Depression. A miserable experience. When mild, it steals your dreams. When severe, it runs you over with stagnancy, painful thoughts, guilt, and shutdown. It’s also not just a single emotion. Depression comes in dozens of flavors and intensities, if not hundreds, and can vary from day to day, if not throughout the day. One minute […]
An Unusual Way to Love Others
You are the wind and see yourself in the distance. You see a human. The human sits in a red chair at the center of the room, head leaning back, eyes closed, a half smile on their lips…
A family member is badgering you: what do you do?
Problem: your aunt breaths fire at you whenever you see her. She’s belittling, insulting, hurtful, and all other synonyms for “offensive” you can come up with, and her nastiness burns you. What do you do? Is this worth a big fight, an exchange of words, a gentle palaver, or should you just leave it alone? […]
Behavioral Therapy: why you shouldn’t drive by your ex’s house
When was the last time you did something you regret? Like drive by that old boyfriend’s house just “because.” It starts out innocently enough. There’s that old yearning and a little curiosity, and you hope by God you see him. He’ll have gained weight, have an enormous beer belly, and his hair will be filthy […]
First aid for panic attacks
by Kim Rosenthal, MDBlog, “Mental Health and You” Panic is a sudden attack of intense fear that typically lasts 10-15 minutes, although these attacks can last longer. They often leave the sufferer so distressed they change their routine to avoid having another. Episodes of panic are more common than you’d think: one in ten Americans […]
Is happiness a choice? If in doubt, google it.
Jeanne Calment took up fencing at 85, rode a bicycle at 100, starred in a movie at 114, and didn’t quit smoking until 120 years of age…
Tips for coping with divorce
It could be you’re in the middle of a divorce and wake up every morning hurt, disappointed, miserable, or angry. Or you’re past the legal and financial aspects of separation, everything finalized, and think you should be feeling relief by now — but the feelings won’t go away. Here are some ideas to keep you […]
Find yourself in 2 (little) steps
“Stay strong, make them wonder how you’re still smiling.” (Buzzfeed) How to find the self Here’s a two-step framework to help you…uh, find yourself. Each day, choose one of the options from step one and another from step two. To keep things healthy, try to vary your choices from day to day. Practice, enjoy, and […]