Hey, everyone, let’s talk about healthy positivity. The two terms in the title of this post are different ways of being optimistic/positive. Radical optimism is the belief that life is good and that we have the right to trust in positive outcomes, despite the difficulties and challenges we face and the misgivings we feel. Toxic positivity is the refusal …
Hi, everyone. I am taking a course on Mindful Self-Compassion and it is so good! We are learning different tools and exercises to use when facing challenges or feeling distressed. One of the tools we practiced was soothing touch. Applying soothing touch to your body stimulates the release of oxytocin and other opiates that reduce stress hormones and help you …
This week my roommate helped me prepare for a job interview. We discussed what I would say when the interviewer would inevitably ask why I left Career #1. I hemmed and hawed, not sure how my answers sounded, when my roommate said, “You could just tell them you didn’t like it so you switched to something you enjoy.” This …
I read the following in Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen: I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now [after having worked with many seriously ill patients] to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back …
A great strategy for mindful dating is to develop a self-care plan to implement after every date (not just the first but I’m inserting this mini-post here). To be most effective, this should be planned and ready to go in advance of the date so you have something cozy and supportive to look forward to no matter what happens. I …
Continuing on with my notes from Burnout, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. This concept is so interesting and provides a whole new way of mentally working with expectations, struggle, and patience: Your brain has a system for monitoring the ratio of effort to success you’re experiencing as you work towards a goal. It then compares this ratio with what …
I’m finishing up a book called Burnout, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. (Because I feel somewhat responsible for the books I mention here, I can tell you that some parts of this one are really helpful, informative and scientific, and others are oddly political and ideological so I skipped those). The book discusses how to deal with chronic stress that …
Hey, everyone. Something small I started doing frequently is turning my phone onto airplane mode. When I do that, I’ll often turn wifi off, as well. My phone basically becomes a clock and note-taking device. Which is fine, because when I’m trying to work or do schoolwork or cook or go for a walk, I really don’t need my phone …
Yay, I’m done with that Creative Arts course! It would have been so fun without all the papers. But I did take away a few helpful things and one of them is that I really love poetry therapy. I know, shocker. Poetry therapy, according to the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, is the use of “the written, spoken, and auditory …
This week I listened to a free lecture series by JOWMA, the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association. I thought I’d recap a bit of what was presented as far as it related to single women. This is by no means comprehensive, nor is it medical advice and should not take the place of having a conversation with your doctor. However, …
