"Walk! I can't walk home from school! That would take forever!" the Lamberts' son, Will, practically shouted into his cell phone the first time the issue came up. Thinking, even when thinking about something may be difficult. Making every effort to see things clearly, whether or not this comes easily …

If you have just got rid of some novels to the thrift (charity) store, think about buying an e-reader or join your local library. If working in your living room is a necessity, consider a slimline desk with narrow drawers and a pull-out shelf for your laptop. Losing a storage …

Its opinion is strong and difficult to ignore. To get to the top, to complete the journey, we must silence that voice, pluck it out of our minds, and let it fall to the depths of oblivion at the bottom of the cold, dark well where it belongs. Only then …

They are all things that never existed before someone invented them. There's a popular old quote that says, "If you can dream it or think it, you can do it." I want us to take that to the next level. I want us to figure out how you can create …

Why do you think ballplayers yell and scream when they win a championship? Tiger Woods pumps his fist, Lance Armstrong raises his arms in his yellow jersey, Terrell Owens does a dance in the end zone, and LeBron James slaps the backboard and hollas after a nasty dunk. Even Donald …

Once his workout partner went on an extended business trip to Germany for several weeks.guess how many times John worked out. It was somewhere less than twice. Without a workout partner, his discipline isn't strong. There really is power in working out with other people: a friend, a family …

Cognitive learning is about how we think and assess a situation. It may include labeling certain situations as "dangerous" instead of "anxietyprovoking" or "uncomfortable." It also can prime our development of beliefs that not only is our world dangerous, but that our capacity to respond to that danger is inadequate …

It's human growth hormone, or HGH, which is the body's most powerful natural revitalizer. One of the most important roles of HGH is to free up stored body fat, so you can burn it to produce energy. It also stimulates an increase in muscle tissue. HGH finds a way to …

Our close relatives, the chimpanzees, use an intermediate form of bipedalism, where they walk using a combination of their hands and feet. This adaption is known as `knucklewalking', and it is not an especially efficient way of getting around.5 Many birds also walk on land on two legs - but …

Building upon Saint Ignatius' model, I argue that, drawing from other teachings both in our Christian tradition and in research in positive psychology (a branch of psychology that studies the habits and thinking patterns of emotionally healthy, happy people) can further clarify what consolations and desolations look like. Specifically, consolations …

The sixteenth-century political philosopher Thomas Hobbes says to treat others with the same dignity with which you would want to be treated. Hobbes puts his own spin on the golden rule: "Do not that to another which you would not have done to yourself" (Hobbes, 1939, 172). In disrespecting others …

It may be that you were in love, it may be a time when you had a strong community around you, and it may be a time when your children were still small. Whatever the cause, notice if your happiness in this period had much to do with money. Was …

A virtue is a quality that every human being displays when we are at our best. Remember, in an earlier chapter, when I asked you to imagine your Whole, Healed, Godly, Grace-filled self? All the good qualities you imagined this version of yourself possessing are virtues. Whenever a mood enhancer …

Self-study leads to self-awareness, and self-awareness empowers us to truly transform and stop repeating the same negative choices that undermine our life. It solves apex problems, and solving apex problems creates a domino effect of positive change. Sometimes for our life to take flight it is critical to change our …

"I wasn't high or anything," he strategically added. Unfortunately, the more he attempted to control the opinions of others, the more turned off to him they became, and the more they talked trash about him! What situations attended this increase in your experience of stress/anxiety? (Who was present? What …

Unable to meet their own needs and incapable of meeting each other's, the couple, (possibly your parents), look outside themselves to a third possible alternative, what about a baby! A baby would give them a joint focus, something to create together, and a tangible way to partner that is as …

The answer from the adults was no answer at all. We love to hate it, but it would be a mistake to underestimate the role that exercise plays in helping to upgrade the body's ability to be an effective anti-stress "surge protector." According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, exercise …

We can also create such an environment as well if needed. Impulsivity means you're more willing to take risks and have a bias for action, act now while the opportunity is hot instead of getting into analysis paralysis. Many entrepreneurs have ADD i.e. Paul Orfalea who founded Kinko's, JetBlue …

And if we are closely involved with them, it's helpful if they know about and understand our ADD problems, although we need to use some care in who and what we tell. We can let others know what kinds of things are helpful to us and what kinds of things …

Some of these findings also indicate that volunteers who devote a considerable amount of time to volunteer activities (about 100 hours per year) are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes. I ran the samples. One day I got a very high number. I thought they'd found a really rich …

The only problem was, I couldn't do it. I couldn't decide what temperature the bouncing dial was reading. That flustered me and I couldn't keep up. We all got pretty frustrated, as well as hot. The engineers uneasily decided to let me try the driving while one of them did …

