I’ve spent much of my life hiding my depression, avoiding the causes, or trying to escape the effects. I used to view depression as a weakness, a failure, a flaw. I was both afraid to admit I struggled with depression to myself and to anyone around me. I was so focused on trying to project an image of the perfect person I wanted to be, I never considered embracing with compassion the imperfect person I am.
Read MoreWhen I started to open up about disordered eating and body image, I learned that shedding light on the darkest corners of my life can help shed more light on a path to healing for myself and others. In the hopes that opening up about depression will do the same, I’m sharing the below list. These are the things I believe have transformed my experience with depression, or in the very least, have kept me out of bed when I just want to pull the covers over my head.
Read MoreBy the time I committed to healthier habits around managing stress, it had already wreaked havoc on my digestion, immune function, sleep, weight and sanity. I no longer had the energy to have or be fun anymore. Don’t let stress make you a Debbie Downer too. Use these simple but transformative tips to help you manage stress before you find yourself perpetually frazzled, bloated, angry, and downright miserable.
Read MoreSo! You're ready to dig that fork of yours into a big pile of health and wellness and wake up a changed woman, eh? But what the heck actually goes on that fork?
The conversation around nutrition in this country has grown maddeningly confusing. It can seem impossible to get straight answers to questions around whether or not things like red meat, gluten, saturated fats, or even little ol' brown rice are harmful or perfectly healthy. Add increasingly high rates of food allergies, hormonal imbalances, gut issues, and autoimmune diseases and no wonder many of us feel beyond overwhelmed.
Read MoreI remember the first time my therapist suggested I start practicing mindfulness with little counting exercises and/or daily meditation. Poor sweet Dr. F was on the receiving end of an imperceptive eye roll, insincere smile and dismissive nod. In my defense, I was in my mid-twenties and barely 5 years off the plane from Boston where "that hippie shit" just didn't fly. Raised in an Irish Catholic household in a conservative Republican town in Connecticut, I wasn’t exactly primed to receive alternative approaches to stress management or behavioral change very well. As is the tradition in such circles, emotions are not to be indulged, feelings are not to be had, therapy is not to be invested in, meditation is for the birds.
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