So this is how my day started today: I always wake up an hour earlier than my son so that I can have a little bit of alone time to enjoy and get organized for the day. Well today, he decided to wake up 15 minutes after I did (read: no alone time for Mommy) and I...
Vulnerability. It's a word I deal with all of the time in therapy, but also just by being the person that I am. Anyone who knows me, knows that most of the time, vulnerability doesn't really feel like something I choose - it's just the main way that I know...
Recently, I saw the following pictures that were trending on Facebook:These are selfies of a model who is 8.5 months pregnant. Gasp. Shock. Awe. Right? Pretty normal, human reactions to have, I think, considering how incredibly tiny she...
I have been in several situations lately where even I, as a psychologist, feel at a loss about what to say to someone. Because the pain they are experiencing is so intense. Because there's nothing that will make it better. Because the situation is...
If there’s anyone who knows what it feels like to try to be perfect constantly, it’s me. Let me start at the beginning. I’m a cancer survivor. I beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when I was 15 years old. I also lost one of my best friends to cancer less...
We've been doing all of this talk about relationships...about how your past impacts your present, about getting to know your partner and a few big no-no's and how to avoid them. But what if after all this, it just isn't working? At some point we have to...
That’s a powerful thing to say right? That there are four specific things you can do in a relationship that if done enough, over time will totally kill whatever good is there. Might sound crazy, but it’s true. For those of you who read my last post,...
My last post was all about the importance of knowing yourself. Of understanding where you’ve come from to better understand where you are now so you can make healthier, more informed decisions about where you want to be. That’s absolutely the first step to...
Since it’s February, and not just any week in February, but the week of Valentine’s Day, it feels only appropriate to make the rest of this month about romantic love and relationships. As I previously mentioned in my introductory post, relationships are...
Well hello! My name is Dr. Colleen Cira and I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. I’m also the mother of a beautiful 2.5 year old little boy, a soon-to-be little girl, happily married to my husband and living in Chicago. I blogged awhile back as...