Tag Archives: Meaning
← Older postsFour brief ways in which mindfulness can actually be used to help you cope: Practical applications of being mindful.
Here are a few simple ways in which learning and using mindfulness can help people. Quiet the mind. A simple mindful activity such as focusing on the breath for a few minutes can help people slow down racing thoughts, lower … Continue reading
Making space for your jumbled, confused, disorganized, messy, or incoherent cartoon elephants (emotions!).
This is a picture of what your elephants (emotions!) might look like if they get bunched up like a bad traffic jam. A lot of effort may need to go into sorting, identifying, labeling, and describing your elephants. It is … Continue reading
Loneliness and the New Year
Loneliness may have to do with a feeling as if something is missing. A loss of connection, a loss of relationship, a loss of well-being, or a loss of what could or should have been. New Years Eve may bring … Continue reading
When trauma forces us to look at what matters: Newtown, CT, and surviving emotional pain
Traumatic experiences have a tendency to shake us to the very core, calling into question our beliefs about humanity, safety, influence, power, control, and faith. When traumatic things happen, our vulnerabilities are exposed. We may feel raw, defenseless, or powerless. … Continue reading
6 quick tips on mindfully navigating the holidays when you aren’t “feeling” it
Notice what you feel without judging. Sometimes people believe that if they don’t feel a certain way, they are missing out on some kind of grand, spiritual, or wonderful experience. I am reminded of the Charlie Brown Christmas special in … Continue reading
7 Tips for handling stressful holiday interactions:
Try to plan your interactions or the time you spend with family in such a way that you can take “breaks” from emotional intensity. This can include limiting or structuring the time you spend together, planning for short periods apart … Continue reading
When life hands you lemons and you can’t make lemonade
Has anyone ever told you to simply turn a negative into a positive? Maybe people have told you to get over it, move on, keep your chin up, or let it go. At some point someone may have suggested returning … Continue reading
What acceptance means in the face of loss
Acceptance is considered to be a critical component to being able to cope adaptively. People who are able to accept what is (or what has already happened) are generally able to move more fluidly through life. They have less problems … Continue reading
Participating mindfully
Often when people are experiencing a high degree of anxiety their attention is pre-occupied. They may walk around in a daze, feel unreal or disconnected, and are unable to pay attention to what is going on around them. Internally they … Continue reading
Who is in control? You or your cartoon elephants (emotions!)?
Emotions that control peoples’ lives prevent them from doing the things they love, working hard to achieve goals, tolerating pain in order to get somewhere in life, building mastery over situations that may feel threatening at first, and … Continue reading