Each of us has this special friend who seems to have more insight into their feelings, a better understanding of other people’s emotions, and an incredible knack for handling potentially emotionally volatile situations with a seemingly magical touch. What makes this person so good at these situations? What is this […]
Can't cope? Overwhelmed? Stressed? We all have trouble coping at some points in life. We don't get the promotion we hoped for; our relationship breaks down; a presentation is overdue. Whether you cope or not depends on how you think. Stress—a feeling of emotional or physical tension—arises from how you […]
Self-care continues to be a popular buzz-word. But while it persistently grabs headlines, it also remains a fuzzy concept. Though a relatively new phenomenon in the West, self-care has a much older tradition in far Eastern cultures, reaching back to antiquity. Marked by a preventative rather than a reactive approach […]
The act of gratitude plays an important role in psychological wellbeing and self-actualization (Maslow, 1970). Regular expression of gratitude leads to increased feelings of happiness (Dickens, 2017), as well as reports of higher life satisfaction, meaningfulness, and productivity (Emmons & Crumpler, 2000). In this post, we will explore the emotion […]
Rumination... the unhealthy pattern of behaviors where we continuously think about something that happened in the past, to the point of seeing negative effects on our health and wellbeing. At some point in your life, you may have faced this unhealthy habit, or something close to it. Worrying obsessively or […]
Healthy relationships represent one of the most vital aspects of the human experience. Social relationships have been researched by psychologists for some time, with the results consistently showing a significant link between quality social relationships and improved health (Umberson & Karas Montez, 2010). Social development is integral to physiological and […]
Mindfulness represents an in-the-moment and nonjudgmental way of responding to thoughts and feelings (Kabat-Zinn, 2005). It involves “Paying attention to something, in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 2012, p. 1). Given its ability to enhance emotional balance and well-being, mindfulness represents a useful therapeutic […]
Social comparison is a normal behavior strategy where we seek to better understand our ‘status’—whether relating to ability, opinion, emotional reaction, and more—by comparing ourselves to other people. Social comparison can be useful because it provides us with a way to determine if we are ‘on track’... but there is […]
When plagues hit, people turned to religion. When war hits, people pray for and depend on one another. When terror tries to steal life from us, we stand in solidarity and hope for the goodness of humanity. Science is a very valuable part of humanity. However, it hasn’t yet explained […]
Life coaching is defined as “a dynamic interaction that facilitates the learning, development, and performance of the person being coached” (Lennard, 2010, Introduction, p. 1). It is a way to promote balance and harmony (Martin, 2001) by supporting clients in living to their fullest potential. While there is enormous variability […]
