Category: Well-Being

  • Listen to Dysphoria

    Listen to Dysphoria

    I have to constantly remind myself that happiness isn’t the only healthy emotion. My anger, anxiety, sadness, and other “negative” emotions all tell me about ways I can find meaning in my life. The problem isn’t that I feel these things. The problem is that I don’t listen very well. My anger asks me to…

  • These Golden Seams

    These Golden Seams

    note: adapted from my speech “A Case Study in Bouncing Back” Like a cracked ceramic repaired with gold,the places where you are broken become the places where you are strongest and most beautiful. These golden seams shine bright,with your belief in a better future. These golden seams shine bright,showing the hard work you put into…

  • Invulnerable – a Haiku

    Invulnerable – a Haiku

    Invulnerable not a gift, but a disease of a broken soul

  • The Power of Optimism

    The Power of Optimism

    Optimism is one of the most powerful and underappreciated tools that you have for improving your health and wellness. Practicing optimism can make you more resilient in difficult times, improve your mental health, and help you prevent or recover from a variety of physical ailments. But there is a difference between true optimism and “just burying your…

  • Strengthen Your Relationships by Using Active-Constructive Responding

    Strengthen Your Relationships by Using Active-Constructive Responding

    Note: this post was originally written as a companion to Bunny’s Good News: A Parable About Connection, which is where the forest critters come from. I encourage you to check it out. But if you don’t, just ignore the critter references and this will still make sense on its own. The Research I first learned…

  • Bunny’s Good News: A Parable About Connection

    Bunny’s Good News: A Parable About Connection

    What follows is a completely made-up story, based on completely real, peer-validated, research. It’s a lesson about an often-overlooked skill for strengthening relationships. The Story In a faraway forest, there lived a Bunny. Bunny had three best friends who she could always count on: Squirrel, Beaver, and Owl. The friends were always there for her…

  • What is Resilience? and What Isn’t.

    What is Resilience? and What Isn’t.

    “Resilience” is everywhere lately. We constantly see the word in the news, pop-psychology articles, and self-help literature. But rarely is the mention accompanied by a description of resilience that gives us a clear understanding what it means, what it looks like in real life, and how we can get some. So, this article is my…