Not a day passes without me looking at my children—at least once—and thinking, “How am I a mom?” Obviously, I know how I’m a mom, but I am often flabbergasted by the enormous task I’ve been given of raising two small humans. From what I’ve heard from other moms, I think it’s pretty common to be told …
Mindfulness
What exactly IS anxiety?
It seems like everyone has anxiety these days. To be fair, there’s a lot going on in our world that is anxiety provoking. But what is anxiety exactly? How do we know when it’s just a feeling or something more, like an anxiety disorder? Does one’s personality make them more prone to experiencing anxiety? First, …
To Feel is Human
Recently, I was at my parents’ house, and they decided to put on old home videos of my sisters and I when we were small children. Most of their videos seem to be of us opening our presents each Christmas. These videos all seem to be pretty much the same, with the exception of us …
In Defense of Emotions…
Stop for a moment and think of the term: emotion. What comes up for you? Here are some things that immediately come to my mind: “Oh, she’s so emotional;” “don’t be so emotional!”; feelings; good and bad emotions; eye rolls; the episode of the Bachelor that I watched last night; crying; screaming; laughing. Looking at my list, I notice messages that …
Our Brains Are Built to Solve Problems
Have you ever stopped to marvel at the amazing, intricate organ in our heads that we call the brain? It’s always fascinated me how one single organ can be capable of so much. From sending messages to and from various other organs in our body, to creating genius works of art, to decoding and interpreting messages through …
Down the Rabbit Hole of Thoughts
Has this ever happened to you? You’re having a seemingly normal day, no major stressors or anxieties weighing you down, and then bam! All of the sudden, a distressing thought intrudes into your peaceful day and soon you notice your head spinning, your heart rate increasing, and you’re experiencing all of the pangs of anxiety …
A Reflection on Holiday Cards
I love a good holiday card. Growing up, my sisters and I would eagerly comb through the mail each day, looking for cards from friends and family both near and far, and take turns opening each card. There were the cards we looked forward to every year: those from our best friends’ families, the card …
Managing Anxiety at Work
The workplace can serve as a perfect escape from anxiety that we experience outside of our jobs. It can provide us with distraction; if we feel competent in our jobs, it can give us a feeling of control over our world; it can provide us a place to channel our passions and talents. But what …
Counterintuitive Ways of Coping with Anxiety
Ahh, anxiety. The little devil on our shoulder that can show up when we least expect it, even when nothing in our lives seems to warrant it. It’s that pesky pest, that vengeful monster, that taunts us and tells us something is wrong and that we should be very, very afraid. It can give us …
Toxic Friendships
When I was in third grade, I had a friend who I’ll call Sally. I haven’t spoken to this person in over 25 years—we’re not even friends on Facebook—but I can remember her face, and more significantly, how our friendship made me feel. I met Sally at school, and we lived close enough to each …