Always Forward with Joe Sikorra

The first step for moving from depression to happiness is to DECIDE. You may have been down for so long you don't realize that more is possible. It's not true. But you must be willing to think and act differently. The first thing I suggest you do is to limit your time on social media. Consciously or unconsciously, you're constantly making life comparisons. Most people put on their b...

You learn to people please typically as a child. Your parents or caretakers are not available to you so you do more and more to try to be recognized, seen and validated. And so begins the cycle. "If I can make them happy," you say to yourself, "then I will be happy. I will be enough!" But it never is. Because you never internalize that sense of "I'm enough." And...

Low self-esteem becomes intrenched by what you say to YOURSELF! "I'm a loser; I'll never succeed; I'm not good enough!" You learned to be too self-critical, likely by having critical and unsupportive people around you.  Positive mantras in themselves are not enough to change this.  Despite what you believe, God thinks differently. You are made in His image and likeness! Yo...

You don't have to wait until you feel depressed or anxious to act. If you're health care provider said that you can reduce your chances of getting cancer by 25% by just doing this... Wouldn't you do it? Your body may be giving you a clue that something is wrong. You might feel that pit in your stomach, or your appetite might increase or decrease. We all respond differently. Close yo...

Staying in destructive relationships is more common than you'd think. But once those reasons have been illuminated, you may feel empowered to get out if appropriate.  God says to bless your enemies. This could lead to forgiveness which softens your own feelings, leaving you to think more rationally about leaving. You may be holding on to the moments of bliss, although this represents only a m...

You might assume  that material wealth and possessions bring happiness. Science says otherwise - and so does God! Possessions can distract you from what really does bring happiness, like simplicity, and you relationship with God and others. The Apostle James reminds you that " You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing." [James 4, The Message] A gre...

We frequently misunderstand emotions. One of the most common mistakes is to think your current emotional response has to do with what is currently going on. Frequently (but unknowingly) you act out today on what happened to you way in the past. The goal isn't to repress your emotion, but to understand what they are trying to tell you. They might be a clue that there is a past hurt that needs...

God gives you all the tools necessary, including your imagination, to deal with the difficult people in your life. Just like the Apostle Paul, you can reframe your experiences and people who cause you stress into a "gift" or opportunity to grow. Paul writes about it in 2 Corinthians 12. The "gift" is God's grace. Researchers call it “reappraisal inventiveness,” when you co...

In part 2 of Traits of a Healthy Marriage, we explore traits including: shared values, learning and growth, responsibility verses blame, hope, empathy, and forgiveness. We explore these traits from both a psychological and scriptural perspective.

It's not enough to focus on the problems of a relationship if you want a healthy marriage. You need to understand what a healthy marriage would look like.  In part 1 of this 2 part episode, we talk about commitment, assuming and seeing the best, respectful communication, laughter, flexibility, and curiosity.  We focus on these traits from both a psychological and scriptural perspective.

Childhood trauma, including neglect, abuse and abandonment can cause you to feel lonely even in your adult life.  58 percent of U.S. adults consider themselves lonely, even when in a relationship! Young adults are said to be twice as likely as older people to experience loneliness, with 79 percent of people between the ages of 18 – 24 claiming they feel lonely.  Similarly, 42 percent of adults age...

Part 2 of this episode looks at healthy psychological and Scriptural responses to  Relationship Problems including: disagreements about sex, infidelity and abuse, parenting, lack of effort, problems with extended family, and behavioral issues.

This episode looks at healthy responses to: fading enthusiasm,  working too much, lack of "me time", character issues, and clingy partners. You will hear Godly and psychologically healthy responses to these relationship killers.

Part 2 looks at traits including: getting out of self, self-care,  boundaries, envy, and  happiness when life is challenging. 

In Part 1, we look at traits including: gratitude, a hopeful future, anger, simplicity, and persistence. These are some traits of the mentally healthy which you can grow!

These five psychological skills, backed by Scripture, will help you to improve all your relationships. The skills addressed include understanding your anger; controlling behaviors and its connection to anxiety; looking for the problem below the problem; growing from mistakes; and working toward win-win solutions.

This episode looks at how and why some people are defensive, but more importantly, how to deal effectively with them from a psychological and scriptural standpoint.

Insecurity is natural, but can be debilitating. This episode looks at the psychology and faith necessary to move from insecurity to confidence so that you can live a more adventurous life.

A psychological and scriptural understanding how and why "Pause" can lead you from conflict to connection.

A psychological and scriptural understanding of why getting what you want leaves you wanting and what to do about it.

A psychological and scriptural understanding of fear, its value and its toll, and what steps you can take to lesson harmful fear.

A psychological and scriptural understanding of fear, its value and its toll, and what steps you can take to lesson harmful fear.

A psychological and scriptural response to dealing with the "Evil" of sacrifice. How and why sacrifice hurts and helps.

A psychological and scriptural understanding of building resilience.