Tag: self care
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How to maintain your mental health progress while being around family during the holidays
1st and foremost, not every family is horrible. Not everyone experiences trauma around their family of origin. However, there are a lot of folks that spend years working on cultivating a healthy sense of self which sometimes feels diminished around family. These feelings can be heightened around the holidays for a variety of reasons. Many…
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Winter is coming: how to manage seasonal depression & low mood
It’s that time of year again. The clocks are going back, it’s darker earlier, we debate when to start turning the heat on. The winter blues may set it, or more significantly; Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of depression that typically sets in late fall and lasts throughout winter. Many people call…
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Daily mood & energy drainers
It’s so easy to list all of the things that help our mood…eat well, sleep 8 hours, and exercise. This may be a little “reverse psychology” but it might be easier to point out all of the not-so-great activities we do that drain us. And if we’re up for the change, here are 4 topics…
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An exposed attempt at Eat Pray Love
I recently chatted with an expat living abroad. She was writing an article sharing her mental health challenges, her attempt to recover and find some peace. Her solution was to jet off to Italy, eat gelato and pizza, and let her depression and anxiety sail away into the Mediterranean sea. A scene we have all…
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Hustle vs align and how to stop and smell the roses
I was at a summer picnic a few years ago where we all were trying to make our way to the beach. Between house #1 and the beach included a few pit stops. We ventured to house #2 and I noticed that one of our friends had yet to leave #1. I stuck my head…
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Back on the mat
After a bit of a hiatus, I finally found myself back at yoga class. Besides reading, this has been one of my longest standing forms of self-care and my favorite mindful meditative activity. As a kid, I would watch my mom effortlessly flow through poses on her yoga mat in the living room. There was…
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Mindfulness: a primer
Mindfulness has turned into a household word, and is one of those things that you can’t really define until you’re experiencing it. For the sake of learning, let’s describe it. Mindfulness has been defined in many different ways. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of mindfulness-based stress reduction, defines mindfulness as “awareness, cultivated by paying attention in…
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Is self-care a fad?
Controversial I know but hear me out. We’re all tired, and to some degree, burnt out from daily expectations. We have commitments to jobs, family, friends, and extra-curricular activities. Over the past 5-10 years there has been significant attention towards this concept of “self-care.” There are endless google results, trending hashtags, and tiktoks devoted to…