Infertility, and the 5 stages of grief
During the first six months of marriage, I wasn’t too concerned about my fertility. After all, I was unaware of any fertility difficulties within my family. At the six month mark, I began feeling impatient. When there was still nothing after eight months. This is about when I started going through the stages of grief…
What the Germans can teach us about embracing negativity
I didn’t realize until years after I moved back to the States, but the German outlook suits my personal view of life much better than the American one. I admire their unapologetic skill in taking the bad with the good. That means that negativity is not only normal, but totally healthy from their perspective!
I tried being mindful, and found being melancholy instead
I have recently begun practicing mindfulness. Taking moments to slow down, tune in to myself and really enjoy the little things. Only… Deep inside, I did not find the serenity and peacefulness I expected… I found a vast fog of fuzzy grey melancholy.
A tragedy survivor’s 9 keys to happiness
I’ve survived a lot: a tragic house fire, multiple severe car accidents, abuse as a child, multiple suicide attempts, my biological mother abandoned me, etc. I have a learning disability and other mental illnesses, as well as a very rare, incurable bone disease.
Given all I’ve been through, you’d think I’d be miserable. Quite the opposite, however. My keys to happiness are simple…
Locate and log your joy: How tracking positivity can help with depression
From therapy I learned how powerful positive self-talk and mantras can be, but only if they are a constant part of your self-care routine. I already kept a journal to help let go of my haphazard thoughts, so I decided to add a few sentences each day to document the positive parts of my day. Ultimately, finding the positive in every day wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated, but I pushed through and gained both a powerful new perspective on my life and some solid coping mechanisms that I could put into place…
How doorknobs can help with homesickness
When I was 15, I moved to Germany as an exchange student on the Congress-Bundestag scholarship. It was there that we all received this advice from a wise teacher: When you feel sad and homesick, take pictures of doorknobs. Here’s why…
How do you have confidence at work when you’re dealing with depression?
I’m going back to school to become a leader in the nonprofit sector. I also deal with depression and anxiety. I’m learning more about how to manage my symptoms, but I sometimes have bad days. For those of you who deal with mental health situations, how do you find the confidence to realize your leadership potential in the workplace?
Positive demotions and Mental Health Awareness within relationships
My wife is bipolar. For her, that means a life full of mediocre, less-than-positive, contentment. And that’s all when she is at her absolute best. But we are working on understanding it. We are working together with individual therapists, a psychiatrist, a couple’s counselor, a bipolar support group, and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Family-to-Family classes.