Depression is real. We all know somebody who experiences the fragile happiness and the endless fatigue of depression, but it is difficult to understand from the outside.  Even if we love that person very much. Even if we’ve experienced depression ourselves. Even if we suspect that we know what would make them feel better.  The […]

It’s October, and that means we’re emptying out the liquor cabinet and opening ourselves up to all the things we’ve been avoiding from November to September.  That’s right, it’s Sober October.  And you (my beloved reader) are curious about what your mind and body will feel like when they are unchanged and unchained. Even extremely […]

 When we live our lives behind a mask, we permit nobody else to know our authentic self. We forbid all who might criticize, compliment, like, love, or hate us from ever passing judgment by hiding behind a persona. This is, in moderation, healthy.  But it requires that we eventually take off the mask and act […]

We treat self-care like a banana peel that we can throw off the side of the highway because it will all sort itself out.  We tell ourselves that we will get back to ourselves eventually. When things calm down. When the kids are older. When work slows down. When our partner gets better. When there […]

It’s not enough to work hard.  Hard work will put money in your bank account and heavy wear on the cartilage in your knees, but it will not put food in your belly, warmth in your bed, nor sleep behind your eyes. You are a delicate animal with many needs that are difficult to manage. […]

When the mind experiences something, the body responds. Sometimes without the mind’s input or consent. When a doctor taps our knee with a reflex hammer, our leg kicks involuntarily. We don’t have to decide to move. Our nervous system receives information, processes it, and creates a physical response. Stress works in much the same way. […]

Neuroplasticity: It’s not just a fancy word. It’s how science describes your brain, and its granted ability to change with time, consciousness, and experience.  This is not just a trend, or a buzzword people are using to sound smart. Neuroplasticity is a fact we’ve proven through research, testing, and experience.  It’s not always fun to […]

“We all experience long workdays; it’s almost an inevitability!  How we choose to unwind can be the difference between perpetuating the burnout versus being a bit more relaxed.  I like to encourage people to find activities that are energizing rather than numbing.  Some people lean into self medication with substances, alcohol, binge watching shows, or […]

Writing is one of our most hallowed and human traditions. For as long as we have scribbled glyphs on walls and tablets of stone, we have used it to say something about what it feels like to be human.  Through writing we can record and observe our own thoughts and feelings from a comfortable distance. […]

Maybe you’re still in school. Maybe you just graduated. Maybe you’re just trying to learn absolutely anything before the neurons in your brain start firing wrong. We are all beginners somewhere. But sometimes the experience of being a beginner can be so discouraging, frightening, and unpredictable that we avoid learning for all its joy and […]