fear – The Self-Help Whisperer®

An Essay – Self-Help From a Stranger

11 Apr 2022

I work for a bank, taking incoming calls about credit cards. My goal is to impart information and wisdom. I sigh to myself sometimes... like when I ask for a…

From My Bookshelf

How to Be Invisible – Cloak Yourself

17 Nov 2021

"If that's what I think it is — they're really rare, and really valuable."— Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Listen. I was torn about how to…

From My Bookshelf

The Universe Has Your Back – With parentheses & italics

16 Nov 2021

November 16, 2021 Speaking of the Universe... My reblog button is gone, gone, gone. Now I have to go old-school and reblog like we used to... by copy and pasting!…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – UPDATE Health Journey

15 Sep 202116 Sep 2021

Ah yes, an update to my health journey, punctuated with a muted photo of my face that I think looks quite lovely, though not that different than 39 days ago,…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – Health Anxiety, Be Gone!

2 Jul 2021

This is going to be written stream-of-consciousness and without my usual attention to detail. It's not to say it will be poorly-written, just quickly and without pretence. I have found…

Self-Help Whispering

A New Category – 5 Things – First up: 5 Things that make me feel better immediately

2 Nov 20207 Dec 2020

Let's get real. These are unprecedented and difficult times. I don't know about you - I could guess and would probably get it right on the nose, though - but…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one?* – Moody Bitches

14 Oct 2020

“Drug companies are spending billions of dollars to turn normal human experiences like fear or sadness into medical diseases. They aren’t developing cures; they’re creating customers.” ― Julie Holland Moody…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one?* – Always Looking Up

18 Aug 2020

“You suffer the blow, but you capitalize on the opportunity left in its wake.” ― Michael J. Fox, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist How can you not love…

From My Bookshelf

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway – Apropos

3 Apr 20203 Apr 2020

“Every time you encounter something that forces you to “handle it,” your self-esteem is raised considerably. You learn to trust that you will survive, no matter what happens. And in…

Self-Help Whispering

Easy like Sunday – Folks, I’m struggling

1 Mar 20201 Mar 2020

So... I have been so incredibly tired that I literally haven't read a book in weeks. This is totally not like me AT ALL! I so miss reading! It's the…

From My Bookshelf

Full Catastrophe Living – Reminds me of someone I know (Hint: it’s me!)

25 Aug 20199 Oct 2019

"This book is an invitation to the reader to embark upon a journey of self-development, self-discovery, learning, and healing." From page 1 of the Introduction- Stress, Pain, and Illness: Facing the…

From My Bookshelf

Big Magic – Living it in real-time!

1 Aug 20199 Oct 2019

"The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.” Elizabeth Gilbert You're probably wondering why it's taken me so long…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – The Emotionally Abused Woman

19 Jul 20193 Jun 2021

Note: "Remember this one?" = Posts that you may have missed the first time around. This post was originally posted by me on February 13, 2018 The Emotionally Abused Woman by…

From My Bookshelf

The Universe Has Your Back – Luminescence

20 May 20199 Oct 2019

When you begin to dance with the energy of the Universe, your life flows naturally, incredible synchronicity presents itself, creative solutions abound, and you experience freedom. (pg. 11) Her followers…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Fearless Living

18 Apr 201918 Apr 2019

Many years ago, I attended an in-service at the college where I worked. It was one of those “pick one of these and attend or don’t bother coming back to…

Self-Help Whispering

Easy like Sunday – Shame, shame

14 Apr 201912 Aug 2020

I'm having a difficult time and I'm embarrassed about that. Worse, I'm ashamed. The shame is wrapped around the word "should" and I know it. I should be able to…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – What Tiffany taught me today!

5 Apr 20195 Apr 2019

The photo is my dental hygienist and me, who chose to let my hair go "natural" (no straightening) on possibly the worst kind of day. It's overcast, with heavy air…

From My Bookshelf

Perimenopause and Menopause – Ladies Night

3 Apr 201924 Feb 2021

Yes, today's books are about women ... but men, please don't go! (I say this because if there's one thing I know, it's that menopause vies with tampons to top…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – Overheard at the pharmacy

13 Mar 201913 Mar 2019

I've talked about this elsewhere today, so if you've already heard this story, feel free to mosey on by. All day today, I have been thinking about something that happened…

Self-Help Whispering

Easy like Sunday – Doing The Splurge!

3 Mar 201912 Aug 2020

I'm super-excited and super-scared. Why? Well, look up there ^^^^^ at my address line. Notice something? Or rather, the absence of something? The word "wordpress" is gone from my address.…

Self-Help Whispering

Remember this one? – Memes as Self-Help/ She Chose Neither

28 Feb 201928 Feb 2019

About three years ago, just after the new year, I had something life-changing happen. This meme reminded me of it, so I thought I’d share. More about it in a…

Self-Help Whispering

“Easy like” Monday – I get it now!

