When we say someone is lazy, we're saying they're incapable of completing a task due to (physical or mental) weakness, but we're also claiming that their lack of ability somehow makes them morally corrupt. It's not that they're tired or even dispirited in some way we might sympathize with; The …

What is it like to be in the room with a person who is suffering so terribly that he or she is choosing that moment to die? A few months later I received this email that answered my question. It was from my friend Mark, whose dad, Ted, was also …

Setting the priorities and following them up help people to be more focused and task-oriented. It helps in making a person into a go-getter and a winner. Setting up and accomplishing the task is a great way to achieve one's goals and aspirations and further targets newer heights and goals …

The old rule of thumb was that your housing costs should be roughly 30 percent of your household's monthly budget. However, that ignores transportation costs, which can be significant if you have a long commute to work. I'd feel so worried that I'd done that enough times that I appeared …

Ideally, we'd all be conscious of who we are and what makes us tick, and we'd feel able to communicate that clearly and effectively. But the opposite is quite often the case. In most cases, however, procrastination is a symptom of stress; However, we are all familiar with the staggering …

This is the paradox of life. The more we want predictability and control, the more we suffer. But when we can train ourselves to sit in the discomfort over and over again, life becomes exciting. The discomfort is deliberate and on purpose. You have to delay the gratification and not …

Yes, but I have transportation problems. Or Yes, but I am very well known and visible in my community and couldn't possibly expose myself like that. Take a deep breath. Prioritize your well-being, as it affects every aspect of your life. I know you don't want to keep living with …

Walnuts are known to be high in fiber and rich in antioxidants, and are a plant-based source of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid. There are studies on walnuts that show improvement in the dilation of blood vessels when given to men in exchange for one-third of their monounsaturated fats …

But, before you throw a desk and storm out of your workplace, consider this. If it really is an awesome company you're trying to work for, they'll want to know where you previously worked at. What do they need to know about your relationship with them? If it's sour, that …

People are unreliable, especially when they're trying to change the way they've been living their life. Haven't we all been pretty unreliable whenever we're motivated to improve, for instance, our cooking skills? Gretchen also realized during this year of happiness that she needs gold stars. Well, she thinks she shouldn't …

The host mice were delivered by cesarean section, were fed sterile milk, and were raised in a sterile environment to ensure they had no microbiota. Without a microbiota, the mice experienced significantly more anxiety-related behavior, repetitive movements, and decreased memory. Biochemical and molecular changes were also noted, such as in …

Now that we have talked about the changes in chronic illness over time and the diseases our bodies are at risk for, we want to shift attention to the link between what we eat and how it changes the composition of our gut flora, which in turn activates abnormal body …

Too much stress can be toxic and inflammatory. Stress can be Learn to identify your eustress from your distress. Think about saying no to more requests during the week to allow time to relax and recover on weekends. Schedule fewer activities for yourself and your family to allow for more …

NOW GO BE AWESOME! You're amped up and everyone is cheering around you. It's a great collective feeling, similar to screaming for your favorite band or watching your favorite sports team win the game. The energy is palpable. You can feel it in the air. You walk away feeling like …

Addiction is not about substances or behaviors, but is about disrupting the processing of pleasure; Science also tells us that stress alters the way we think. Parts of the brain that help us problem-solve shut down at times of stress, fueling impulsive behavior. When this behavior becomes excessive, the brain …

What gives me the right to declare that everyone is collectively, pathetically apathetic? I'm a 25 year-old white guy who had it pretty easy growing up. Sure, I decided three years ago to finally get serious with my life, but that's not really a motivational story. Did I surmount great …

I was quickly told by both my husband and the therapist that I was projecting the behaviors I had experienced with my two previous husbands onto my fiance, a very successful and upstanding man. Having a history of being willing to trust others rather than myself, I unquestioningly went on …

But really, we can recognize so-called good people in our lives, right? These are the folks that volunteer for unpaid projects and charities. They post online about doing benefit relief trips. They are probably firefighters or policemen or veterans or something else seemingly noble. They share experiences that end up …

This is why we need to seek out nature. Research shows that just looking at landscape photography can lower blood pressure, inflammation, and other stress markers. Maybe you don't have ready access to unspoiled wilderness, but you don't necessarily need it. One study of people who walked in a busy …

Self-love alone cannot fix that. The body positivity movement's narrow focus means its tools can't work as predicted--or at all. Yes, we all need self-love to cope with body shaming and to resist internalizing it, yet self-love is not the cure but the response. All the self-love in the world …

