Blog for Better Living

Unplugging: Managing “Toxicity Overload”

By: Other | November 26, 2018

Written by Paul Paris, Ph.D. Is your psyche disturbed by world events? Are you overwhelmed by what’s happening in our country? It seems easy these days for such external environments to adversely affect our personal lives. In my own personal life, I have to be mindful of ways to shift and balance my attention so […]

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Mindfulness, Relationships, Stress

Integrating Yoga Practices into Therapy

By: Rochelle Perper, Ph.D. | November 2, 2018

“Come with me to a yoga class!” said my friend Caroline to me sometime last year. “Why on earth would I want to go to a stretch class with strangers I don’t know?” I thought to myself. If you relate to this sentiment, you are not alone. I harbored great skepticism about the practice of […]

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Anxiety, Depression, Mindfulness, Therapy, Yoga

How to Raise Awareness of our Emotions

By: Other | October 5, 2018

Written by Haim Shemer, Psy.D. Are you aware of your emotions? Can you identify the emotions that give rise to your feelings of anxiety, disturbance, bad behavior, or other uneasy states of mind? To help us with meanings, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word emotions as: the affective aspect of consciousness a state of feeling a […]

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Anger, Anxiety, Grief, Mindfulness, Sleep/Relaxation

You Are What You Think

By: Other | July 11, 2018

Written by Haim Shemer, Psy.D. Let’s think about thoughts for a moment. We have heard and seen the phrase “you are what you think” quoted many times in many places. It is one of the most powerful statements that I like to share with others, but with much caution. The phrase is simple. It is […]

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Anxiety, Mindfulness, Personal Improvement

How to Reduce Anxiety by Using Your Body as a Tool

By: Other | June 29, 2018

Written by Paul Paris, Ph.D. Anxiety, as an emotion, urges us toward fight or flight behaviors like running away or freezing. Anxiety can mobilize our bodies and mind toward immediate action in response to an accurately perceived danger or threat in the environment. Research on anxiety shows that all of us need a “healthy” level […]

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Anxiety, Mindfulness

Mindfulness…the Loving Kind

By: Other | June 1, 2018

Written by Joy Francisco, Ph.D. What is mindfulness? And why is there a special loving kind of mindfulness? Mindfulness is living in the present moment. Mindfulness can be utilized as a form of self-compassion. And, self-compassion is what you need to nourish your mind, body, and soul. Together they help you to love yourself and […]

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Mindfulness, Personal Improvement

Self-Forgiveness: Letting Go of What We Cannot Change in the Past

By: Other | April 27, 2018

Written by Paul Paris, Ph.D. When we talk about forgiveness, we typically think in terms of forgiving others. When others have wronged us, we often struggle with the ability to forgive them. Maybe they haven’t yet acknowledged or apologized. Maybe they have passed away, and we can’t let go of what they did or how […]

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Depression, Grief, Mindfulness, Relationships

Spring: The Season for a Fresh Start

By: Jen McWaters, Psy.D. | April 20, 2018

Renewal, rebirth, and regrowth: these are words commonly associated with Spring. All begin with the prefix “re,” which means “again,” “is back,” or signals repetition. Spring, therefore, is a season of action, to redo or begin again. For me, Spring compels me to enjoy the outside and nature more and to feel reenergized. For many […]

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Mindfulness, Personal Improvement

Simply Living by Living Simply

By: Other | January 26, 2018

Written by Joy Francisco, Ph.D. Has life become a hectic struggle? Have we become overly busy chasing for more that our lives have become cluttered with unnecessary belongings, responsibilities and extra burdens? These things can cloud our lives so much that we cannot focus on the things that are really important and meaningful to us. We […]

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Mindfulness, Personal Improvement, Relationships