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Posts by Lori Deschene

Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others to do the same. You can find her books, including Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal, here and learn more about her eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story, if you’re ready to transform your life and become the person you want to be.

Lori Deschene's Website

Need a Break from Everything?

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I think it’s probably fair to say that most of us are feeling overwhelmed right now. We’re all dealing with a lot. Work stress. Family responsibilities. Relationship struggles. Health challenges. The pressure to keep going even when we’re absolutely exhausted.

Lately my own life has been ridiculously full. Between running the site, homeschooling my older son, and navigating some stressful family situations, I’ve often felt like I’m in survival mode. I’m sure a lot of you know what that’s like.

And it’s not just busyness that makes it all feel so draining. It’s also the constant noise. Even if you’re

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30 Reminders for Sensitive People Who Feel Drained, Ashamed, or Judged

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“Highly sensitive people are too often perceived as weaklings or damaged goods. To feel intensely is not a symptom of weakness, it is the trademark of the truly alive and compassionate.” ~Anthon St. Maarten

There are some words that get painfully etched into our memories as if with a red-hot poker. For me, growing up, those words were “you’re too sensitive.”

I often caught this phrase in the fumbling hands of my shame after someone chucked it at me with callousness and superiority as a means to justify their cruelty.

They may have said something vicious or condescending in private …

The People Who Change Our Lives

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The Power of Writing for Healing: An Embodied Approach

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FREE Live 90-minute Write to Heal class and 20-page guide with prompts, recordings and more to support your healing journey. 

When I was studying writing in college, my personal essay class was my favorite. I’d already been journaling for almost a decade, so I understood the power of exploring life experiences through the written word.

Journaling wasn’t immediately helpful for me. In my younger years, I often wrote to ruminate, beat myself up, count calories, or otherwise reinforce patterns that didn’t support me. But as I worked through childhood trauma in therapy and through other approaches, my writing gradually became …

Tiny Buddha's 2026 Day-to-Day Calendar

A Tiny Bit of Tiny Buddha, with You Every Day

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I might be just a little biased, but I find this site very soothing. It’s my literal home on the web—built humbly in 2009 with more enthusiasm than expertise and the shoddy wiring (read: early missteps) to prove it.

But it’s not just the grounding tree on top, the calming Buddha logo, or the bright illustrations that fill me with peace. It’s this community. The honest stories. The aha moments. The shared humanity that brings with it a sense that it’s okay—and maybe even beautiful—to be imperfect.

If you too find comfort in this little oasis and appreciate the daily

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What If 2026 Could Actually Be Different?

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I’ve never believed that change should be reserved for special days, but the New Year tends to carry a sense of promise. It often brings a surge of clarity, motivation, and hope that maybe things really could be different.

And then, as January moves along, that initial energy fades.

Responsibilities pile up. Our bandwidth shrinks. And before we know it, we’re pulled back into the familiar current of obligations, far from the shore we were hoping to reach.

It’s not that we lack willpower or discipline. Most of us are already trying hard. What we often need instead is the …

The 2026 Tiny Buddha Calendar Is Ready for Holiday Gifting!

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Hi friend! As we head into the holiday season, I know many of us are starting to think about gifts for the people we love (and maybe a few things for ourselves as well). With that in mind, I wanted to remind you that the 2026 Tiny Buddha Day-to-Day Calendar is now available.

It’s one of my favorite projects every year because I include the kind of daily reminders that I personally find validating, comforting, and encouraging—some from me, some from site contributors, and some from authors I enjoy. And as the number-one bestselling calendar in Mind-Body-Spirit for the past

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Sound as Medicine: A Healing Journey

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If you’ve felt overwhelmed lately—by responsibilities, by the pace of life, by the noise in the world—you’re not alone. Many of us are moving through our days on autopilot, carrying stress in our bodies that we barely notice until we finally slow down.

When that goes on long enough, the body tightens. The breath shortens. The nervous system stays braced for impact, even when nothing is immediately wrong.

This is why practices that help us reinhabit the body and soothe the nervous system can feel so powerful. They remind us we don’t have to live in a state of tension. …

When Your Body Is Carrying More Pain Than You Realize

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If you live with chronic pain, you already know how exhausting it can be. Not just the physical sensations but the constant trying—trying to push through, trying to find answers, trying to explain something that feels invisible to others. The search for relief can become its own full-time job, and it’s easy to feel discouraged or alone.

Over the years of running this site, I’ve heard from many people who’ve felt trapped in their bodies, like life was happening around them, not with them. I’ve also connected with many people who learned to bury their feelings (a struggle I know …

How to Be Well in Unwell Times

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If you wake up anxious these days, you’re not alone. Between the news cycle, global uncertainty, and the chaos of daily life, it can feel like the world is spinning faster than we can catch our breath.

I’ve been feeling more anxious than usual myself lately—partly because of everything happening in my own life, and partly because so much in the world feels beyond our control. And yet, even in times like these, it’s still possible to find a sense of calm—to create a small pocket of peace within yourself that isn’t so easily shaken by what’s happening outside.

That’s

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3 Tools for Burnout Relief (That I’m Using Right Now)

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**This post contains a giveaway. Scroll to the bottom to learn more!

