How to Enjoy Your Vacation

My family and I recently went on a week-long vacation to the North Carolina mountains. We had such a fantastic time it was difficult to come home! When you are sharing a house with 9 other adults and are not in charge of meal planning, grocery shopping, or the schedule, it can be really difficult […]

I’m too busy for Self-Care!

There are days or seasons of life when we feel like we have too much on our plate to consider ourselves and our health. I would like to challenge this mindset and instead view taking care of your health as a spectrum and it is important to acknowledge where you are on that spectrum will […]

Four Ways to Reduce Cortisol

Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. It is made in the adrenal gland and is elevated when we experience heightened anxiety or stress. When we are relaxed, it is decreased. Chronic stress means chronically high cortisol. While cortisol is needed for the fight or flight response when we experience acute stress, chronically high cortisol […]

Benefits of Casual Social Ties

Loneliness has become a significant public health issue, prompting the Surgeon General to issue a warning about its impact on individual well-being and society as a whole. The increasing prevalence of social isolation and loneliness can lead to various adverse health effects, including increased risk of mental health disorders, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality to […]

Aspirational versus Inspirational

In my recent blog post, Avoid the Trap of Comparison, I referred to “health and wellness” social media content as aspirational. I did this because most of social media’s “health and wellness” content is aspirational.  Aspiration refers to ambition whereas inspiration refers to the urge to do something. Aspiration motivates an individual to achieve a […]

Avoid the Trap of Comparison

Even just a casual scroll through your social media feeds can trigger feelings of not being enough. With the prevalence of social media, it is so easy to become consumed with comparing oneself to others who appear to be living their best life. You may not even realize you are internalizing the messages on your […]

I’m Injured–Now What?

About a month ago, I broke my toe. It’s the big toe, and arguably the most important since it’s responsible for balance. I went from engaging in over 500 minutes of physical activity a week to maybe 100 minutes, severely restricted by my injury and a walking boot. Pre-injury, I enjoyed daily movement consisting of […]