In her book, Self-Compassion, Kristin Neff, Ph.D. offers a beautiful mantra she developed to help her deal with negative emotions, a reminder to treat herself with self-compassion when discomfort arises: “This is a moment of suffering. Suffering is part of life. May I be kind to myself in this moment. May I give myself the...
Sickness never happens in a vacuum. It affects every relationship you have, from your marriage to the bond with your goldfish. While many articles have addressed the breakup of a romantic relationship because of depression, few have discussed the fallout of friendships, which is all too common. At a meeting for mental health bloggers in...
Back before there were psychiatrists and therapists, way before the introduction of Prozac and Xanax, people were using mantras to calm their nervous systems and sooth symptoms of depression and malaise. In fact, the earliest mantras were used by Hindus more than 3,000 years ago. Employed by Buddhists, Christians, Taoists, and persons of most faith...
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.” In the last few months, I have been trying to follow Gandhi’s example by presenting God with all of my humiliations, rejections, and shortcomings and to...
“Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said ‘I’m here for you,’ and proved it.” – Unknown I came across that quote the other day and how appropriate it is right now. I am humbled and touched by the outpouring of emails, comments, and snail mail in...
