Why it is Good For You to Feel Negative Emotions

According to Dr. Lisa Firestone, the best thing to do when confronted with strong negative emotions, such as being let down by a friend or partner, or having an argument with a child, is to stay with the pain. We expend more energy trying to avoid pain than we would just facing those feelings. In…

Losing Hope for Sleep Can Hike Suicide Risk

A new study from Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, the chair of the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, shows that when people lose hope of having a good night’s sleep, their risk of suicide spikes. McCall notes that this study reaffirms what he had previously established, that hopelessness about sleep is separate from…

Is Your Pride Preventing Your Happiness?

Some people choose to “tough things out” when they’re feeling down, weary, or depressed rather than seek medical attention. While some people may look at this trait as admirable, Dr. Clifford Lazarus sees it simply as unnecessary and prolonged suffering, as well as missed opportunities to feel better sooner and possibly learn something about themselves…

Coping with Chronic Stress

Experiencing stress is a natural part of the human condition. Stress is something that is programmed into us like an internal alarm to let us know of potentially harmful situations so they can be noted and addressed. Dr. Beth NeSmith calls it the body’s “arousal response to a perceived threat.” The response involves releasing adrenaline…

Massage: One of My Favorite Stress Management Techniques for Good Reason

Elizabeth Scott has always enjoyed getting massages and also enjoys the idea of them being a part of a stress management plan. In her experience, massage has been an excellent short-term stress management tool, but she has since wondered what the actual benefits of massage are compared to other stress managements practices and whether or…

5 Ways to Feel Less Isolated When Facing Change

There are many ways in which people deal with their stress and emotional pain. One response is to keep it to yourself and put on a happy face for those around you. Whether you are trying to bury the pain or just prefer to face the problems on your own, it can put you in…

Identifying and Treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

When a lot of people think about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) they often think of movie characters, or other people they may have seen, without understanding exactly what the disorder is or how it functions. People afflicted by OCD are receiving faulty messages from their brains. While a regular person receives messages that tell them…

Is Cynicism Ruining Your Life?

Most people have at least one person in their life that can make them cynical. Whoever it is that inspires cynicism in our lives, it is generally someone who routinely disappoints or upsets us in some way. The cynical attitude that develops is part of a defensive mechanism that can be hard to lose once…

Achieving Success Requires Patience and Persistence

American journalist Hal Borland once wrote: “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing Grass, I can appreciate persistence.” In order to achieve big goals, people need to display the same patience as a tree. Just as trees take many years to grow into the large, impressive plants that they are, an important goal…