The People Who Love You Care About How You Feel
A Natural Approach to Mental Health: How to Reduce Anxiety Through Gardening
“When the world feels like an emotional roller coaster, steady yourself with simple rituals. Do the dishes. Fold the laundry. Water the plants. Simplicity attracts wisdom.” ~Unknown
I’ve suffered from anxiety since my childhood, but it was only seven years ago that I was formally diagnosed.
My symptoms began to get worse after my long-term relationship ended and I felt like my world had collapsed around me.
I was suffering from extreme fatigue, having trouble concentrating, not sleeping well, and I was constantly worrying.
Over the next couple of years my mental health continued to deteriorate, and I had trouble …
No One Starts Off at Their Best – Why We Need to Keep Going Anyway
“Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.” ~Pablo Picasso
This article is about the day I realized Picasso wasn’t born Picasso.
If you’re already opening Google to find what his name was at birth, I’ll save you the typing and tell you here…
He was born Pablo Ruiz Picasso. (His baptized name is wayyyy longer, but you get the point.)
Okay, so he was always a Picasso.
But he wasn’t always the Picasso.
Let me explain by rewinding a few years back…
I was in Spain for one of …
The Benefits of Solitude and How to Get the Most from Your Alone Time
“Understand that healing and growing can distance you from people who you once had a bond with, and it can also bring you closer to those who will heal and grow with you. The time in between can be difficult, but there is so much to learn in solitude.” ~ @themoontarot
There have been many occasions in my life where I’ve felt lonely. Some of these times I remember as incredibly painful; other times, I’ve relished in my solitude.
During some periods, I’ve even forced myself into seclusion, which comes easily to me as an introvert.
One thing all of …
How to Better Manage Stress So Little Things Don’t Set You Off
“It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it.” ~Hans Selye
I was driving home from work, minding my own business, when a car cut in front of me.
Pretty common in Sydney traffic, right? Normally, I would just brush it off.
But not today. For some reason I couldn’t explain, that simple event set me off. I got so irritated that I pressed both my hands on the horn and started shouting at the other driver—who just gave me the finger and continued on his merry way.
That’s when I lost it. How dare he do something …
Choose Joy and You’ll See the World with a Brighter Perspective
“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” ~Joseph Campbell
It’s been just under five years now since I had a head injury that changed my life forever.
Unfortunately, I spent more than two years going to multiple kinds of therapy and doctors several days a week and ultimately had to stop working. I was devastated.
I loved my career as a special educator and school administrator. I’d been in classrooms since I was twenty years old, and here I was at fifty-seven, suddenly unable to return to a school in any capacity …
10 Easy Responses to Use When People Ask Why You Aren’t Drinking
Embracing the holiday season can sometimes mean embracing alcohol with gusto… or not. Fortunately for those who choose the former, “Dry January” has caught on over the years and it’s a fantastic concept. Going through a refresh is a perfect way to rid the toxins and melt the bloat away.
I’d like to throw out a radical idea, or should I say a radical self-care opportunity!
How would your holidays feel without alcohol?
You might gasp looking for a chair to sit down as you frantically wonder how on earth you would get through the parties, relatives, house guests, and …
BetterHelp: The World’s Largest Online Therapy Platform
**Though this is a sponsored post, you can trust I only recommend products and services I personally love!
If you’re like most people, you’re probably starting to consider the goals and dreams you’d like to pursue in the New Year.
Maybe you’re visualizing the person you want to be, reflecting on what you hope to accomplish, and strategizing about everything you need to do (and stop doing) to finally feel happy with your life.
Most of us spend our lives chasing happiness, checking accomplishments and milestones off a life to-do list, as if each pen stroke brings us one step …
How to Overcome Ultra-Independence and Receive Love and Support
“Ultra independence is a coping mechanism we develop when we’ve learned it’s not safe to trust love or when we are terrified to lose ourselves in another. We aren’t meant to go it alone. We are wounded in relationship and we heal in relationship.” ~Rising Woman
Do you feel like you have to do everything on your own?
Is it difficult for you to ask for and receive help in fear of being let down?
Have you ever heard the expression “Ultra-independence may be a trauma response”?
If this is you, I get it; that was me too.
Please know …
How Life’s Daily Challenges Can Actually Be Gifts in Disguise
“Smile at your patterns.” ~Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Partway through Eckhart Tolle’s Conscious Manifestation course, I furiously jotted down his teachings about challenges and obstacles to remind myself that they’re not only a normal part of the human experience but necessary for spiritual growth. “Yes!!!!” I wrote in agreement.
When faced with difficulty, the human tendency is to react and resist, and when we do this, we add suffering to an already difficult situation. This tendency is reflexive within me, and my mindfulness practice has enabled me to either observe the cascading habit pattern as it unfolds, which disentangles me from its
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