Page 4 – Tiny Buddha

The Hidden Link Between Self-Rejection and Social Anxiety

“True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world. Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” ~Brené Brown

Last year over lunch, my friend, Jess, confessed something to me that hit me right in my gut because I’d been there too—that exact same lie, that exact same fear.

Out of nowhere, she blurted out, “I need to cancel.”

“Cancel what?” I asked.

She burst into tears. “I RSVPed yes to Jen’s wedding months ago, but it’s this weekend, and I just… I can’t do it.”

As she sobbed, she …

The Small, Simple Acts That Shifted Me Out of Survival Mode

By Cristie Robbins in Blog

“True healing is not a straight line. It is a spiral. You come back to things you thought you understood and see deeper truths.” ~Barry H. Gillespie

I used to believe healing would be obvious. Like a movie montage of breakthroughs… laughter through tears, epiphanies in therapy, and early morning jogs that end with a sunrise and a changed life. But that’s not what healing looked like for me.

It looked like dragging myself out of bed with puffy eyes after staying up too late crying. It looked like brushing my teeth when everything in me whispered, “Why bother?” It …

You Are Not a Machine

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Teach Your Kids…

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

What Heals Our Nervous Systems

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Planning Without Panic and Learning to Live in the Now

By Tony Collins in Blog

“You can plan for a hundred years. But you don’t know what will happen the next moment.” ~Tibetan proverb

Some days it feels like a fog I can’t shake—this underlying fear that something painful or uncertain is just around the corner.

I try to be responsible. I try to prepare, make good choices, take care of things now so the future won’t unravel later. But beneath that effort is something harder to face: I feel helpless. I can’t control what’s coming, and that terrifies me.

Maybe you’ve felt this too—that tension between doing your best and still fearing it’s not …

If You See Someone Falling Behind

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

From Burnout to Bliss: The Beauty of Therapeutic Art

By Christine Peine in Blog

“It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.” ~Brené Brown

“You have burnout.” I listened to these three words in a trance, said thank you, and got off the call with the doctor.

Part of me had known.

The endless days I spent in bed staring at the ceiling with no motivation to do anything. The inability to focus on my screen. And the sudden bursts of tears when I saw yet another meeting pop up in my calendar.

I knew all of this wasn’t normal. That …

How I Broke Free from a Narcissistic Family System

By Shelby Ruth Ellis in Blog

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”~ Carl Jung

My mom had always been invested in real estate. I remember snacking on open house charcuterie years before we finally purchased a house to flip—the first of four. By the time I was eighteen, we’d moved five times.

I knew our family was falling apart by renovation number three.

I had spent the previous few years experiencing suicidal ideation and was now on a strict cocktail of seven or so psychiatric and neurological medications.

My brother …

Your Surroundings Are So Important

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

You Are Incredibly Strong

By Lori Deschene in Uncategorized

How to Enjoy Food and Feel Good in Your Skin

By Lori Deschene in Blog

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 …

In Case No One Told You Today

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

I Lost My Father—and the Illusion of My Mother

By Anissa Bell in Blog

“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.” ~Eckhart Tolle

In July 2023, my father died in a tragic accident. We were devastated—my sisters, my mother, and I. Or so I thought.

What followed in the months after his death forced me to confront the truth of my mother’s emotional disconnection, a truth I had sensed but never fully allowed myself to see. In losing my father, I also lost the illusion of the mother I thought I had.

A Sudden Exit

By September, just two months after my father’s death, my …

I Hope We All Make It

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Gentleness Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Strong

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Left-Side Pain: A Powerful Messenger for My Abandoned Parts

By Jessi Brooks in Blog

“The body always leads us home… if we’re willing to listen.”

For over a decade, I lived in a body that tried to tell me something I wasn’t ready to hear. But eventually, it got louder—loud enough that I could no longer ignore the message.

It started with migraines—always on the left side.

Then came a string of sinus infections and dental issues—again, always on the left.

Lumps formed in my left breast. Then pain in my left ribs. Then a left-sided numbness that made doctors run MRIs for multiple sclerosis. Every test came back normal. And yet my body …