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…

Ways to Manage Every Day Trauma

Every day we are faced with micro traumas. Not large scale traumas such as in war or assault, but little disappointments and painful moments. Such things can include crime, diseases or debt. These little stressors can even trigger old wounds that can invade your present self. But it is possible to face these micro traumas…

Will This Year Be Different from the Previous Year?

The year 2012 is behind us and we are all facing a brand new year, full of possibility. But sometimes the question is asked, “Will this year be different than the last?” While we all have ideas and hopes for a new year, the potential largely depends on ourselves. What you think and what you…

Conflict with an ADHD Child From a Father’s Perspective

Most of the research on children with attention-deficit hyperactive disorder and the family conflict that arises in their household as they reach their teen years has been based on self-reports from both the child and the mother. Clarisa Markel, from the Human Development and Applied Psychology Department at the University of Toronto, recently led a…

Becoming More Aware of Depression and Bipolar

Tom Wootan, the CEO of Bipolar Advantage, writes that we only see what we have been trained to see. In terms of the bipolar community, he means that doctors see only a disease, family and friends see only behaviors, and the afflicted see only pain. His point is that there is a lot more going…

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…

Culture Stigmatizing Mental Illness Must Change

After a second student from Northwestern University passed away during the fall semester, one by suicide while studying abroad, professors Christina Traina and Laurie Zoloth have written in about the stigma surrounding mental illness that impedes the prevention of such tragedies. The Centers for Disease Control report that suicide is the third most common cause…

How to Make Peace with Your Dark Past

Almost everyone has something dark in their past and it is human nature to dwell on that darkness, trying to figure out how we allowed those things to happen. It can become a dark circle of trying to understand what happened and agonizing over the fact that it did. The way to move forward, however,…

How Gratitude Combats Depression

According to Dr. Deborah Serani, studies show that consistent positive interaction, particularly positive interactions that involve gratitude, both increase happiness and decrease depression levels. So while the holiday season may also be a season of gratitude, it can be emotionally important to try and practice gratitude throughout the entire year. Dr. Serani shares seven of…