Articles
What TikTok Self-Diagnosis Gets Wrong About Mental Health
At the time of this writing, TikTok is the most downloaded application on people’s phones. But what TikTok self-diagnosis gets wrong about mental health is a big deal, and here’s why. The Birth of TikTok Self-Diagnosis The short-form video content on Vine was ahead of its time. It took the internet by storm, amassing a large following and number of subscribers in a short amount of time. However, the success of the platform fizzled out as quickly as it caught on. The world wasn’t ready yet, but over the years - as attention spans grow shorter and shorter – it was [...]
10 Practical Ways to Reduce and Manage Anxiety
Anxiety can present itself in a wide variety of ways. One person may experience insomnia while another tends to pull the covers over their head and sleep all day. One person may tend toward impatient outbursts while another becomes quiet and withdrawn. Even within one person, you can see a variety of manifestations of anxiety, sometimes linked to different situations and sometimes seemingly random. Some level of anxiety can actually be helpful. As a reaction to stress or dangerous situations, anxiety can help warn us so we can make decisions accordingly. However, anxiety that persists or extends beyond an isolated situation [...]
Common Myths about the Grieving Process
The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you’ll learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to. – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler (On Grief and Grieving) Grief is a natural response to the loss of someone or something that’s important to you. Usually, it is associated with the death of a loved one. However, there are other losses in life that can trigger [...]
Regaining Peace Through Scriptures About Worry
Worry is a thief. Not only does it rob us of our joy and peace as we think about the various ways things might not go according to plan, but it also robs us of our present. Instead of relishing the present and experiencing each moment in its fullness, we are consumed by what might happen. And when that dreaded future arrives, we find ourselves caught up worrying once again about what comes next. All of us worry. Between our jobs, the health of our family, our finances, and the things happening in the world around us, we have a lot of [...]
Tips for Effective Communication in Marriage
To be able to communicate well is a great asset in any relationship, but particularly in marriage because of the intimacy of the relationship. But however good an aspiration effective communication is, it is also demanding work and often does not come naturally to us. There are many reasons why a couple may be struggling with communication in marriage. We may have grown used to each other and become lazy in our relationship. We may believe our partner ought to know what we are thinking or feeling without telling them. We might think we can’t explain ourselves well enough. We might [...]
Embracing a Grace-Filled Beauty Routine
In a culture of all things anti-aging. In a culture of all things not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. As women, this not-enough-ness is enough to destroy our beauty and we aren’t even aware of the destruction. It can be a sad fate to live this life without ever knowing our place and our presence of beauty in the world. Much of this has to do with learning to define beauty differently than mass cultural norms and consumer marketing. It’s time to be smarter and wiser about our beauty and to start [...]
8 Traits of a Highly Sensitive Person
Are you a highly sensitive person? Up to twenty percent of the population could be classified as highly sensitive. This term was coined by researcher Elaine Aron, and the classification has helped many people understand themselves and others with greater clarity. If you aren’t sure if you are highly sensitive, or if someone you love is a highly sensitive person, eight traits may indicate high sensitivity. All of us have sensitive areas. But a highly sensitive person (HSP) usually has almost all of these eight traits in combination. 1. Highly sensitive people have strong responses to internal and external stimuli. What [...]
Understanding Boundaries in Marriage
Boundaries in marriage may seem like an oxymoron. They should not exist together when two people get married and become “one flesh.” Individuality is not a term one usually hears when there is a discussion on marriage. The reality though is that before someone gets married, they are an entity of their own, with feelings, values, thoughts, opinions, and lifestyle choices that do not disappear because they are now in a committed union. They might be re-evaluated, but they still exist. For this reason, there is a need to understand the role and need for boundaries in marriage. In their best-selling [...]
How to Become a More Present Listener for Your Spouse
If you’ve ever heard, “You don’t listen,” when you are engaged in a conflict with your spouse, remember that listening is a learned skill – and it’s not one that many of us do well. However, becoming a more engaged, present listener is something we can improve on over time, and it can bring much-needed healing and growth to our relationships. To become a better listener, active listening is key. Active listening can be defined as listening with all your senses and letting the other person know that he/she has your full attention. It also shows that you respect the other [...]