According to Cigna’s U.S. Loneliness Index, nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feel alone.  A quarter of Americans rarely or never feel as though there are people that understand them, and a fifth report they rarely or never feel close to people. The report says that finding a balance of work, exercise, sleep,...

I’ve noticed a pattern to my attitude about starting a new year. The harder the year prior, the more I look forward to January 1. It’s like turning in a really bad English paper and getting to start over on a new assignment. A blank page and a new year give us the one ingredient...

Musician and songwriter Willie Nelson once said, “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” Study after study on gratitude shows how simple exercises of appreciation build emotional resilience, improve our relationships, and promote our well-being. Gratitude researchers like Martin Seligman, PhD, director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; Robert...

Evolutionary biologist and animal behavioral specialist Marc Bekoff, PhD, once said that “play is training for the unexpected.” And psychiatrist and play expert Stuart Brown, MD, said, “Those who play rarely become brittle in the face of stress or lose the healing capacity for humor.” I’m beginning to think that playing can even access parts of our brain that...

Most people think finding the right combination of medicine is the most important requirement to recover from depression. But it’s not. Nor is working with a therapist and employing cognitive behavioral strategies, although they both can be very helpful. Using mindfulness techniques, eating the right diet, getting regular sleep, and reaching out to a support network?...