Self-Compassion: A Healthier Approach to Well-Being

self-compassion, well-being

In our highly-driven culture, the common belief is that success depends on being competitive and pushing yourself to your limits. What if this approach proved to be more harmful than helpful? Recent research shows self-criticism and a competitive attitude create obstacles to achieving goals.

Forgiveness and Your Mental Health

The bottom line is that when people forgive, their thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and health become more positive. Deciding to forgive is a good first step. But, deeper forgiveness will have a greater positive impact on your mental and physical health.

A Closer Look at Your Inner Dialogue

What you think can affect your health to a greater degree than you might realize. So, let’s take a closer look at your inner dialogue. “Negativity can actually change your brain chemistry,” says Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD, author of “Habits of a Happy Brain.” She notes that when people default … Read More

The Stages of Grief

The stages of grief are not meant to be prescriptive, but rather a descriptive tool to help our minds understand what the abstract term “grief” tangibly may look and feel like.

Grief and Joy

grieving well means having resilience for feeling the pain, but also knowing that you are okay, that you will make it through, and, as a result, that you will experience both immense pain and immense joy.

The Art of Comfort

Responding to another person’s grief can be incredibly difficult, not because we don’t care, but because we simply don’t know what to do. We can’t fix the situation, but we can be a presence that conveys care and comfort to those dealing with grief.

Grief That Doesn’t Fit In: Part 1

Disenfranchised grief is the category that covers grief that doesn’t have a socially accepted place to be recognized or expressed.

Basically, it is grief that people feel they have to hide because others won’t understand it, will dismiss it as trivial, or may actually get angry about.

Learning to Grieve Your Loss

By the age of forty, most people have experienced some form of loss at least fifteen times. The journey takes courage. Grief is not an easy path to negotiate and simply taking the next step forward is often fraught with overwhelming feelings. Is recovery from loss possible? Yes – although the definition of recovery may need some explanation.

Goal Setting for the Real World

What if, instead of holding ourselves to insanely high standards and seeing anything short of that as a failure, we started goal-setting in realistic ways?

What if we celebrated our small successes as valid, gave ourselves props for any forward motion, and cut ourselves slack for the moments we’re less than perfect? How might that impact our long term success?

Goals for Relationships

Relationships so often go malnourished due to everyday stressors. Here are some relationship goals for you & your partner to consider.