“The Three F’s”: Annie Highwater on Seeking Peace Before Plunging Into the Storm
Sometimes we need to get involved. Sometimes we don’t. Pausing to calm and center ourselves helps either way.
Your Oxygen Mask – A Central Tenet of CRAFT
The CRAFT method points to the efficacy of shifting our focus back to our Self, even in some of the most dire or anxiety-producing situations.
Finding Our Way Back Home: Ram Dass on Breaking the Cycle of Addiction
A beloved teacher on spiritual practice and the pain that traps us in old patterns
Learning About Depression. And Fighting Back.
Forty percent of Americans will suffer a major depressive episode at some point in their lives. Five percent of the world’s population is suffering from it at any given time. It’s a disease that’s too often misunderstood—when it’s not overlooked entirely. Recovery writer Annie Highwater offers this primer on the many forms depression can take, and the variety of paths available for dealing with it.
Oh, What a Little Breath Work Can Do!
Intentional breathing practices have been around for millennia, but Western medicine has taken notice of their potential benefits only recently. This great primer on breath work covers the numerous ways it can improve wellbeing and reduce stress and anxiety. It also shows you some easy, no-fault ways to get started.
“Addiction Is a Disease That Thrives in The Dark”: A Younger Sister’s Plea For an End to Fear and Shame
Sam Fowler and her parents spent many years hiding her brother’s substance use disorder (SUD) from the world. The experience convinced Sam that openness, and even vulnerability, are better choices.
Inherited Trauma: A First-Hand Account
A moving essay from a young Filipinx writer reflects on how trauma reverberates across generations. Guiying Angel Zhong has always known she loves her mother—but that’s where the simple statements end. Their relationship has long been fraught with deeply-felt tensions and anxiety. The heart of Zhong’s short essay, however, is her eloquent understanding of the roots of such problems, including the special challenges faced by members of historically marginalized groups. In the end, her admiration and affection for her mother count for more than the long memory of pain.
Traumatic Stress and the Body: Healing Together
We are hardwired to respond strongly to trauma—and those responses can linger even when the source of trauma’s gone. In Part One of a marvelous discussion, psychiatrist and author Bessel van der Kolk helps us understand our own involuntary behavior when faced with (or remembering) trauma, and how we can change that behavior for the better.
Combatting That Morning Dread: Brené Brown on Courage, Vulnerability, Empathy and Self-Worth
“Don’t walk through the world looking for evidence that you don’t belong, because you’ll always find it.” Professor Brené Brown delivers a powerful statement about the nature of courage, and how it can’t exist without an embrace of uncertainty and vulnerability. At the same time, she makes a passionate case for self-affirmation. Her message is one of challenge, promise, and hope.