Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

“I hate you!” What does it mean when your child says this? What do you do about it? At the end of a busy weekend filled with tumultuous moments that included screaming, Jackie found herself carefully considering if she should impose the usual Sunday-night limits on 14-year-old Erin. Just letting it go in order to maintain the peace seemed very appealing. She was tired of the explosions and the tension. Ultimately, Jackie decided to relax the time a little, but still when she told Erin it was time to surrender the phone and get into bed, her daughter began screaming…

To C.M. – a reminder. We live in an age of specialization in which the counsel of professionals is sought for everything from parenting and relationship advice to matters of health and well-being to questions of public policy, finances, education, and even personal development. And while the proliferation of apparent experts raises interesting questions about our desire for authority figures to whom we can defer when challenges arise, it has been accompanied by an equally fascinating increase in skepticism regarding the reliability of the very persons and institutions upon whom we have come to rely. On the one hand, it…

It’s officially Vampire Summer, with the third season of AMC’s critically acclaimed series Interview with the Vampire — now titled The Vampire Lestat — arriving exclusively on AMC and AMC+ on June 7.After two seasons adapting the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire, the series now moves into the next chapter of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, bringing The Vampire Lestat to the screen for the very first time.The AMC series stars Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt, a pairing whose chemistry has become the emotional anchor of the series. Anderson…

All relationships, whether romantic, social, sexual, financial, or otherwise, are transactional. The transactional nature of relationships can lead to myriad dynamics; some can be especially supportive, while others are roundly destructive, and still others are somewhere in the gray. We Get What We Give There is a notion in psychology termed “narcissistic source.” Recently, narcissism has garnered a definitively negative connotation, but undistorted narcissism is simply self-interest. “Undistorted narcissism” is meant to imply that same original definition of narcissism, which is the transactional aspect of relationship. We give something to another entity, whether it be a person, a group, or…

People often say that someone or something has triggered them, usually meaning that a current interaction, event, or situation has activated a memory and an associated emotional response. Although the word “triggered” once referred specifically to a facet of a post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis, it is now commonly used to express emotions related to trauma, though sometimes not directly connected to it (Bonilla and colleagues, 2024). What Is a Trigger? A trigger is a signal that recalls a past experience, prompting an emotional response in a person. The origin of a trigger can vary, from a microaggression to a sexual…

The Tarik Skubal sweepstakes might be on soon. As the Detroit Tigers continue to stumble and deal with injuries, FOX Sports MLB insider Ken Rosenthal believes that the chances Skubal gets moved before the Aug. 3 trade deadline are improving.   “It’s trending that way. Talking with people around the game, that is their feeling,” Rosenthal said of the possibility of a Skubal trade on Saturday’s MLB on FOX pregame show. “The outlook right now is rather bleak, and honestly, it’s difficult to imagine them making up a 14-game under .500 deficit, getting back to .500, and then contending even in a…

Recently at a large social gathering, a techy friend of mine, who had been sitting next to a total stranger, said to me after their lengthy conversation was over, “That was the deepest conversation I’ve had with anybody in years. Usually, my conversations with others are superficial and don’t mean a thing.” When I asked him what they talked about, he said, “Religion. We had different views on religion, but the conversation was intimate and respectful. We were able to be honest and disagree without being offensive in any way. It was amazing.” With many young people addicted to their…

In dissociative states or experiences, people can feel detached from reality, themselves, others, and their own emotions (Busch et al., 2021). Dissociation can involve a disruption in the integration of behaviors, thoughts, consciousness, feelings, memories, and/or identity. Severe trauma is a common source of dissociative states, as it can cause memory impairments, intolerable emotions, and bodily distress (Lazarov et al., 2017). People often don’t recognize the links between dissociative states and the trauma they experienced, sometimes because these connections were never formed. Alternatively, dissociative states can act as a defense, warding off the connection to distressing memories, fantasies, feelings, and…

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S. This year’s theme, “More Good Days, Together,” focuses on the importance of connection, support, and community in emotional well-being. The campaign’s message feels especially relevant to these times, when many clients report to their therapists that they feel increasingly lonely despite being digitally connected to just about everyone in their lives. The American Psychological Association’s 2025 Stress in America survey found that more than 6 in 10 U.S. adults have felt isolated over the past year. As a relationship and Certified Sex Therapist, I’ve found that loneliness may be expressed…

The final week of the UFL regular season has arrived, and while three playoff berths have already been secured, one postseason spot remains up for grabs. The Louisville Kings and Birmingham Stallions enter Week 10 locked in a battle for the league’s final playoff position.The action got underway Friday night with the Dallas Renegades earning an impressive road victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks. Attention now turns to Saturday’s matchup between the Houston Gamblers and the Stallions, where Birmingham must win to keep its playoff hopes alive.The regular season concludes Sunday with a pair of pivotal matchups as the DC…