Five Ways to Find Calm When Your World is On Fire
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item, I may receive a small commission. As I write this, most of us in North America are reeling from the events of the past 48 hours (and worldwide, reeling from the past year). Americans, in particular, are facing uncertainty and confusion that I don’t believe…
Recovering from Post-viral Fatigue Syndrome
My doctor didn’t think I would recover from post-viral fatigue syndrome. I did. Here’s what happened and what helped me.
Reflecting on a Year of Change
It’s been 18 months since I last posted, yet Living the Mess has been on my mind every day. While I haven’t been writing posts for this site, as a friend pointed out, I have been living the mess and so experiencing source material for future posts. It didn’t seem right to jump back into…
Five Mindfulness Lessons from Moving
Moving is, by definition, massive change. It may not be possible to have a move that isn’t complex, but it can be (almost) stress-free.
Leaning into Fear and Uncertainty
Renting is a good lesson in stewardship: Nothing is truly ours; we just have responsibility for things for a little while.
The Lifespan of an Emotion
In neuroscientist Jill Bolte-Taylor’s memoir, My Stroke of Insight, she notes that the physiological lifespan of an emotion in the body and brain is 90 seconds. The sensations—adrenalin, heat in the face, tightness in the throat, rapid heartbeat—arise, peak and dissipate on their own. When was the last time you experienced an emotion for only…
Separating Facts from Stories
We humans are story-making machines. Yet our minds don’t limit story-making to those times when it’s helpful for us. We all tell ourselves and others stories all the time. Often, those stories create pain—and they’re not rooted in fact.
Labels are for Jars
The very first thing I did, on my path to healing, was to stop labeling my brain. This was a huge shift. Labels had been my crutch for years. I’d been an active and eager participant in finding external reasons why I was the way I was. I’d had 12 labels—diagnoses—placed on my brain over…
There is Nothing Wrong With You
We live in a culture that sells the promise of 24/7 productivity (without even asking if that’s desirable), constant giddy happiness, creativity that never gets blocked, financial wealth and endless sexual vitality. Oh, and perfect pores. That’s not life. That’s what we tend to label ‘mania.’ (Except the wealth and pores parts).
The Benefits of Inner and Outer Silence
I wrote this post more than three years ago, long before COVID-19. Today, many people are dealing with silence and solitude on a level they never expected (or wanted). I’m feeling powerless to help, so I’m sharing my experiences in dealing with solitude and uncertainty.