Self-Acceptance: The Secret To Being True To Yourself
Self-acceptance is hard. Nowadays, as we all tout the “be yourself” modus operandi, and self-love is emphasized more than ever, it seems silly to admit that I have no idea how to be myself. I used to blur self-esteem and…
We Need More Safe Spaces Like The Outpatient Project
The world shivers and quakes with 7.6 billion people. That’s 7.6 billion voices, bodies, and pulses yearning to be heard. That’s 7.6 billion stories that range in status from “told” to “unheard”, with more on the way. When I hear…
Health Benefits Of Gardening: How Gardening Is Good For Your Health?
The Earth Beneath My Feet: Health Benefits Of Gardening, An Ode To Planting Therapy I remember juicy, plump cherry tomatoes that burst with flavor inside my mouth. I remember the crisp, cool crunch of fresh cucumbers straight from the vine….
How To Be More Vulnerable?: Take More Chances And Risks
Risk Exposes Your Vulnerabilities, But Vulnerable Is Not Weak The truth is, I dislike taking risks. I’m scared of venturing outside the safety of my comfort zone, both personally and professionally, because it means I’m allowing myself to feel vulnerable…
Active Listening Skills: How To Be An Active Listener?
When You Just Don’t Understand Why We’ve all seen the classic “American teen” trope in media and popular culture: A teenager is having a heated, broiling argument with her/his parent about something (this can vary greatly) but the end result…
Death: We Need To Talk About Mortality
The Elephant In The Room That Gets Larger With Avoidance Society treats death as something morbid and unsightly, a subject that is typically associated with plaguing only the bones of the elderly, the ill, and the feeble. No one talks…
Culinary Arts Therapy: Use Cooking As A Form Of Therapy
Cooking … some love it, some dread it. Some can seemingly whip up a three-course meal with their eyes closed; others claim they don’t know how to boil water. Whatever your experience with cooking, those who do cook know that…
Don’t Know What Is True Love … Because You’re Not In Love?
We’ve all had those moments where our friend/acquaintance/random family relation treats us like five-year-old toddlers unable to understand the subtleties of an amazingly complex math equation. In this case, that amazingly complex math equation is “true love” or the Romantic…
Traditional Chinese Medicine And Mental Health
Two Centipedes for Sadness, Please The day after my father’s funeral, I awoke with steel knuckles twisting the insides of my abdomen. Waves of nausea and pain rolled over me as I struggled to the bathroom, yet as I curled…
What Is Dermatillomania: The Skin Picking Disorder?
What is dermatillomania, the skin picking disorder? Everyone has bad habits — those pesky little behaviors like nail-biting or foot-tapping — that they would all like to cease. I have a particularly bad, “shameful” habit of picking at my fingers,…
My Boyfriend Wants An Open Relationship, But I Don’t
So, my boyfriend of three years recently told me that he wants an open relationship. If that wasn’t bad enough, he brought it to my knowledge in a way that makes it seem like I have no choice but to…
Mother, I Don’t Want To Get Married
My boyfriend and I have lived in the same community for pretty much our whole lives. We’ve known each other for so long that, at least to me, we’re more like brother and sister than anything else. My mother is…
