How to Shrink a Shrink

Enjoy this guest blog that originally appeared in Dec 2020!

The Fullest is a contemporary culture publication that aspires to help readers lead their most authentic life. 

Local independent bookstore owner interviews Dr. Good about the process of writing Own Your Present. Running time 38 minutes.

The sound is a little glitchy at first but it gets better promise! Check out our chat about embracing imperfections with mindfulness on IGTV. 

I so enjoyed getting to chat with Prezence app CEO Colleen Hayes on IGTV. I guess I did OK as I was invited to guest blog and record some content with them!

Enjoy this post and their beautiful logo on a fall pic--it's starting to feel a bit chilly in the morning...

https://www.helloprezence.com/post/5-ways-to-protect-your-energy-with-goodenoughdoc-dr-candace-good

Message inside each book:

August 25, 2020

Dear Neighbor,

Launching a book into the world is like being a kid again and letting go of a balloon with a note tied to the end. You imagine the places it could go and hope it doesn’t get stuck in a tree!

Just like it is not environmentally conscious to release balloons into the air, it doesn’t seem socially responsible to gather friends and family for a book signing during COVID-19 restrictions.

I decided to take the money I would have spent on wine to pay it forward. I placed my books in Little Free Libraries around town with a gift certificate to support a local business.

The bow on the gift on the cover is a lotus flower, a reminder that something beautiful can grow from muddy water. Isn’t that what we all want on the other side of this pandemic?

I trust this book found you at this time for a reason and encourage you to pass it along to someone important in your life.

I’d love to hear from you or a...

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with one of my favorite people, Justine Andronici from Path to Calm. 

We talk about why NOW is such an important time to practice mindfulness. 

This is me in the moment with Justine's dog, Karma. He's not as good at social distancing as Justine! Peahen Penelope didn't make her appearance until after I left. 

Own Your Present: A Psychiatrist's Guide to Mindful Meditation and Living a More Conscious Lifestyle will be available through major online booksellers on August 25th!

I started writing my first book in March of 2019, only a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it seems like another lifetime. I’m sure I didn’t conjure coronavirus, but on many days I’ve felt like writing a mindfulness book gave the universe permission to test my coping skills, “OK, you call yourself a mindfulness expert? Let's see how you deal with this!”

Publishing is one place you are encouraged to judge a book by its cover--a cover meant to have my picture on it. I needed an updated headshot and made an appointment for a few months ahead of my deadline. March 2020 brought worldwide chaos and uncertainty due to coronavirus; it didn’t seem right to meet with the photographer, so I rescheduled for April.

Good, more time to make myself beautiful, though working from home through the spring was more about Oreos and yoga pants than self-improvement. No worries, I’ll get my hairstylist to touch up my roots right before my photoshoot, but the...

Dr. Good explains different forms of meditation in this 8 minute mini-webinar. You may like the taste of one better than another, but they are all good!

All our lives we are taught to judge. Are we doing our best? Is she a good person? Which pie deserves the blue ribbon?

Mindfulness teaches us that the key to greater contentment is to practice noticing or nonjudgment.

Nonjudgment took me awhile to understand, mainly as certain therapy techniques, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) rely on labelling a negative thought as a cognitive distortion. I struggled with CBT as I continued to have so many thoughts and the whole process took a lot of energy.

Now I think of negative thoughts as bugs, brain glitches that happen when my mind is stressed. I don't believe the thoughts and I don't let them take over my day. I've learned to coexist with them, just like we do with real bugs. 

This video explains how I practice nonjudgment. I've learned to avoid labeling thoughts as good or bad, but choose to treat the thought differently.

My dog Abbott had surgery to remove a mass on his toe last week. Because of COVID-19 precautions, we couldn’t go into the vet with him. We waited in the car until a staff member could attend to him; when his time came, my boy would not get out of the car.

Abbott was shaking and shedding a blanket of white hair on the cinnamon interior of my car. The petite tech ended up carrying him in, all 55 pounds of hound dog, while other owners watching from their cars commented fondly about our “big baby”.

When we picked him up, there was a folder with his go home instructions. Under the hefty invoice was a certificate of bravery recognizing his great courage during his hospital stay. The paper had a raised border with blue and silver foil, as official as any diploma ready for framing.

I chuckled as I recalled the image of him being carried into the vet. They surely give a certificate to every dog, like a participation trophy? But Abbott was brave—he allowed himself to...