Blog for Better Living

How to Cope with DEI Funding Cuts

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | April 11, 2025

Almost four years ago, I wrote an article titled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The Basics, addressing the relevant and meaningful topic of DEI following the protests sparked by the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. While the conversation about systemic racism was crucial at the time, it remains just as relevant […]

Read More

Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Racial Justice, Trauma

How to Handle Stress and Anxiety After the Election Results

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | January 10, 2025

Emotions ran particularly high during this election season given the significance of the topics being debated, such as women’s reproductive rights, immigration and mass deportation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and transgender rights, to name a few. Our country remains in a state of political divisiveness. As such, it is understandable that those on the losing side […]

Read More

Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Racial Justice, Stress

Navigating Mental Health Advice

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | August 23, 2024

How to Identify What Works and What Doesn’t   Mental health has become a prominent and widely discussed topic since the pandemic, and there is currently more information on the subject than ever before. This change has benefits like de-stigmatizing mental illness and helping people feel more comfortable accessing services. However, the sheer amount of […]

Read More

Anxiety, Depression, Personal Improvement, Stress, Therapy

How to Reduce Anxiety During Medical Appointments

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | April 26, 2024

If you worry about meeting with a medical health provider, and find yourself avoiding scheduling medical appointments, you’re not alone. Going to the doctor can be nerve-wracking for everyone, and for some, medical visits can produce overwhelming fear and anxiety. This article provides strategies to help you reduce anxiety before and during a medical appointment […]

Read More

Anxiety, Stress

Faulty Connections: How Constant Communication is Ruining Dating

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | August 18, 2023

Most people today connect with romantic interests virtually, in one form or another. We are more connected now than we ever have been with text messages, phone calls, videocalls, social media apps (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat) and the ability to share our location. In therapy, I frequently hear people say, we text all day, so I […]

Read More

Personal Improvement, Relationships, Stress, Therapy

Strategies to Help You Receive Feedback

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | May 19, 2023

Feedback is an important exchange that happens between friends, colleagues, relatives, and romantic partners. When successful, feedback is an opportunity to feel more connected and better understood by another person. Positive feedback can be reassuring because it highlights our contributions, underscores our strengths, and appreciates our thoughtfulness. However, constructive, or critical feedback is harder to […]

Read More

Anxiety, Personal Improvement, Relationships, Stress

Indian Parenting: The Cost of Keeping Up Appearances

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | November 11, 2022

What happens when the approval of others comes at the cost of your child’s well-being and mental health? And would you recognize that it was happening? If you are an adult child of Indian origin, your parents likely encouraged you to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. You may have pursued a career in one […]

Read More

Anxiety, Family, Parenting

Finding Belonging in the Workplace for Women of Color

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | March 25, 2022

Recognizing the experience and contribution of women of color in our society is important. This is especially true in honor of Women’s History Month. Many women of color, especially those from historically marginalized groups, don’t see professionals from their backgrounds represented in their respective career fields. This lack of representation leads to feeling inadequate, a […]

Read More

Career, Racial Justice

Let Go of a Timeline and Create Your Own Path

By: Kamaljit "Sonya" Virdi, Ph.D. | January 14, 2022

From the time we are born, our developmental milestones are closely monitored, from walking to talking to our social behavior. In school we are compared to a cohort of kids of similar age until we graduate high school. We are primed to live by a timeline, to plan, and to compare ourselves to others. While […]

Read More

Anxiety, Personal Improvement, Stress