We need to receive positive reinforcement for accomplishing things, even if we have to give it to ourselves, which is often the case. We're not good at rewarding ourselves and we need to intentionally practice. We can set up rewards as a motivating factor for a specific task. Just the …

Decreasing toxic forms of perfectionism can lessen these conditions simultaneously (Lowndes et al., 2018). The truth is, anxiety is such a commonplace experience that we often feel like there is something wrong with us when we aren't feeling anxious. We wonder what new threat to our security or peace we …

While experiencing the joy of sparkling might sound like an abstract notion, it is surprisingly simple. When we find our bliss within, we may find it in one another and in our world around us. Maintainers actually exercise longer and harder than people who've never been overweight. In one study …

Most of us do, and for good reason. The health benefits of massages are varied and well documented. For starters, studies have shown that massages reduce cortisol--the stress hormone--by 31 percent, while at the same time increasing mood-boosting hormones like dopamine and serotonin by as much as a third. The …

Since the relationship between depression and substance abuse can often be very complicated, it is essential that people dealing with both depression and substance abuse seek medical help as soon as possible. Only a qualified health professional can make a proper diagnosis, especially for those patients dealing with more than …

This also includes whole grains, such as barley, whole wheat, and oats. Fiber plays an important role in regulating your digestive system and helping you feel fuller so you have fewer cravings. Chocolate lovers, rejoice--indulge and feel good. You may be pleased to know that eating chocolate really can make …

Nobody has ever lived past 60. Cancer runs in my family. My parents both had heart problems, so I expect I will too. I'm not saying that self-care is going to change your DNA, but what I am saying is that you have to fight for your health. And you …

Emphasize Activities That Promote Social Connection: The question to ask yourself is: What types of interactions, with what people, promote feelings of connection? This is important to identify, especially if you're experiencing depression. Feeling isolated and thinking no one gets you can make you feel more stuck and overwhelmed, potentially …

You can ask pharmaceutical companies if they have special discount programs or rebates for your brand-name medication. For example, I take a hypertension medication, Diovan, which erupted to a $75 copayment under my new health insurance. Astonished, I inquired about this high expense by calling the pharmaceutical company and managed …

Linking superstitious beliefs and behaviors to coincidental events occurs because of a process that psychologists call operant conditioning. Skinner, the foremost proponent of operant conditioning and author of the famous article "Superstition in the Pigeon," convincingly demonstrated that coincidence develops superstitious behavior. Skinner put pigeons into separate cages and had …

The common pitfall in relationships--when a couple experiences a hiccup, miscommunication or are at odds about something--is to act at war with one another, and fixate on the problem. The problem really isn't the problem, itself. It's the length of time that they focus on the problem. The longer they …

As Fried suggests, "Chat should be about quick, ephemeral things," while "important topics need time, traction, and separation from the rest of the chatter." The trouble is that some people like to "think out loud" in group chat, explaining their arguments and ideas in one-line blurbs. This rarely works because …

The extremely elevated mood of bipolar disorder affects your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which can interfere with the quality of your life. The form on page 44 provides examples of common thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to elevated mood. Check off those you can relate to and share this information …

There's an emotional cost, as well, a kind of hardening of your psychological arteries. As we saw when the locus of control is out of whack, negative internal dialogue will cause you to overlook vital information that could otherwise be so incredibly powerful. You don't even recognize positive alternatives anymore …

When his wife took his car keys so he couldn't drive to his drug dealer twelve miles away, he got on his ten-speed bicycle and pedaled, on the highway, to get his fix. When he went to play basketball abroad--no longer US material--first in Italy, then China, Turkey, even Iran …

When the second timer goes off, pause for a moment and ask yourself, "Which situation tasted better?" This is a great way to get a taste of your own medicine (pun intended). By only partially attending to your present experience, you only give yourself a partial opportunity to emotionally benefit …

The jury is in: He's an idiot. No more questions. If the label, instead, is "I'm a loser," then you hold that label, "loser," in front of you every day. You may exhibit numerous "winner"-type behaviors, but your label will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I guarantee that if you …

We wrap mistakes up in "I'm an idiot and I'm not good enough." Instead of learning from the pain and welcoming it, we push it away find things to numb it or make it go away - like avoidance, complaining, blaming, drugs, drinking, denial, etc. We're not asking ourselves, "What sequence …

Depression infects the clarity of your mind like a virus attacks the body. It weakens your defenses, cripples your resolve, and leaves you vulnerable to corrosive thoughts. It's no wonder that people who've survived a suicide attempt marvel at their own distorted thinking. Thank god I didn't go through with …