One in five people in the US lives with mental illness. That’s over 50 million of us! Chances are, we know someone who struggles with their mental health. Maybe we struggle with ours. No shame there. Our environment, genetics, and personal history may contribute to this experience. Mental issues range from mild to so impairing [...]
Self esteem tends to rise as we approach middle age, and peaks at 60. Higher self-esteem is related to better health outcomes, less criminality, lower occurrences of depression, and increased lifetime success. However, this doesn’t hold true for everyone. Regardless of age, some of us experience low self-esteem, which negatively impacts our lives. While societal [...]
Goals. They’re inspiring, frustrating and sometimes go unfulfilled. Most of us likely have many goals, some of which change over time. They’re extremely useful, as they help give our lives direction. Goals help us prioritize long-term gain over short-term reward, motivate us, and keep us accountable. But sometimes it’s difficult to narrow down our goals [...]
Despite the incredible processing power of our brain, it can produce some pretty whacky, irrational thoughts. Thinking errors (commonly called cognitive distortions) are a prime example. This type of thinking causes us to perceive reality inaccurately and can lead to emotional distress. Below are 10 of the most common thinking errors to be mindful of. [...]
Empathy is critical for our social and emotional well-being. It helps us maintain strong relationships, appropriately react to the plight of others, and build mutually beneficial societies. It allows us to recognize and understand the feelings of others. It can be divided into two categories: affective and cognitive empathy. Affective empathy is our ability to [...]
The term “love languages” has become a bit of a buzzword over the last decade. It was originally coined by marriage counselor Dr. Gary Chapman in his book The 5 Love Languages. Simply put, love languages are individual preferences for how we give and receive love. These preferences apply to all relationships, platonic or otherwise. [...]
Self-awareness is our ability to monitor our internal world and regulate our responses. Our emotions and physical sensations act as indicators of our mood or needs. These signals may be in response to external factors (e.g., other people or scenarios, etc.) or internal influences (e.g., thoughts, hunger, etc.). Self-awareness also allows us to self-reflect, learn [...]
The term “self care” may conjure up images of bubble baths and spa days, cucumber slices on eyes included. Often, we think of self care as a luxury, something to be done as a treat or reward. And, although it is nice to indulge sometimes, practicing self care is more than that. It requires that [...]
If we aren’t used to discussing emotions and needs in relationships, it may feel incredibly uncomfortable. But, when we’re open to discussion, we can cultivate healthier connections with ourselves and others. While date nights and physical affection are fun ways to feel connected, they may not fortify a relationships’ foundation. Below are five simple hacks [...]
Self-acceptance is the ability to embrace all aspects of our being, flaws included. It means coming to terms with parts of ourselves that we find undesirable. This is different from self-esteem, which refers to confidence in our positive attributes and capabilities. Self-acceptance is more unconditional; it happens when we can love ourselves, despite our shortcomings [...]