Expert advice for taking away its sting — How do you feel when someone starts a sentence with the word, “you”? Do you immediately raise your shields and prepare for something you don’t want to hear? Does the word trigger a warning siren in your head that drowns all reason? Do you prepare either to defend yourself or…

Expert advice for releasing the burden of regret — I love Fall; it’s my favorite season followed by Spring. The trees in my neighborhood have started seriously shedding their leaves. The ground crunches under my feet when I take my daily walk, and the air is crisp and clean. The light changes day by day as the Northern Hemisphere…

Using the “Frankenstein” approach — Most of us are familiar with the story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Dr. Frankenstein creates a human being by piecing together body parts from corpses. Despite how grisly the idea is, it’s a terrific way to repurpose an existing catalog of articles. Everything I write needs to do double…

Ten complete stories in just 20 words each. — My pal and excellent writer, T Mann, tossed another challenge at me that she found from Sara Lorca: Write ten complete stories in 20 words each. Ok, Trish, here goes. Warning: Some grisly ones appropriate for Halloween are thrown in for fun. A trilogy The tree's fruit is forbidden, but she doesn’t…

My motivation is rock bottom right now — A rant It seems that Medium has shifted from assessing quality to counting claps and responses. Got lots of followers? Yay. You’ll be distributed — not that anyone will be able to tell since no one will be notified. Just a handful…

Listen to understand and discover what isn’t being said — I am not a good listener. I have never been one. Words go in one ear and out the other, which is why I don’t like audiobooks or podcasts and hated lectures in college. It’s almost impossible to focus on what I hear because my concentration flits from topic to…

How to calm down quickly without shoving something in your mouth — Most of us know what a pacifier is — that fake nipple that babies suck on to keep them quiet and content. It’s comforting. Aren’t there days when you wish you had a pacifier to suck on? Sure, you do. We all need comfort in our lives, especially when things…

They’re like flesh-eating cockroaches— everywhere and just as disgusting and dangerous — Everyone has been accosted by a troll on social media — and not the quirky trolls with fuzzy, red hair in animated films. I’m referring to trolls that crawl out from filthy caves and hovels and pollute everyone’s space with their nastiness. “A recent Pew Research Center study found that…

It’s important to look before you flush — People, animals, just about everything pees. Most of the time, we go when we have to and forget about it unless there’s no bathroom handy, and then the pressure in our bladders can start screaming in protest. (Happened to me on a bus ride with no bathroom on the bus.) …