Joy’s smile is much closer to tears than it is to laughter. —Victor Hugo, Hernani We often retreat from love when it unconsciously arouses painful feelings of sadness. This is not the kind of sadness that comes when our feelings are hurt or our heart is broken. That sadness makes sense to us. This type… Read more »
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10 pounds made the difference between actually living and simply surviving. A year ago, I based my self-worth off the number describing the gravitational pull of my body toward the earth. I felt that my body’s natural hunger cues were signs of weakness. I believed that if I could only run longer, see a gap… Read more »
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“When children are faced with pain and anxiety in their developmental years, they develop defense mechanisms to cut off that pain. But the tragedy is that in cutting off the pain, you also cut deeply into their lives, so that defenses that were basically survival-oriented psychologically also serve as terrible limitations to the self.” ~… Read more »
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It’s so hard to watch a loved one struggle with addiction. Whether it’s to using drugs, alcohol, food, pornography gaming, or something else, friends and family often feel helpless and hurt. We grieve losing connection with the person we care about. Why does addiction happen? What can friends or family do? I see addictive behavior… Read more »
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“Don’t sell yourself short,” my friend recently told me, catching me in unconscious act of belittling myself. Though her support brought a smile to my face, her comment was unexpected and caused me to lose my train of thought. I began to analyze my self-perception and how it had influenced the conversation that had just… Read more »
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“How are you?” This deceptively simple question can prove more loaded than the asker intended. Personally, I catch the word “good” flying out of my mouth instinctively, nearly before the question even registers in my head. This answer is familiar to me. It’s usually what the asker expects to hear, and it fits the societal… Read more »
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Why are we so stubborn about changing certain patterns? “What would you say is your biggest weakness?” This is probably the most dreaded question in a standard job interview, in large part because it’s one we aren’t really expected to answer honestly. Instead, we’re supposed to guise the weakness as a strength. “I’m a perfectionist.”… Read more »
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With one quick scroll through my Instagram explore page, I’ve already found one post telling me the caloric content of 20 different types of breads, another with the top 15 foods with the least amount of pesticides, and a third with the benefits of celery juice, presented with a photo of a thin woman holding… Read more »
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All of my remembered life I have been depressed. Therefore, depression feels deeply entwined with my identity. Most of that time I felt ashamed of being depressed and, therefore, ashamed of who I was. This is the tragic nature of the stigma surrounding mental illness. Because of the stigma, I thought I was alone, and,… Read more »
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Life is full of ups and downs. Perhaps you recently ended a relationship, got negative feedback on a work project, or fell into a bout of stress, anxiety, or depression. Because our brains are wired to pay attention to the negative, losses like these are often magnified and/or rehashed over time, with the result that they become… Read more »
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