Burnout has been on my mind a lot lately, and that’s saying a lot since my burnout brain has trouble focusing these days.

Between working from home while raising two young kids and traveling back and forth across the country to spend time with a sick loved one, I’ve felt stretched in more directions than I thought possible. I know many of you can relate to the constant push to keep going even when your body and mind are begging for rest.

That’s why I’m excited to share …

The 2026 Tiny Buddha Day-to-Day Calendar is Now Available!

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Hi friends! I’m excited to share that the 2026 Tiny Buddha Day-to-Day Calendar is now available for purchase! And equally thrilling, I just found out my calendar was the number one bestseller in the Mind-Body-Spirit category for the last two years.

Uplifting and comforting, this calendar offers daily reflections from me, Tiny Buddha contributors, and other authors whose quotes have inspired and encouraged me.

Featuring colorful, patterned tear-off pages, the calendar is printed on FSC certified paper with soy-based ink. Topics include happiness, love, relationships, change, meaning, mindfulness, self-care, letting go, and more.

Here’s what Amazon reviewers had to say

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Pay What You Can for 21 Days of Laughs and Light

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My electric toothbrush has seen it all.

I usually look in the mirror when I’m brushing my teeth, and for a while last fall, I often cried when I stared into my own eyes.

I did my best to hold it together in front of my sons—most of the time, anyway. But the mask often cracked when I met my own gaze. Deep sobs set to the gentle hum of my sonic. Life was just that overwhelming—with medical issues, a loved one’s shock diagnosis, and countless other challenges too numerous to list.

Then one day, after months of carrying more …

You Are Incredibly Strong

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How to Enjoy Food and Feel Good in Your Skin

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Have you ever felt like fat and food were your enemies? Like everything would be better if you could just lose weight—and eat whatever you want without consequence?

I felt that way for much of my childhood and teens, when unresolved trauma and low self-esteem led to a long battle with food and my body.

I struggled with bulimia for over a decade, starting at twelve. And though I technically “recovered” in my early twenties, I spent years after trapped in rigid food rules and a lingering fear of eating the “wrong” thing.

It wasn’t until my thirties that I …

A Soulful Retreat for Sensitive Hearts in a Chaotic World

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If you’re a highly sensitive person like me, I don’t need to tell you how overwhelming the world can feel right now—how much we hold, how hard it can be to rest, and how rare it is to feel seen, safe, and supported.

That’s why I’m honored to share something that I think could be deeply nourishing for your nervous system, your spirit, and your sense of hope in this complicated political landscape:

The California Redwoods Retreat for Sensitive Women & Gender-Expansive People
Guerneville, CA | July 13–18, 2025

Led by Melissa Renzi—a longtime friend of Tiny Buddha and this

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A Gift from Guided Meditation: 1 Year of Peace, Totally Free

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If your mind’s been racing or your body’s been tense, I get it.

Life doesn’t always slow down when we need it to, and sometimes, even five quiet minutes can feel like a luxury.

That’s why I’m excited to pass along this gift from a meditation app that’s helped millions in Europe and is now making its U.S. debut.

To celebrate the launch of the Guided Meditation app, our friends in the Netherlands—where they’re the #1 meditation app—are offering the Tiny Buddha community something special: one year of free, unlimited access to their full library of meditations, music, sleep …

Feeling Stuck, Anxious, or Lost? Choose Your Free Guide

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If you’ve felt stuck lately, you’re not alone.

Since I launched the (very delayed) ​Best You, Best Life bundle​ on Monday, I’ve heard from so many people who are going through a lot right now—emotionally, mentally, and energetically.

Maybe you’re stuck in survival mode—going through the motions, numb and disconnected, longing for joy and meaning.

Maybe you’re overwhelmed by anxiety, dread, or the constant feeling that something’s wrong—even if you don’t know what it is.

Or maybe you’re a deeply feeling person who’s taken on everyone else’s pain, and now you’re not sure where you went.

Lately, I’ve …

A Free 3-Day Vacation to Calm Your Nervous System

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Tell me, is your jaw clenched as you’re reading this? Are your shoulders hunched? Do you feel tension throughout your body that mirrors the constant buzz of stress within your mind?

I suspect we all feel like this far more often than we may even realize because, for many of us, it’s the norm. We push ourselves through one busy day after another, stuffing our feelings down in a constant state of agitation, without ever recognizing that our nervous systems are stuck in survival mode—and that we have the power to break free.

If any of this sounds familiar to …

Get Happier Meditation’s FREE Mindful Menopause Guide

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Honestly, it’s hard to believe I’m at the age for perimenopause. I feel young in many ways, despite the exhaustion of parenting two young kids. And I’ve always felt somewhat eternal, doing whatever I want to do at any age, without regard for what other people think or believe.

But here I am—forty-five, dealing with all kinds of hormone-related symptoms, including brain fog, mood swings, and most recently, anemia from heavy bleeding.

I haven’t yet experienced most of the physical issues that plague many women at midlife, like hot flashes (fun!), sleep disturbances, and weight gain. But I’m deep enough …