One of the more common tropes in television and movies is that of the man lost on a country road, stubbornly refusing to look at a map or ask any passersby for directions back to the interstate. We all laugh at the character’s expense, many of the women knowingly nodding their heads, some of the men getting just a little defensive. These ficti...

Death is often referred to as life’s great equalizer. And, it’s true, we all die eventually. But the manner in which a person grieves the loss of a loved one is varied, complex, and unique to that individual. Grief is multi-layered and full of many other emotions, such as anger, guilt, and abandonment. Because ...

Very often in life, we look at a person who has made it through a difficult time—the death of a loved one, abuse, a natural disaster, a horrific accident—and applaud that person’s ability to persevere by using words like brave and courageous and fearless to describe them. Sometimes these words are, indeed, true descriptors of th...

This week marks the beginning of that stretch of year often referred to as the Dog Days of Summer. In ancient times, the Greeks noted that this period of time (July 12 to August 20 on our current calendar) followed the appearance of the star Sirius—often called the Dog Star. It was a time associated with drought, heat, mad dogs, bad luck, malaise, lethargy, ...

Addiction is a tough word—one that no one wants associated with themselves or with a loved one. In reality, however, addiction touches nearly all of us in some way or another. Consider these statistics for the year 2017: • 19.7 million American adults battled a substance abuse disorder • Nearly 74 percent of those adults also s...

After a whirlwind of travel, and with another week of flights and workshops ahead of me, I settled into my plane seat and complained via text to my friend, Hayley Hobson, about how exhausted I felt. She replied, “Well, then, tell yourself another story! Tell yourself you aren’t exhausted.” I was a little perplexed at first, but then I dec...

Recently on my Emotions Mentor podcast , I spoke with functional medicine practitioner Melissa Esguerra about the connection between the brain and the gut. It’s a topic I’ve written about before and one that’s receiving increased interest in medical and psychiatric ...

Healing from anger , frustration, anxiety , stress, exhaustion , or any other emotional ailment that blocks happiness—and often productivity—isn’t easy. It takes time, commitment, and a willingness to change. And sometimes, the hardest part can simply be getting started. Through years of study...

Learning to feel comfortable in your own skin, to truly love who you are, takes a lot of work. But, as Brené Brown wrote in Daring Greatly, “Owning [your] story and loving [yourself] through that process is the bravest thing that [you’ll] ever do.” Recently, on my Emotions Mentor podcast , I spoke with energy and ...

“She died of a broken heart.” “He’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.” “Butterflies danced in her stomach.” Phrases like these make a connection between physical pain and emotional pain and are used frequently in literature, film, and television to convey just how deeply em...

, From the time a pre-teen girl starts puberty to the time she reaches her 40s and 50s, the hormones in her body ebb and flow, carrying out silent but vital tasks that impact how she feels, acts, and behaves. When hormones are out of balance or working to move the body through natural transitions (puberty, pregnancy and postnatal phases, perime...

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, affects millions of Americans each year—men, women, and children alike. The numbers are sobering. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 10 percent of women who experience trauma each year will develop PTSD, compared to 4 percent of men who experience trauma. The rates for children a...

A growing body of research over the past few decades has demonstrated a clear link between emotions and physical health. Emotions like doubt, shame, anger, resentment, and fear, when not properly worked through, can lead to serious physical illnesses, such as chronic digestive issues and debilitating migraines. This week on the Emotions Ment...

Winning takes talent, hard work, some inspiration, and often a little luck. But there is one other element so crucial to being a winner that it often contributes more to a winning outcome than all of these other things combined. What is it? A winning mindset. People with a winning mindset recognize that true success is determined by the way a person...

The moment of adoption is a joyous occasion for parents who have prepared their hearts and homes to welcome and love a child. For the child, however, that moment is a transition—a colossal change that can invoke a range of emotions. Even children who are adopted at birth subconsciously feel a shift as they begin hearing unfamiliar sounds and v...

Over the past few decades, a growing collection of research has explored a connection between the workings of the gut and the health of the brain. The findings? The bacterial makeup of the gut not only regulates intestinal health, but also directly affects the immune and central nervous systems, thus playing a large role in a wider variety of disea...

Everything surrounding us and within us is made up of energy—energy that affects how with think, see, feel, and react, energy that guides our lives. Even our thoughts form energy. This week on the “Emotions Mentor” podcast, I spoke with my friend and reiki master Sharon Ho about the energy we create, how it affects us physically and mentally, and...

Three years into her husband’s first term as president and after a somewhat discouraging day in early January, Eleanor Roosevelt shook off her stress and wrote that “with the new day comes new strengths and new thoughts.” I like to think of the new year this way too—as a gift—a chance to start over with a clean slate, to try something different, ...

If I were teaching a class and asked students to list several factors that lead to being both healthy and happy in life, I’d likely get responses such as exercise, eat right, get enough sleep, stay away from drugs, drink enough water, and never stop learning. And, of course, all of those answers would be correct. But one—even, perhaps, the most importan...

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” At least that’s what song lyrics, our friends’ posts on social media, and advertisements for the perfect gift tell us. In reality, though, the holidays can be difficult for many reasons: • Financial hardships can cause people to feel sad, angry, or ashamed if they can’t afford to buy gifts or participate...