Something that people don't really talk about is the issue of social anxiety, how it differs from other terms it gets confused with, and how much it can get in the way. What is social anxiety? The ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) defines social anxiety as "intense anxiety or fear of being judged, [...]
Society has a serious "Novelty Syndrome" issue. We are creatures of habit and need routine, yet most of us feel pressure to constantly seek new things, or feel that newness and unfamiliarity will bring more happiness and fulfillment. Novelty syndrome: the tendency to constantly seek novelty, believing it will bring more happiness and fulfillment, while [...]
Stability, reliability, and consistency is so important to me right now. I'm focused on bringing more security into my life. As someone who greatly suffers from anxiety, I have found that repetition and steady routine in my daily life is enormously helpful. 🧘♀️👍✅ This past year, I have put a lot of thought into what [...]
Medicine is important for healing our bodies and taking care of ourselves. But when it comes to taking medicine, society holds a stigma against it. We are made to feel weak for relying on assistance outside of ourselves. Medicine is very powerful: it has the potential to be either healing or damaging. Because of this, [...]
The other week, I went to a health food store and picked up some interesting goods I'd like to share! Golden turmeric infusion -- a powder you mix with warm milk or hot water in order to make "golden milk," an ancient eastern recipe with numerous health benefits, everything from mood boost to reduction of [...]
Overstimulation happens when your senses are overloaded to the point of discomfort. Examples include loud noises, bright lights, strong smell or taste, etc. Overstimulation happens to everyone, but those who are highly sensitive are prone to suffering from it on a daily basis, causing them significant distress. High sensitivity can come from many underlying medical [...]
Self-care is the act of taking care of yourself in order to assure optimal well-being. You do not have to love yourself in order to take care of yourself. Oftentimes we only care for ourselves in order to relieve the burden of someone else having to take care of us. Or we may take care [...]
I have found that my depression has significantly decreased since becoming a nun. In my old life, I was very depressed. I was completely absorbed in my own pain. My new life forces me to look at the big picture, and focus on other people's pain, especially those less fortunate. I've been doing a lot [...]
Dissociation means to "dissociate from the world" by losing consciousness. It involves detachment from one's feelings and entire reality. Dissociation is an involuntary, instinctual, survival response conditioned in early childhood as a way of responding to trauma. Those who frequently dissociate are likely to have a personality disorder due to a serotonin deficiency. During a [...]
You spend your first chunk of life in school, being forced to learn things that bore you and often seem purposeless. School is less about learning and more about conditioning you to detest learning. Multiple choice tests encourage shallow thinking. It counteracts second-guessing, reassessment, and reevaluation -- all the things that open your mind to [...]
