There’s a deep, shattering connection between adverse childhood events and health. You might sum up that connection in a word: aftershocks. The growing number of children who undergo traumatic episodes experience pain and fear during those episodes. Adverse childhood events (or ACEs) range from physical assault to witnessing domestic abuse to living in the midst …Read the rest…

If someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, it’s important for them to get help as soon as possible. Encouraging medical treatment and therapy is one of the best things you can do when supporting a loved one with an eating disorder. Also, there are additional ways you can assist their journey to …Read the rest…

Parenting a child who struggles with anxiety can feel overwhelming at times. It’s important to understand that your child is no different from any other, and their anxiety isn’t a reflection of poor parenting. Sometimes, though, you can feel helpless when witnessing their worries and anxious feelings. Thankfully, there are things you can do to …Read the rest…

Take a scroll through your news feed and you’ll see no shortage of posts about “positive mental attitude.” This can be a good trend but it rarely delves into the nuances of how our minds work. We don’t have a positive/negative switch that can be flipped at will. In fact, if we want to maintain …Read the rest…

You are having the same argument again. You know the one. It’s about that thing you and your partner constantly fight about. You argue. You debate. Maybe you scream, cry, and yell. However, it never gets resolved. Somehow, you stop arguing temporarily. You go back to normal life. Then, one day, the same old argument …Read the rest…

Don’t put off reading this post. Please. We all delay the actions and choices we face. But for some of us, procrastination is our default setting. Far more than feeling overwhelmed and choosing to put something off, procrastination is a maladaptive lifestyle choice. It is our way of avoiding something and has the potential to …Read the rest…

Today’s youth face some common challenges as they become teenagers. This transition usually involves some rebellion, some experimentation, and a good dose of peer pressure. There’s another universal thread too — something underlying nearly every aspect of teen life now. Add in the newly ubiquitous factors of smartphones and social media and we have an …Read the rest…

Check your news feed. Scan the headlines. Listen to any health-related conversation. Chances are you’ll hear references to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (or ADHD). Another common topic of discussion is weight gain — along with intertwined issues like obesity. ADHD and overeating are, of course, two dangerous and growing public health concerns. For most people, however, they …Read the rest…

Fake it till you make it. We all know the cliché and the “fake it” part almost comes naturally now. “Make it” is an entirely different story. In fact, for many folks, it may feel like an impossibility. No matter how much they accomplish, they perpetually feel like a fake. This is often a sign …Read the rest…

Emotional eating usually involves a powerful urge. This urge can remain quite compelling unless and until we are able to put a space between it and the action of eating. Getting help to stop emotional eating will often begin with learning how to take such a pause. While this can be a challenging task, it …Read the rest…

There are many ways to set boundaries. Often, the tricky part is enforcing them. The boundaries we choose to set and how we implement them say a lot about who we are. What Are Boundaries and How Do We Set Them? While “boundaries” has become trendy as a word, especially in big cities such as …Read the rest…

Do I have anxiety? Have you wondered that lately? First, do understand that everyone feels anxious or worried—at least a few times a day. However, there’s a huge and very important difference between inevitable anxious moments and having a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Feeling anxious is temporary and can often alert us to a situation that …Read the rest…

Embrace the grey area. There are so, so many reasons to reject black and white thinking — many of which will help expand your perceptions and potential. However, black and white thinking can also negatively impact us in unexpected ways. One example is connected to binge eating and overeating. What is Black and White Thinking …Read the rest…