Tag: coping

Let’s talk about anxiety and depression. I am sure you have heard these words before. What I am about to say might surprise you. Anxiety and depression are not bad things despite what we have been led to believe. Now, I want to clarify that I am in no way minimizing the struggles that anxiety and depression bring. Rather, I am pointing out that anxiety and depression play important roles in our lives, but they can be harmful in excess.

Anxiety. Sometimes just reading this word can make us start to panic, clench our jaw, and furrow our brow. Anxiety can inhibit us from being our true selves for fear of judgement or doing the wrong thing. We can obsess over negative thoughts, feel sick to our stomach, the list goes on. Anxiety in excess can be damaging, but let’s think about the function of anxiety. If we were free from ...

For one full calendar year today, life as we knew it, has been on hold.

On March 11, 2020 local news stations began announcing the first big changes due to COVID-19. Colleges would begin the transition of classes from in-person to online learning or suspension of classes entirely. News of colleges plans spread among the state, and shortly thereafter K-12 schools followed suit. By March 13, it was no longer safe to visit residential, health care or juvenile centers. Shortly thereafter, restaurants, gyms, coffee shops, hair salons, and many more small businesses were closed. And on March 23, 2020 the first statewide stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers was implemented.

As I write this blog on March 11, 2021, exactly one year since this pandemic struck our mitten state, Nation, and globe, I noticed the presence of one of my first deep exhales since this halt on “real life” h ...

You board the flight, stow your carry-on luggage, and settle into your seat. Maybe it’s because you’re queueing up a few podcast episodes for the trip, taking care of a few last-minute emails that can’t wait, or distracted by your 3-year-old who is already making a valiant attempt to lick every surface within reach, but you’re only faintly aware of that worn-out phrase drifting over the cabin intercom: “In the event of a sudden drop in air pressure...secure your own oxygen mask first before assisting others.” If the announcement registers at all, it may even provoke a hint of annoyance!

To be fair, the oxygen mask phrase and the idea behind it is so commonplace that most of us have probably often heard it used as an analogy for responsible caregiving. “You can’t care for others if you don’t care for yourself.” On its face, it’s a pretty simple concept. Both on airplanes and in life, we assume we’ll have the presence of mind to secure our own ...