Being there for your kids - Same Ol' Same Ol'?

Episode Date: July 24, 2026

Does it feel like you are always walking through deep mud? Slogging along but not getting very far. Going in the same direction but not getting very far? Does it feel helpless? hopeless? Ya know, insanity is not just being bat bonkers. Insanity is also defined as doing the same thing over and over again, only to get the same results. Getting nowhere fast, huh? In my new book, The Healing Journey: Overcoming Adversity on the Path to the Good Life, I share with you many examples of people who are stuck,but finding new ways to get unstuck and to then soar. Do something new and get different results. Buy your copy of my book at amazonbooks.com. Follow this link: https://a.co/d/0dxH5xOL. Blessings, Dr. Jon

I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. Let me ask, are you in a rut? Does your being stuck feel like the same old, same old? Maybe it's time to do something about it. Are you ready for a change? I don't know, Doc. Brandon started even before getting settled in my office. Just one bad day after another.

I just can't seem to do anything right. My boss is yelling at me. My wife has me sleeping on the couch. Even our dog walks away when I call him to me. Wow, I took a deep breath. and then blew it out. I'm exhausted just hearing you. I'm so sorry. It's been this rough, you know? Maybe you're just going insane. Brandon's jaw dropped. Then he sighed, smirked at my subtle joke, and added, I've been thinking the same thing, Doc. That's where you come in.

Okay, then, I offered. Let's go to work. Brandon settled into his couch. So, as your therapist, I've got two examples of insanity. Want to hear them? Go for it, but I don't know how this is going to help me feel better. Don't worry. What you're telling me only fits one of the examples. I lean forward, capturing his attention. The first example of insanity is neurochemical. Your brain chemistry is out of whack. You are hearing things and seeing things that others don't hear and see. You take everything personally and expect that people are out to get you. Does that apply to you now? Well, my boss told me that if I don't get my act together, he's going to fire me. I shifted in my seat. Well, Brandon, that sounds like his way of encouraging you to do better at work. That's not delusional. So, no, the neurochemical example of insanity does not apply to you.

Okay, I took another breath. Brandon mirrored my behavior. The second example of insanity is functional and behavioral. What does that mean? In this case, insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's your rut, your stuckness. If you tackle the same problem the same way every time,

you're going to get the same results. Brandon sighed deeply before finishing my sentence. Using the therapy tools of intelligent psychotherapy, that is, MPT, I helped Brandon find his center and stay present in the moment. Having cleared his mind of the same-all-same-all, I helped him focus on what's right in his life that he can build on. I then gave him a cognitive behavioral prescription, starting slowly and finding things over which he has control to establish a to-do list of five tasks for each tomorrow until I saw him at his next therapy appointment. I asked him to take routine tasks, but to do them differently, do them better. In this way, he was able to challenge his

version of insanity. Follow more of Brandon's healing journey in my new book, The Healing Journey, Overcoming Adversity on the Path to the Good Life. You can buy your copy at amazonbooks.com. If my comments stir questions of your own, contact me through my website at www.org.com.com.com.com or email me at John Robinson 0.0.0.BelSouth.net. I'm Dr. Jonathan C. Robinson, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Teachable Moments Building Blocks of Christian Parenting, and my new book, The Healing, The Healing, Overcoming Adversity on the Path to the Good Life. Blessings, Dr. John. Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting, is available online at Amazonbooks.com and in local and National Bookstores. More on Dr. Robinson at TMC-P-I-N-C.com.