I have decided to dedicate a post on Thursday to therapy, and offer you the many tips I have learned on the couch. They will be a good reminder for me, as well, of something small I can concentrate on. Many of them are published in my book, “The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit.”

Everyone needs a blankie.

Okay, not everyone.

Mentally ill recovering addicts like myself need a blankie, a security object to hold when they get scared or turned around. I need reminders—ideally 234 of them—to refresh me on goals, promises, and prayers I pledged or recited in the morning with my coffee. And because tattoos are expensive and well, permanent, I go with jewelry, medals, and beads I can hang on to.

Specifically, a medal of St. Therese that I carry in my purse or in pocket.

My medal gives me consolation. It reminds me that the most important things are sometimes invisible to the eye: like faith, hope, and love. So when I doubt all goodness in the world–and accuse God of a bad creation job—all I have to do is close my eyes and squeeze the medal.