
my 2024 resolutions
In just a few days the gyms will be overrun with people, Stanleys will be fished out from the back of the cupboard, and trash cans will be stuffed with the leftover sugary treats from the holiday season. Resolution season is upon us.

review: papier wellness journal
One of my favorite skills that I acquired in therapy was mindfulness. With it, I was able to help reduce my anxiety, help improve depression (especially here in gloomy Seattle), and learn how to practice gratitude. I used the skill to practice stillness, set intentions, and reflect on all facets of life.

my 5 worst and best purchases of 2023
Call me Rebecca Bloomwood and get me a green scarf, because this is my confession: I am a shopaholic. Like our friend Becky in the 2009 movie, I too feel that the world gets better when I shop.

From overwhelmed to in Control
Have you ever been on the verge of a full-blown panic attack? The kind where the weight of the world seems to be crushing your existence until you’re the size of an ant. You can feel your heartbeat in your ears, the adrenaline coursing through your veins, and all of the words you shouldn’t say ready to fly off the tip of your tongue to cut like daggers.

Life update: What’s happened in 3 years
Life is funny, isn’t it? Nearly three years ago, I published an episode of the Self Care Podcast with a friend and ex-colleague, Georgia, about corporate burnout. Little did I know, that would foreshadow the future I was rapidly approaching. Not only did my then-current role take ALL my free time, my mental health, and my self-confidence, but it also took this very blog (and the podcast).

When ‘Happy’ is Too Much to Ask For
Have you ever had one of those days/weeks/months/years where, try as you might, you can’t pull your bootstraps up and get your ass in gear? Where no matter what you do, who you talk to, or what concoction of self care elixir you conjure up, you just can’t? Welcome to the club. It’s the reason I couldn’t publish this las week, as I’d planned. Or stick to a podcast recording schedule. *nervous laughter*

Meet Self Care: Our New Podcast
Admittedly, this blog is coming out much later than I’d planned. Though, despite the Christmas extravaganza that’s displayed at Target, it’s technically still November, so not too far off… You heard it here last, folks! I started a podcast this month! A/D OGs may remember On Air with Avec David — a two or three-episode stint of a podcast that I launched with the start of the blog. This is definitely not that.

How To: Mindfully Meditate
Once upon a time, I was a small-town spring chicken with big dreams, a fast metabolism, and an entire collection of unhealthy coping mechanisms. But actually. Like Disney’s beloved red-headed mermaid, I had gadgets and gizmos, aplenty, anxiety and emotion-aversion, galore! Conflict stressed me out, I felt nauseous at the thought of feeling much of anything real, and I suppressed EVERYTHING into teeny tiny boxes and shoved them to the back of the closet in my mind. Feelings? Not today, satan.