After months of enduring the ravages of Covid-19, many states are cautiously loosening prior restrictions and stay-at-home orders. Many regard this as essential development, to preserve the economy, and prevent the entire dissolution of businesses, communities, and lives. Others regard it as dangerous and premature. A war of words over these differing...

Well, that was interesting.  Waking around 7:10 this morning, preparing my thoughts to finish up this 6-part series, suddenly felt my house shaking and swaying.  It only lasted for about 10 seconds.  But in this age of Covid-19 and its impact, the reality of an earthquake was particularly sobering.    Within a few minutes...

The challenges of our lives, though hard to endure, often contain hidden gifts that can benefit us for years afterward - and this current crisis is no exception.  We can seek and find things to be grateful for, even in our most difficult circumstances.  That attitude of gratitude can help transform tragedy into triumph, despair into hope,...

In the face of Covid-19 and its consequences, one of two things will happen to each of us.  Either we'll get more isolated, depressed, anxious, and unproductive.  Or - we'll use this time wisely to get stronger, happier, healthier, more creative, and more connected with ourselves and others. We can fight back against this crisis - not...

When life gets hard - when we feel like we're in over our heads, facing a problem beyond our individual capacity to solve - often those are the circumstances that can most powerfully awaken our innermost selves, our inborn spiritual awareness.   The storms and adversities of life can prove to be some of our mightiest teachers - allowing us to...

 With so many recent Covid-19 related closures of large community centers - schools, workplaces, churches, theatres, etc.- many of us are finding a need to fill our time in new ways. And as "social distancing" is one of the top recommendations for minimizing the spread of the virus, how can we get through this period without feeling lonely and...

Today, as I write this, is Friday the 13th.  Over the past 24-48 hours,  life has radically changed - for many if not most of us, in response to the Corona virus.   Some of these changes are inconvenient, disruptive - even life-altering.  But we can make powerful choices, to turn these challenging circumstances for our good.   Already,...

The holidays are over; the skies are dark and grey;  the days are short, and the nights are long.   The cloudy skies impede sunlight, and the leafless trees look naked and depressing.  Yup - it's that time of year again!   But the grey and the cold don't have to get you down.  These are manageable conditions - if...

It happens every year.  The days get shorter, the nights get longer, and the air gets colder.  The leaves have fallen from the trees, and the remaining branches look stark and lifeless against a chilly grey sky.  You brace yourself for yet another icy winter, pulling out the sweaters, mittens, and long underwear.   And some years,...

Depression in the twenty-first century has become an affliction of unprecedented magnitude.  In recent decades, it has become the number one cause of disability, a top contributor to out-of-control medical costs, and even a top cause of death in young and old.   But it wasn't always so.  In fact, in all of recorded human history,...

Depression doesn't have to last forever.   It truly is possible to recover and move on from this otherwise devastating condition.  But it is vitally important, as you choose a recovery strategy, that you choose a course that leads to deep-down, permanent healing  - not just day-by-day management of symptoms. Though so many in...

We learn from many sources in our lives - from parents, from teachers, from textbooks, from hard knocks, from those around us.   But I never expected to learn some of my most valuable lessons from the least likely of teachers - from my own baby grandchildren.  These little ones don't need a prescription or years of therapy to be happy....

Love in its earliest stages can be exhilarating.  It inspires much of our sweetest music, our most cherished fables, our most heartfelt hopes and dreams.   But if we don't understand the normal progression of love throughout the lifespan of a relationship, we can end up disillusioned, joyless, and resentful. The normal stages of love are...

Our electronic devices.  We love 'em, and we hate 'em.  We spend a small fortune getting them.  If we're not careful, we can spend the rest of our lives getting lost in them.  In the press of our busy 21st century lives, our devices are ever-present.  We use them to calculate math problems.  We use them to look up definitions....

Every stage of a child's life holds unique joys, challenges, and opportunities for growth - both for the child, and for the parent.   Parenting is a rich, lifelong adventure of discovery and learning. Our children are among our most valuable assets, and our most powerful teachers.  From the cradle to the grave, our children can try our...

Your Happiness Toolkit: 16 Strategies for Overcoming Depression, and Building a Joyful, Fulfilling Life is a comprehensive guidebook for depression recovery and prevention. Drawn from Carrie’s 30+ years as a counselor, it shares practical, drug-free techniques you can use – starting today-– to help yourself or someone you love. This book was released...

Welcome!  I'm excited to have you here at carriewrigley.com ! This site is a quick way to get acquainted with me and the various things I do, as a counselor, author, actress, musician, and speaker.   You can think of this website as a "cyber-quilt," stitched together from the vast treasurehouse of resources...

Hi, I'm Carrie Wrigley. Welcome to my website - I'm so glad you're here! Over the years, I've written hundreds of songs - many of them to get myself or someone I love through a hard stretch. I believe that music has great power to heal, comfort, and give needed strength. That's what these songs have done for me - and it's what I hope they will do...