How to Help Someone Struggling with Their Mental Health

It’s tough to watch a loved one struggle with mental illness and know how to best be supportive. Oftentimes we might find ourselves avoiding the situation because we’re not sure what to say or do. We might feel fear about saying the wrong thing and therefore say nothing.

Getting Out of Our Heads and Into the Moment

Sometimes it is the full moon, the kids, work, being cooped up,
Listening to the news, or just operator mental error, but whatever
it is, the survival charade of intellectualizing, analyzing, aka being
in our heads too much, is what most people say drives them nuts
more than anything.

How to Crush Your New Year’s Resolutions

You may have noticed that the majority of people lose steam with their resolutions for the New Year. About 80% of Americans fail in these goals by the second week of February. There’s no bottled motivation to buy but here are some ideas that can bolster you in making the changes you want to make really stick.

Navigating the Holiday Season

We’re approaching the holiday season, which can be challenging anyway but the pandemic has added layers to family get-togethers and traditions that can make the holidays even harder. For some of us, there’s added financial pressure to give gifts, for others there are triggers to drink/use or having to set boundaries around family we struggle with. Here are a few ideas for you to consider that might help ease whatever burdens the holidays bring.

How to Work with Summer Triggers: Stay Safe and Sober

How To Work With Summer Triggers: Stay Safe and Sober

Summer is now in full effect. As the beginning of the season coincided with the lifting of lockdown restrictions, everyone is scrambling to catch as much fun in the sun as they can.

Cultivating Gratitude

“Gratitude is the open door to abundance.” Yogi Bhajan Our human brains, specifically the amygdala and the hippocampus, are designed to remember negative or “dangerous” incidents and interactions. Back in the day, it was more important that you notice the rattlesnake than the glorious field of wild flowers you found him in. This trait can … Read more

Reflection

As we continue on our individual personal journeys, periods of action are ideally followed by periods of reflection. However, there are many kinds of reflection – some more helpful than others. Sitting and reflecting in meditation can be a positive activity, but can also devolve into “morbid self-reflection” (AA Big Book), where we can criticize … Read more

Shifting Perceptions of Reality

“It is not what happens to us that matters as much as our perception of what happens to us.” ~ Epictetus Each person’s experience of reality differs based on his or her experiences in life leading to the present moment. That is why four people witnessing the same event will report slightly (or drastically) different … Read more

Trust: Of Self and Others

Honesty, truth, trust . . . These traits all come together in us in some way. Like pieces in a puzzle, they link together creating an image of who we are and how we view the people and events around us. As children, if we were, for instance, frightened by loud arguments but told by … Read more