by dmackinnon | Oct 21, 2015 | Communication, Healing Choices
A couple of weeks ago I drove home from a trip to Pennsylvania with a friend. About midday we stopped at a rest area on the Merritt Parkway. We got to the door of the restroom only to find a line of at least 8 women ahead of us. There were only two stalls in the...
by dmackinnon | Oct 17, 2015 | Communication, Healing Choices
Two weeks ago I was sitting in the front row of a classroom, trying to listen to a lecture. The speaker projected her voice, but the two women sitting to my right were having an animated conversation, occasionally punctuated by giggles and chuckles. I found it...
by dmackinnon | Jun 5, 2013 | Communication, Healing Choices
A boundary is something you do for yourself. It is a way of practicing self-kindness and self-compassion. A boundary is you saying: I’ve thought about this and this is what I need. I’m not telling you what to do, but if you do this (or don’t do that) again, I’m going...
by dmackinnon | May 8, 2013 | Healing Choices, Process
One day a few weeks ago I met with a group of friends to work on finding a solution to a problem we are all very passionate about. In the process of the conversation, I got really defensive with one friend, who I’ll call Jane. For a while there, I reacted to...
by dmackinnon | Dec 19, 2012 | Communication, Healing Choices
When I was seeing patients, I would often say to a patient, “Can I examine you now?” Sometimes, when I said it to a child, the response was, “No!” At that point, I would say, “Let me rephrase that: I’m going to examine you now.” My initial request was not really a...