18 Feb 201912 Aug 2020

Today is Family Day in Canada. What that means to me is a day off. For my husband, not so much. He's a reporter and it's his "weekend" to work,…

From My Bookshelf

Women Who Think Too Much – Freakin’ story of my life!

15 Feb 20199 Oct 2019

Women Who Think Too Much by Susan Noln-Hoeksema, Ph.D. is one of the best books on the subject of... well, duh... women who think too much. I should know! I've…

Self-Help Whispering

Easy like Sunday – Look into my eyes…

2 Dec 201812 Aug 2020

Well, my peeps... Remember last week when I wrote about going to a tea party? In that post, I mentioned that this week, I was invited somewhere really neat, and that…

From My Bookshelf

Flying Without Fear – No Xanax needed. Maybe.

27 Nov 201814 Aug 2020

Flying Without Fear by Duane Brown, Ph.D. is SUCH a good book that I carried it on flights for about a year... okay, seven. It helped. A LOT. I wasn't…

From My Bookshelf

A Series – The Alchemist – Part 3

11 Nov 20183 Mar 2021

This is Part 3 in a Four-Part Series. Part 1 covered the Introduction. Part 2 covered the Prologue and Part 1 of the book. This post is about the first half of Part…

From My Bookshelf

A Series – The Alchemist – Part 1

9 Nov 20189 Oct 2019

Some books are *so* important, they require more than one post. This is not to say that any other books didn't deserve "A Series"... just that with this one, it…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – Dream a little dream

5 Nov 20185 Nov 2018

Whenever I have a dream that's recurring, I know to pay attention. I love figuring out my dreams and have been writing about them for years. I used to have recurring…

Self-Help Whispering

Easy like Sunday – Another way to process pain

14 Oct 201812 Aug 2020

Some of you know that several years ago, I destroyed my journals that spanned over the last three decades. And then last year - or was it earlier this year?…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – I miss her

5 Sep 2018

Today's featured photo is the one I'd hoped to use on my book jacket. You know, when I became a famous author, like Jessica Fletcher. (Seriously, look at the link,…

From My Bookshelf

Remember this one? – The Gift of Fear

3 Aug 20189 Oct 2019

Not all my posts will be about books. I know it seems like it so far. But believe me! We’ll be travelling all over the self-help landscape. It’s just that…

Self-Help Whispering

Bio Moment – My Comfort Book, Vision Boards & A Wall of Dreams

28 Apr 20182 Oct 2020

Once upon a time, in the mid-1990s, I had a binder. Inside, I collected poetry, cards, photos, recipes and memories... and cut pretty pictures from magazines. Things like waterfalls and…

From My Bookshelf

She’s Come Undone – Part II – What is normal?

25 Apr 20189 Oct 2019

I've just finished She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb for the second time. And for the second time, I am amazed that a man wrote this book with such clarity about a…

From My Bookshelf

Trauma and Recovery – What the world needs now is healing

26 Mar 20189 Oct 2019

Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman, MD is called "a landmark" ... "brilliant"... among other words of praise, every bit of it earned. This is another of my classics. Be…

From My Bookshelf

Fiction as Self-Help – The Girl on the Train

14 Mar 20189 Oct 2019

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is kinda/sorta like the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Not in their storyline... but in the way they are told. See,…

From My Bookshelf

Between Trapezes – Where the real action is!

2 Mar 20189 Oct 2019

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. ~Charles Darwin That quote could have been written today…

From My Bookshelf

Overcoming Health Anxiety – I told you I was sick

23 Jan 20189 Oct 2019

I can't talk about this book without talking about myself. I don't have a light case or dabble in it... I am fully immersed into a life of health anxiety.…

From My Bookshelf

Fearless Living – Throw off that cloak!

17 Jan 20189 Oct 2019

Many years ago, I attended an in-service at the college where I worked. It was one of those "pick one of these and attend or don't bother coming back to…

From My Bookshelf

From Panic to Power – it’s within you!

6 Nov 20179 Oct 2019

From Panic to Power by Lucinda Bassett begins with a nice ego-pump for those of us who struggle with panic and anxiety. It's good news! We have above average intelligence, are…

From My Bookshelf

Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? – Because I suck.

2 Nov 20179 Oct 2019

Actually, the book has a different answer to that question. Why am I afraid to tell you who I am? " I am afraid to tell you who I am, because, if…

From My Bookshelf

The Gift of Fear – this book can save your life.

24 Oct 20179 Oct 2019

Not all my posts will be about books. I know it seems like it so far. But believe me! We'll be travelling all over the self-help landscape. It's just that…

If you have a medical or mental health emergency, call your doctor or 911.

Nothing contained in this blog (The Self-Help Whisperer®) is intended to establish or replace a physician-patient relationship or services.

If you are IN CRISIS and NEED TO TALK but don’t know who to call…

In USA: Mental Health America In Crisis? Call 1-800-273-TALK

Or elsewhere in the world – By Country, as compiled by Wikipedia

Suicide hotline numbers

Someone dies from suicide every 40 seconds

United States 1 800 273 8255

Canada 1 800 456 4566