Tag: mental health

Top 6 Lessons from the Past Year
To be honest, I’m still scratching my head wondering why I’ve been unusually happier this past year. It’s not like I accomplished anything big. The resolutions I made last year are the exact same ones I have now. I’m still scrambling for a greater sense of meaning and purpose. I’m still trying to reacquaint myself ...

Change is Hard: Why Knowing This Frees Us From Shame
It occurred to me that most of the things I say in this blog aren't exactly new; they're simply reminders of things that people already know but perhaps forgot. Most of us already know that we should, in theory, love ourselves. We know that authenticity is better than self-abandonment or chronic people-pleasing. We know that ...

Ripping the Bandaid Off: A Metaphor for Healing
I threw some bandages over some small cuts I had, because they stung like crazy whenever I showered or whenever they scraped against materials. What I didn't realize was that the bandages would end up irritating my skin even more; apparently I had some kind of allergic reaction to the adhesive. I eventually had no ...

The Space Where Healing Happens
A few weeks ago, something happened that triggered me. By "triggered", I don't mean being overly sensitive or easily offended (as the word seems to suggest these days). I mean that something happened, which was so reminiscent of a traumatic memory from my past, that I literally felt as if I had been transported back ...

A Meditator’s Advice for Measuring Progress with Anxiety or Depression
When it comes to mental health challenges like anxiety or depression, it can be tricky to measure progress in a tangible way than, say, weight loss. Progress is often slow, subtle, and incremental, and the changes we make on the inside are often barely detectable on the outside (at first). It's incredibly frustrating to feel ...

More than My Mental Illness
If you have known me personally (or have been reading my blog), you'd probably know that I live with mental health challenges. Since I was very young, I've always been a neurotic and anxious child. It hasn't left me in adulthood. I suppose I am what most people would call "high-functioning": I experience seasons of depression and ...

With Every Broken Bone, I Swear I Lived
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to catch up with a friend and fill each other in on the past two years of our lives. Before then, I'd been so busy plowing through the days that I hadn't realized how far I'd come. It was only after hearing the stories that were coming out ...