Hmmm.. So how do you feel about that?

Lately Anthony and my family have been teasing me about me saying "therapist" phrases or saying things that sound like I've gone into counselor mode and I have started to realize that they are right! I talk about counseling and discuss all different aspects of and issues that come up for hours a day every single week and it is getting pretty hard to turn it off.

For example, Anthony and I watched this show on TLC the other day about obesity in children. It followed a 300+ pound 13 year old who was trying to get approved for liposuction and another group of overweight teens who were attending a special school that offered counseling and diet/food control in addition to regular classes. Every time the 13 year old talked to the camera, her sister, or her mom all I kept seeing were bright, neon, flashing red flags. They were impossible to ignore!! I identified so many different issues that contributed to the girl's binge eating, not the least of which was her dysfunctional relationship with her mom. At one point the family took a vacation to Las Vegas which is known for extravagant buffets and the mom spent the entire time gambling in the casino while the girl and her sister ate tons of junk from the hotel buffet table. As she was eating, she said that she was mad that her mom wasn't there to monitor her eating, even as she put a piece of fried chicken in her mouth. If that isn't a cry for help and attention I don't know what else is!! Anyway, I kept thinking about this family and this girl especially and I wanted soooo badly to get in there, because I know I could help them.

It's like I am all of a sudden tuned to a different frequency and I can pick up things I never did before, like when you get a new car and all of a sudden all you see is people driving your model of car around town. I always thought people were overreacting when they had such a strong reaction to hearing someone was a psychologist, like the psychologist had xray vision and could sense of of their inner-most secrets. Now, I sort of get where they are coming from, because I am starting to notice little, small things about people that say a lot about what they are thinking or feeling. I guess if I can't learn to turn the perception and observation off, I should at least learn to turn my mouth off :)