Self Development

Bad Mood: 10 Ways to Overcome a Bad Mood

We all have those times when the ground beneath us seems to shift. Something bubbles up from within, be it anger, annoyance, sadness, frustration, offense, or hurt, and our mood darkens like a storm cloud stretching over the sky. A bad mood can feel like a head cold, overcoming us and forcing us to sludge… Read more »

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Confessions of a (Narrow-Minded?!) Liberal: Using Friendship to Bridge the Political Divide

Chad (not his real name) and I dated in high school. Now we’re friends on Facebook. We do the normal Facebook things, like sending happy birthday wishes, sharing and commenting on cute old photos, and retelling funny stories from the carefree days of youth. Everything was going fine, until… Election 2016. In the last year,… Read more »

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Seeking Sanity During National Eating Disorders Week

Would you rather be sane and satiated or dieting and deprived? The answer seems obvious, but we live in an age of extreme diets and fake foods. We watch television shows called The Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover Weight Loss—along with commercials for gooey pizza, hot cheese stretched lavishly to the limits of our food cue… Read more »

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How to Change a Habit for Good: According to Neuroscience

Most of us walk around in this world in a trance with the delusional belief that we are only autonomous beings that are completely acting with free will. However, many scientists agree that we are interdependent with our environments and our brains are constantly making snap judgments based on internal and external cues. You have… Read more »

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How to Be Confident

A Psychological Guide to Building More Self-Confidence Society offers us plenty of advice on how to be confident. “Just be yourself.” “Fake it til you make it.” “Dress for success.” Tips fly at us from every direction, from mothers to magazine covers. Some of this advice can be useful, but it can ultimately feel ineffective… Read more »

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How to Befriend Yourself: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to Living

In addition to training and experience, the ideal attitude of the therapist toward the client would best be described by the following adjectives: honest, direct, interested, inquisitive, warm, compassionate, non-judgmental, understanding and deeply feeling. In actuality, a person can learn to develop many of these same points of view towards him or herself. People can utilize… Read more »

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Why We See Ourselves Negatively

Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves. We question whether we fit with a romantic partner, analyze our interactions at work, and wonder over how we came across at everything from parties to parent-teacher conferences. On some level, most of us are always keeping ourselves in line. It’s safe to say… Read more »

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Why the Women’s March Felt SO Good: A Neurochemical Perspective

Before Reading Note: I ask you to read this article with an open mind. The neurochemical reactions described here apply to you and your brain, regardless of any political ideation. I don’t hide my political views, but I also don’t ask you to agree with them. I simply ask that, if you choose to read… Read more »

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The Sweet Spot: Relief from the Fear of Death through Mindfulness

If you have ever lain awake in the middle of the night pondering death, heart racing, icy hot fear coursing through your body as your mind tries desperately to find solid ground, you are not alone. Let me say that again: You are not alone. On the most basic level, you are not alone, because… Read more »

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Understanding Cell Phone Addiction

I wake in the middle of the night and instinctively reach for my phone. I innocently tell myself that I just need to check the time. It’s still dark out and I will surely go back to sleep, but as soon as the iPhone is in my hand, muscle-memory takes over. Before I know it,… Read more »

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