They're often the ones who have the most engaged fans, too, because we want our athletes to be real people we can relate to. So even if you're an accomplished competitor, you might want to assess how many of your posts relate to your sport, what you're projecting to the …

With practice and commitment, it's possible to build up your resiliency. One way to do this is to create a plan for when crises arise. Having a plan in place beforehand can help you stay focused and on track. Your plan can be as simple as having a list of …

Evaluating evidence requires a great deal of thought. Our brains prefer shortcuts. This saves time, especially when we're under pressure. For most of human history, people experienced little new information during their lifetimes, and decisions tended to be survival based. It makes our lives so broad that it renders the …

Though genes played a part, the near total prior absence of diabetes in this population (and its continued rarity among less-stressed Pima tribes in Mexico) shows that something more than genetic heritage accounts for the disease's surge. Trauma is largely to blame. The Pimas lost their culture and self-determination and …

Aggression is a reaction that you were taught. It probably helped you survive a bad situation in the past and so far you haven't found other ways of managing. Then take a hard look at what's driving the aggression. Know that anger is almost always a secondary emotion, meaning that …

For example: My Good Stuff Read through your Good Stuff list and really take a moment to absorb how those events make you feel. It's an instant lift, isn't it? They feel they are not being judged or evaluated. They feel they are being understood -- the therapist is listening carefully …

Look over your list from the previous step, and place a total ban on the places you multitask eat: on the couch, in the car, in bed. As of today, declare no more food allowed in those spots. Identify the activities and ban eating during those, too: watching TV, driving …

Depression, anxiety, anger, reactivity, hypervigilance, distrust, and substance abuse are just normal adaptive and self-protective strategies. How we act is a response to the crap we deal with. Although social injustice contributes to allostatic load, this does not mean that individuals with more privileged circumstances never experience a high allostatic …

That's why you're here to begin with. If you're anything like the thousands of people we've worked with who are anxious, depressed, and frustrated by how they feel on a daily basis, you just want to feel better. You want to stop feeling pulled in ten different directions at once …

But the good news is that this complex relationship between the mind and the body also allows you to intervene in a positive way to impact your health and resilience. Negative thoughts and emotions can keep your brain from producing the chemicals that help heal your body. This doesn't mean …

Therapist: You mean, talking won't help? Henry: Yes. What good will it do? Therapist: Sometimes people feel better about things after talking them over. The outer octagonal shape represents the progression from one area of your space and your life to another. The middle symbolizes the progression of colors, seasons …

Otherwise, the teachers of the secret cures will be condemned by heaven. So by giving your teacher the red envelopes, he or she can thus be protected. You may wonder, helping others is a good deed. Why should the teacher be punished for performing a good deed? Begin to notice …

Inhale through your right nostril to the count of four. Pause for the count of four and exhale for the count of four. Inhale to the count of four and exhale to the count of four, completing the cycle five times. Don't force your breath--if you need to take a …

And so I'd stop whatever I was doing and drag down at twelve with the group. Well, now I say, occasionally, Well, that isn't convenient for me. I'd rather eat later, or I'd rather eat earlier. Well, ah, before it was easier for me to say, O. And then another …

It was the actual act of taking the picture that prevented them from paying attention. According to psychological scientist Linda Henkel, memories can be shaped by looking at photographs. Memory researcher Daniel Schacter experimented with Alan Alda to Involving a picnic and what he could remember. They watched two people …

These three-letter words, called trigrams, make it difficult for the brain to encode them because they don't contain any meaning. By counting down, the ability to rehearse the memories was interfered with, so the length of time short term memories lasted could be accurately measured. The experiment showed that while …

Or what are the terrible consequences of my mistake? However, instead try and ask yourself questions such as what is the one good thing emerging from this seemingly challenging situation? What is the hidden opportunity in this setback? This will offer you way more options and a solid plan of …

A healthy body is a body in balance: the balance between eustress and distress, the balance between the sympathetic fight-or-flight and parasympathetic rest-and-recharge systems, and the balance between resource depletion and replenishment. We must maintain that balance to be healthy--to achieve homeostasis. While stress is a normal part of life …

I have a decided heart. Michael felt the swaying of the Santa Maria as he looked up from the parchment. He stood up and saw that he was no longer in the crow's nest, but his feet seemed to be planted firmly in midair, moving at an ever-increasing pace away …