been flying by so quickly! I anticipated a blog post in early July, though seemed to be side-tracked by a busy month of activity, work and time out of the office. The...
April 2017- Discovering Virtuous Character Strengths
April 2017-----Discovering Virtuous Character Strengths Continuing with the previous blog from January of this year, we are examining various virtues to work toward strengthening these in our own daily lives. For this quarter, we look at the character traits of...
Discovering Virtuous Character Strengths in 2017
As we enter into the new year, I challenge my readers to consider how you might implement several positive character traits in 2017. These can help us to develop that inner sense of happiness we sometimes crave. Though we may not realize it, practicing traits such...
December Joy
December Joy 2016 has been a somewhat difficult year with violence throughout the world, discrimination, a heated and contentious election, and tragedy in our own backyard with the Pulse shooting in June. It seems to be a welcome relief to be at the conclusion of...
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Statistics According to the CDC, there were more than 42,000 individuals who died by suicide in the year 2014, leaving behind thousands of family members and friends to contemplate and understand the tragic...
From Tragedy to Recovery
June 2016 Blog From Tragedy to Recovery The tragic events of two weeks ago with the fatal shooting of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub are still fresh in the minds of many as we struggle to comprehend this senseless killing and move forward in our recovery as a...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May-Mental Health Awareness Month Education, Support, and Advocacy May is Mental Health Awareness Month and an important time for disseminating information, support, and resources to my clients and readers. It is estimated that one in five individuals suffers...
Finding Life’s Balance
Finding Life’s Balance Posting Blogs Bi-Monthly While I previously had been posting blogs monthly on this site, I have come to the humble conclusion that I simply cannot set aside the time to write a monthly blog. This is actually a relief to me as I had been...
2016 – A New Year, A New You, and New Relationships
A new year brings new beginnings With the start of a new year, we often pause and reflect on the days and weeks in front of us and consider new goals we may want to set for ourselves. Many people set goals of losing weight, quitting smoking, eating healthier, or...
2015 – A Year of Reflection and Examination
Reflections on 2015 In this post, I would like to provide some reflection and examination of the past twelve months. The end of the year provides an opportunity to look back and determine our successes and maybe, our shortcomings, as well. Today could be a chance for...
Thanksgiving and Acceptance – Supporting Loved Ones with Mental Illness
How to accept and be thankful for people with mental illness A former client recently sent me an article from the Huffington Post. It looked at how we can better love, accept and support those of our friends and families who struggle with mental illness. This...
Want to improve your brain function? Try these calisthenics for little grey cells.
Power up with calisthenics for your brain We all want a better functioning and sharper brain, don't we? There are simple and science-based suggestions that can alter and improve our brain function and power. David Alter, Ph.D. and Henry Emmons, M.D., are authors of...
It’s Time to be Humble and Go with the Flow
A personal note today My apologies for the late entry of this blog post which I should have been posted earlier. Needless to say, it is often challenging to manage my practice, family, and social responsibilities and to do an effective job in all areas.....thus, the...
The secret to personal growth and self-esteem
What you need to learn about personal growth and self-esteem It is generally agreed that positive self-esteem is an essential component for good physical and emotional health and well-being. Feelings of self-deprecation contribute to anxiety, stress, depression, and...
Realizing your dreams with goal setting, Part 2
Seeing is Believing - Goal Setting Part 2 In last month's post (part 1), I focused on creating images in our mind of the goals we want to accomplish and then envisioning ourselves achieving them. My most recent goal has focused on weight loss that has proven more...
Make your dreams come true with goal setting
When it comes to Goal Setting, Seeing is Believing Have you ever envisioned a goal for yourself and imagined in your mind's eye the fulfillment of that dream? It is my belief that there is something to this. For the past couple of years, I have thought about the need...
It’s Spring – Time for New Beginnings and Springtime Quotes
Spring is in the air According to many polls, Spring is our favorite season of the year. Maybe it's because we associate so many positive things with Spring. The warmer weather has certainly arrived, but weren't we supposed to have spring before the really hot weather...
Love and Loving on Valentine’s Day
Why love is important year-round February is the one month out of the year when we tend to focus on love and loving as well as hearts, candy, and valentines. Can you recall (with fond or not so fond memories) making Valentine bags out of paper bags in elementary...