Have you ever gotten really frustrated with yourself for making a mistake or struggling mightily with with something? Have you ever had difficulty accepting some part of yourself or your life that you don’t really like? Have you ever felt so beaten down and overwhelmed by your life that it seemed like you could barely see straight,
Compassion
Holding Mind in Mind: A Mindful Mentalization-Based Skill to Improve Relationships
Have you ever tried to hold someone else’s mind in your mind? Let’s do it together right now. Imagine that one of your good friends or close family members is having a good day. Maybe they had a big success at work, maybe they got a good report from their doctor, or maybe they just had one of those days where everything seems to go smoothly—ahhh, those days are nice when they come along, right?
Experiencing Unpleasant Emotions? Invite Them In for Tea: The Counterintuitive Practice of Creating Space for Our Difficult Emotions
What do you do when you feel intense upset, anxiety, anger, or despair? Many of us want to get rid of the unpleasant emotions as soon as possible because unpleasant emotions are, well, unpleasant. We may look for a quick fix that helps turn down the volume on the unpleasantness or distracts us entirely.
Be Nice to Yourself! The Science of Self-Compassion
Will you try an experiment with me? Read the following paragraph and check back in with me afterward.
“You’re a total idiot. Why on earth would you do something like that? You’ll never amount to anything because you can’t get your s*** together. Pull yourself together and stop acting like a big baby!”
Forgiveness Is Hard, But Also Healthy: The Psychology of Letting Go of Our Grudges
Did you know the act of forgiveness can bring about measurable health benefits? Yep, it’s true: there’s a nice body of research documenting the ways that forgiveness can improve not just our mental health but also our physical health.
A Prayer for Our Country
May we all know healing, resilience, and perseverance.
Don’t Lose Your Mind! Learn to Respond Instead of React
Orlando, St. Paul, Baton Rouge, Dallas (where I live), Nice (France). After a string of recent tragedies, I, like so many people, have been grappling with feelings of shock, outrage, sadness, and confusion. I come to you today not with any answers or direct commentary, but with a request. My request involves a call to action […]
The Mindfulness Boost for Anxiety: The Power of Letting It Be
Over the past 10 years, I think I’ve become much more adept at treating anxiety disorders and wonder if the boost is due to adding mindfulness-based therapies into my repertoire. I have read about research demonstrating that mindfulness-based therapies are at least as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating anxiety, with some suggestive evidence […]
