To continue with Gratitude Part I: Powerful Tips to Survive the Holidays, here is Part II. Read on for Tips to Shine Through the Holidays and build those Gratitude muscles! Take the free Gratitude Questionnaire Here Six gratitude exercises that can help you reflect on the season’s blessings and keep inevitable stress in check. 1. Take regular breathing breaks. When Cousin Fred is “at it again” with his narrow minded views and one-sided discussions, and you feel your heart rac

YEA! It’s the holidays! Not. Many of us look forward to the holidays, following traditions, and creating new memories. However, people who have experienced the loss of a loved one may not be so quick to jump into the local “Jingle Bell Trot” or indulge in the gluttony of feasts. Holidays and Anniversaries are notorious for pulling the rug out from under our feet and re-activating the grief. Holidays may be that soul-wrenching reminder that someone we loved, is not here. We m

If we were to notate the highs and lows in our lives onto music sheets, what would the rhythm of our lives show us? Would our days start out slowly, Adagio, and build as the day drew on, ending in a loud Fortissimo blare begging for a way to relax and sleep? Or are you always on a brisk Allegro ride full of life and high beats? Your individual song would show us how the rhythmic beats of our daily interactions, and how we identify and deal with them, directly affect our state

So we spoke to certified Martha Beck life coach, educator and author of Lee & Me: What I Learned from Parenting a Child with Adverse Childhood Experiences Wendy Gauntner about the struggles men face when challenged with mental wellness. Through her research and life experience, she knows that men are also affected by chronic stress. However, men often show their depression, anxiety, and feelings of being overwhelmed differently. For that reason, she has honed her expertise wh

I have been speaking about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for the past two years as part of a community grant aimed at building resiliency. As a result, I am invited to give training sessions for caregivers and those in stressful social services jobs. MBSR is a legitimate antidote to community and personal stressors. Once we learn what mindfulness is and how to employ it, mindfulness is the difference between burnout and resiliency. The idea of mindfulness is to ca

Our Relationship ninja, Amanda Rauch offers advice to navigate the heartache of a breakup. Break ups suck, there is no way around that. Losing someone is a huge loss and often a huge rejection. However, the good news is that there are ways to mend your broken heart. 1. Allow time to grieve. Getting right back into the dating game might end in you sobbing over your sushi appetizers on your first date with someone new. Not attractive. Take some time to cry, cut up photos, and t

Relax… It’s Just Therapy. Ah Facebook, the mecca of all social media… I was poking around on Facebook (no pun intended, I do not actually “poke” my friends online) when I noticed something odd about my friends’ activity on my page. I posted a photo of my cat, it got 16 likes and 8 comments. Next, I posted about how I tear up during every episode of Long Island Medium on TLC (oh come on, it’s touching), and again, 20 likes and 5 comments. Then I posted a link to our online the