Thanks to That Version of You
How to Escape Cycles of Panic, Overwhelm and Dread
“Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going inside ourselves.” ~
It’s early morning, and I wake with an intense sensation of foreboding. I say wake up, but really, it’s just coming fully into consciousness, as I’ve been semi-conscious all night. Fitfully tossing and turning, a deep anxiety gnawing at my chest.
My mind has been flipping back and forth—across different subjects, even different times, collecting insurmountable evidence that my life is going …
How My Dog Became an Unexpected Source of Healing
“The place of true healing is a fierce place. It’s a giant place. It’s a place of monstrous beauty and endless dark and glimmering light. And you have to work really, really, really hard to get there, but you can do it.” ~Cheryl Strayed
My memories of my sister are much hazier than they used to be—somehow less crisp and colorful than before. But time has a way of doing that. Images of her that used to show up in bold, bright colors in my mind’s eye have slowly faded to black and white, with various shades of gray and …
What I Learned When My Brain and Body Shut Down
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” ~Anne Lamott
I used to believe that success meant always being available. Always saying yes. Always responding immediately to emails, Slack pings, texts, whatever was thrown my way. Because if I stopped—even for a second—I might fall behind. And if I wasn’t working harder than everyone else, was I even working hard enough?
For years, that mindset worked. Or so I thought. Every win, every promotion, every new milestone felt like adding fuel to the fire. The more I ‘succeeded’ by society’s standards—the title, …
How to Develop True Self-Confidence Amid Life’s Uncertainty
“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” ~Peter T. McIntyre
I used to think of confidence as something external, something that people exuded in their body language, in the way they spoke, or in the certainty of their decisions.
To me, a confident person had a poker face and a strong, grounded posture. I thought confidence was something you cultivated through endless practice—training yourself to speak with assertiveness and decisiveness, to project certainty even when you didn’t feel it inside.
But I’ve come to understand that true self-confidence is something that comes from …
Get Happier Meditation’s FREE Mindful Menopause Guide
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 …
Escaping a Toxic Relationship: My Intuition Was Right All Along
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” ~Brené Brown
What is the exact point when you realize you are in a toxic relationship? For me, it was a process that took almost a year. I thought I was mindful and “awake.” I did have an internal dialogue with myself, but I had a thick layer of deception around me. Today, I call it a fog because I’m on the other side, and I see much more clearly.
Looking back, I see that my inner voice was guiding me, …
From Professional to Personal: The Unexpected Joy of Workplace Friendship
“Chance made us colleagues. Fun and laughter made us friends.” ~Unknown
A year into my new job, I realized that the hardest part wasn’t the complexity of the work—it was the culture. The office felt like a maze of silos, each person isolated in their corner. The hierarchy was more than just a structure—it was something everyone was constantly reminded of. I was used to navigating high-pressure, competitive environments, but this one was different.
As a woman in STEM, I had learned early on to keep my personal life separate from my work life. This boundary helped me maintain control, …
Breaking Free: Healing from cPTSD and Reclaiming My Life
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi
In 2011, my world shattered. My mother passed away, and with her, the fragile scaffolding that held my life together. It wasn’t just grief. It was as if her death unearthed a deep well of pain I had been carrying for years.
Looking back, I can see that I was living with complex PTSD (cPTSD), though I didn’t have the language for it at the time. cPTSD is a condition that often results from prolonged exposure to trauma, leaving deep emotional scars. It manifests as a constant state of …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 