I have a lot of names for my scale. 1) Liar 2) So-this-is-what-I-get-for-eating-pasta. 3) Ughhh (Nickname: Grrrrrr) 4) …*bleep*… Then I’ll chastise myself for choosing to step on this hell-spawned contraption and for gaining whatever amount it says. I’ll add whatever food du jour I ate to my “Must-not-have-even-though-I-want-to” list, then I’ll proportion the amount […]

Being in the psychology field, I’ve come across a lot of hard-luck stories – and stories of amazing human triumph. I am amazed at the strength of the human spirit to overcome difficult childhoods, toxic relationships, traumatic experiences, and debilitating mental health problems. That saying that “God only gives you what you can handle” most […]

The term “burnout” gets thrown around a lot, but what is it, really? I look at it as a sequence, a build-up right before the boom – or in this case, the white flag. When things start to get hectic at work, the initial onset of stress feels like you’re on edge – your stomach […]

It would be a misconception to say that procrastinators don’t get anything done. They do – eventually. For example, when I have an overwhelming writing task ahead of me, particularly something I am not motivated to do, the pile up of dust and papers on my desk will suddenly become Code-Red important. Obviously, I need […]

(I so cleverly reserved this blog topic for the holidays – because you know you’re going to need it!) I’ve often heard people say that stress is “just a part of life.” If you tell them that things are hectic at work or at home, they’ll likely nod their head sympathetically and then offer some […]

Building self-esteem is like going through a gauntlet: it can and will take a battering with the many trials life can bring. Young women in particular are bombarded with messages of how they’re supposed to look, dress and even smell. Every faux pas and every rejection can be a heavy blow to a growing yet […]

During an analysis of our data for the Depression Test on Queendom, we came across some eye-opening patterns. To some degree, we can assume that most people who take a depression assessment are feeling sad already – who would take a depression test if everything was going great in their life? For the most part, […]

Social anxiety can present itself in many forms and to various degrees. Some people have issues with public speaking or stage fright; others are shy in certain situations or experience performance anxiety when the stakes are high. However, according to the DSM IV, for 10 to 20% of the population, social anxiety has much more […]

Imagine two people working in the same job, same office, with the same degree of stress. One person handles the job and the pressure seemingly well, the other takes some personal time off as a result of burnout. What gives? “It is not stress that kills us,” said Hans Selye, endocrinologist and an icon of […]

Anger, at best, has a checkered reputation. Keeping it bottled up is bad for your health. Venting it without a certain degree of restraint is destructive, both literally and figuratively. Rumination or obsessing over a perceived transgression will make your anger even worse. Cathartic release by dropping a 50lb bowling ball through your ex’s windshield […]

No matter how much we criticize others, point out their mistakes or mock them, we are still our own worst enemy. We mentally beat ourselves up for every mistake and failure. Even people who take pleasure in finding fault in others (we all known them and secretly desire to punch them) are almost always seeking […]

There’s a reason why, after a sad break-up in a movie or TV show, we’ll see the character with a spoon in her hand and a bucket of ice cream on her lap, sitting next to a box of tissues (Note: I use women as an example here – both genders can be emotional eaters). […]