There’s a great e-card that reads: “Dear whatever doesn’t kill me, I’m strong enough now. Thanks.” It was the second most-liked item I posted on my Facebook page. The first was a quote by William Gibson: “Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, surrounded by […]
Depression isn’t the opposite of happiness, rather the absence of hope. Every morning I remind of that by reading some of my favorite quotes about hope. Among them are these. The lotus flower blooms most beautifully from the deepest and thickest mud. –Buddhist Proverb Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind […]
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week! A few months ago, a woman once sent me a message on Facebook that began: “No pressure, but you might save a life.” She went on to tell me her problem and then asked for a solution. The first thing I did was take a deep breath followed […]
I have a love-hate relationship with December. Many people do. As a person with an extremely fragile psyche, who has a low threshold for stress, I feel like December adds another 50 percent of things to be scratched off of my “to do” list, and therefore tells my sympathetic nervous system that panic mode is […]
“You,” he said, “are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world, and that, I believe, is why you are in so much pain.” That quote belongs in Emilie Autumn’s psychological thriller novel, “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.” It’s the essence, I think, of Robin Williams. He was so real—so passionate, brilliant, empathetic, […]
In his classic bestseller, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” psychiatrist and holocaust-survivor Viktor Frankl explains that among the first things that he had to do once he arrived at Auschwitz was to surrender his clothes. This is humbling in itself, of course. But this was extraordinarily painful for Frankl, because in the jacket of his coat […]
“Each depression,” some wise person told me, “has it’s own gift.” I didn’t understand at that moment. But now I do. My first breakdown shattered my pride so that I could write from the heart. My second depression shattered my bitterness, so that I could learn to connect with others who feel pain like I […]
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete,” said Jack Kornfield.
For a good year or so of my life, I wanted to be Gretchen Rubin, the bestselling author of The Happiness Project. I had coffee with her a few months before our books came out (both were published the first week of January, 2010). Hers became an instant New York Times bestseller. She appeared on […]
One of my favorite professors, an expert in Carmelite spirituality, reminded me that Wednesday was the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. I pray her “bookmark” prayer most days. Here’s an excerpt.
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain,” wrote Vivian Greene. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow,” wrote Mary Anne Radmacher. These are two of my favorite quotes about living with […]
Most people who have been sober longer than a year are asked to give a “lead”—to tell their story. Mine was structurally simple, covering what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now. Having only drank for three years, my addiction story is pretty straightforward: I stopped guzzling down mood-altering beverages. My depression […]
I’m not a mental health professional. I’m a hope builder. I feel like that, more than anything else I do on this earth, is my purpose. Because hope, when you really think about it, is the only thing you need to get better (besides lots of drugs, exercise, fish oil, probiotics, friends, self-help books, doctors, […]
You would never bring on a depressive cycle so that you could learn lessons on how to be more patient, trusting, compassionate, and giving. Yet, when darkness overshadows your days, and hiding places are few and far between, a person must turn toward his or her depression and extract any good that is tucked away […]
There’s a great e-card that reads: “Dear whatever doesn’t kill me, I’m strong enough now. Thanks.” It was the second most-liked item I posted on my Facebook page. The first was a quote by William Gibson: “Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, surrounded by […]
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week! A few months ago, a woman once sent me a message on Facebook that began: “No pressure, but you might save a life.” She went on to tell me her problem and then asked for a solution. The first thing I did was take a deep breath followed […]
“You,” he said, “are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world, and that, I believe, is why you are in so much pain.” That quote belongs in Emilie Autumn’s psychological thriller novel, “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.” It’s the essence, I think, of Robin Williams. He was so real—so passionate, brilliant, empathetic, […]
In his classic bestseller, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” psychiatrist and holocaust-survivor Viktor Frankl explains that among the first things that he had to do once he arrived at Auschwitz was to surrender his clothes. This is humbling in itself, of course. But this was extraordinarily painful for Frankl, because in the jacket of his coat […]
The classic poem “Desiderata” says that if you compare yourself to others you will either become vain or bitter. I don’t worry about becoming vain—as my self-esteem is still beneath sea level. But bitterness? That one had a hold of me last weekend. I reached out to a guy with whom I was in regular […]
In the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” business man George Bailey (James Stewart) is about to jump off a bridge and drown when an angel appears and shows him what life would have been life if he hadn’t existed. But what if the angel showed George not what life would have been like if […]
