Posts by Lynn Zakeri

What, in 2010, is appropriate? Or, better yet, what is inappropriate? Is it inappropriate to ignore a phone call? Use a curse word? Forget to say thank you? Use poor grammar? Is Brittany Spears still inappropriate? Is Madonna? When I was growing up, Madonna’s album had come out and Material Girl and Like a Virgin…

What does hearing the word “popular” do to you? It stirs up a lot of emotions in many people, ranging from anger and sadness to fondnesss and happiness. But what does popularity mean? Is there a price to pay to “be popular”? It is not a trait any of us were born with, and it…

Some of you may feel this topic does not apply to you: You never joined a sorority you life was not affected by sororities, you are now out of college and life went on, or you are a male. However, for the sake of every young woman you know, daughters, friends’ daughters, nieces, neighbors, babysitters,…

There is no question that those with better social skills have an advantage. How are your social skills? What are social skills exactly? And are they a skill that can be improved? Looking at the literature and books, one would believe so. You can practice, role play and learn how to better communicate, express yourself,…

Sometime in my early adulthood, I figured out what makes someone attractive.  Whether it was being able to look back on my own youth, or through the eyes of all the clients I work with, it is the one quality we all wish we had more of, and the one we often feel everyone else…

This time of year it seems that everything is changing. Not just the seasons as we look to summer, but the school year ends, there are graduations, there is gardening to do, barbeques to plan, weddings to celebrate. There are also things changing that we don’t plan for or count on. There are diagnoses given,…

Earlier this year, I did an informal survey on a popular social networking site.  I asked several people from around the world to post the question “If you were to teach your children only ONE quality so that they would grow up to be the adult you could be proud of, what quality would it…

Is the word “trauma” being used more often, or have I become more sensitive to it’s use?   I have come across it countless times over the years, and this word can call to mind different meanings depending on the use.  Physical trauma, psychological, environmental, a “trauma team” or “trauma center”,  used in conversation, describing situations…

How do you meet people is a question that is often asked, but really, what we are asking is how do we meet people we like, connect with, enjoy, and feel good around. It is that old-fashioned phrase “have chemistry”.  We talk to many people throughout our day, whether it is at our morning coffee shop, on…

At least once a week, someone will say to me something about being overwhelmed.  They are not sleeping or they are sleeping restlessly.  They have less patience.  They are frustrated, maybe even acting more aggressive than usual.  I hear this from all walks of life:  Friends, family, child and adolescent clients, adult clients.  We are…