I rarely share my beliefs with people. When I try to explain to them how our thoughts shape our reality, I get that kind of glazed eyeball look, or the “let-me-humor-her-in-case-she’s-crazy” look: But it isn’t some crazy woo-woo. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been used to treat a number of problems quite successfully, including Generalized Anxiety […]

I am honestly dumbfounded by the ease at which people reveal their deepest, most humiliating secrets on one of those second-rate, no-holds-barred talk shows – in front of millions of strangers no less. I can barely speak above a whisper when talking to my pharmacist about bowel issues. This is why I kind of love […]

When my great uncle died suddenly (one day he had a headache, the next day he was gone), my aunt struggled to cope. Upon visiting her GP and asking for advice, he immediately wrote her out a prescription for an anti-depressant. No questions asked, no recommendation for therapy. A few months later, her behavior became […]

Whether it’s the bittersweet joy of watching another year pass into history or a whole lot of champagne, there’s something about a fresh new year that inspires us to turn over new leaf. And even though some of those resolutions will crumble by March, we’re still determined to start the new year on the right foot. […]

Here’s a brief description of my typical Christmas Eve: Walk into my mom’s or aunt’s house. Mutter to myself about how the place smells like fish (because we don’t do the turkey thing in my family; there’s no meat on the eve of Christmas). Sit down at the table and watch people eat fish. Grab […]

Saturday afternoon, I watched my hairdresser as she flitted around getting my “recipe” ready. She seemed different: Her step was lighter, her head a little higher, her smile less strained. “The energy here is different,” I noted. “You like it here.” I swept my eyes across the room. There was a Christmas tree in the […]

Dear younger me, You’re short. Accept it. When the pediatrician said that you’d be a good 5 foot 4 he was off – by like 4 inches. Also, being the person I know you are (smart, stubborn, obsessive, creative, bored, compassionate, analytical, emotional), I’ve come up with a few pieces of wisdom to ease you […]

You might as well admit it now, because I know you’ve done it. That’s right: I know you’ve Facebook-stalked someone from your past to see how they’re doing. Bonus points if they’ve gained weight, got divorced, gone bald or someone tagged them in a really, really unflattering picture. I’ve done it, I’m a little embarrassed […]

You would need to pay me a lot of money to get me to watch entertainment news; I find these shows incredibly pretentious and insulting to people’s intelligence, but given that I was preoccupied with untangling my Christmas lights last week, I wasn’t paying much attention to what was on TV. I tuned in and […]

Moms are guilt-trip ninjas. They’ll bend over backwards to do nice things for you and will insist that they don’t want anything in return – and honestly, most of the time, they don’t. But miss one dinner or phone call, and they’ll whip out the “Fine. I mean, I did give birth to you, raise […]

When I think Type A, I think of those cheesy, feel-good family movies with the mom or dad who’s always working and keeps missing their kid’s baseball game or ballet recital. After experiencing a sudden health scare or other emergency, the parent has a sudden epiphany: Family is important, kids grow up so fast, money […]

Obsessive shoppers fascinate me, particularly those who shop even though they know they can’t afford to. Why do they do it? Because shopping is like any other addiction: You know it’s not healthy, but you just can’t help yourself. When my friend turned 30, she decided she wanted to party in style, so she organized […]