OK, so maybe I made up that 89% statistic, but I think it illustrates an important point: You are great just BEING YOU. Too often, believing anything less comes from comparing yourself to others, whether it’s about money, possessions, looks, or anything else.
So if you’re guilty of constantly comparing yourself to others – it’s time to stop!
Summer may not officially end until September 21st, but fall is definitely in the air in many parts of the country, including where I live in the Northeast. Fall brings with it many pleasures, from apple cider, to crunchy leaves, to kids and pets in costume. Clearly this is a well-loved season. Still, with the lazy days of summer behind us, school back in session, and the holidays just around the corner, the fall can feel a bit stressful as well. [Read more…]
Do you ever feel like you’re outside your body, looking at yourself – as though your actions aren’t really yours? Do you ever have the sensation that you are living in a dream, and nothing around you feels real? If the answer is yes, does it make you feel a little bit crazy sometimes? [Read more…]
The start of the school year is an overwhelming time for parents and children alike – and it can be especially hard on those who are struggling with stress and anxiety. As a parent, you’re dealing with a hectic schedule and new morning and evening routines. There are times when it seems next to impossible to juggle work, caring for younger children, and getting the kids to and from school and extracurriculars, while still managing household chores and other personal matters.
Lately, I’ve been mourning what I view as a serious loss.
It wasn’t the loss of a person or a pet or property. Rather, I’ve been mourning all the time in my life that I lost to anxiety – all those years I can never get back. What if? I find myself thinking. What if I’d reached out for help earlier? Where would I be now? Would my life be better?
At some point, nearly everyone will encounter someone “toxic,” or find themselves involved in a toxic relationship with a friend, family member, coworker, or romantic partner. These toxic entanglements attack your state of mind and well-being in the same way that actual toxins attack your body. Toxic relationships can destroy your self-worth and confidence, drain you emotionally, and leave you questioning all the things you once liked about yourself. For those who already struggle with anxiety, depression, or other mental illness, toxic people can be especially detrimental. They can also bring a previously healthy person down to the point where he or she develops anxiety and depression issues that weren’t there before.
I’ve always had a high level of health-related anxiety – Is that ache in my side something serious? Do I need that new medicine I saw on TV? Are there harmful chemicals in my shower gel? Yet paradoxically, I also tend to neglect legitimate health matters. I put off annual exams, ignore issues until I can’t any longer, and make choices that I know aren’t good for me. When it comes down to it, it often just feels too intimidating or even terrifying to address these things. (If something is really wrong, maybe it’s better not to know, I rationalize).
The relationship an average woman in a Western country has with her body goes something like this: weight and appearance concerns arise somewhere between potty training and kindergarten, and by ages 8-10, she’s already tried at least one diet. By her pre-teen years, she is deeply dissatisfied with how she looks, and she’s convinced she’s too fat. When she hits puberty, her concerns become more focused, and she hates her hips, her thighs, her stomach. By the time she turns 18, she’s in good company, because 80% of her friends feel this way too. As a young adult, she feels overwhelming pressure look a certain way and restrict her diet, and throughout adulthood, she continues to long for “perfection” that she hopes is just a fad diet or new beauty product away.
If you have trouble sleeping at night, join the club! The results of countless studies and polls indicate that the majority of Americans struggle with sleep problems, in the form of sleep disorders, snoring, disrupted or insufficient sleep, sleep apnea, daytime fatigue… you get the picture.
The statistics are bleak: Tens of thousands of car accidents every year are caused by drivers falling asleep behind the wheel, and sleep-related productivity loss costs U.S. employers an estimated $18 billion annually. The CDC has labeled insufficient sleep “a public heath epidemic.”
Recently, despite my better judgment and everything I know about the health and wellness, I stayed up all night working to meet a deadline. The following day was a blur. Every little thing was more difficult than usual. I was irritable with my loved ones and had trouble making decisions — even simple ones, like what to eat.
It got me thinking back to my college years, when all-night studying, paper writing, and socializing were not uncommon. Sure, the next day was a little rough, but I could handle it well enough to pull all-nighters fairly regularly. So why has my reaction to sleepless nights changed so drastically as I’ve gotten older?
Turns out, a couple new studies indicate that inadequate or low-quality sleep becomes increasingly detrimental to cognitive functioning as we get older – contributing to the likelihood of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.