Depression and the Heart | Psychology Today

For decades, we’ve divided health into neat categories: Mental health on one side, physical health on the other. The brain over here. The heart over there. Different specialists. Different appointments. Different silos. But biology doesn’t respect those boundaries—and neither does depression. A growing body of research now makes something unmistakably clear: Depression is not only […]

Set Boundaries With Difficult Parents Using Detachment

Austin threw his hands up. “No matter what I say or do, it’s always the same thing!” he said, voice raised in frustration. We had been talking about his most recent visit with his mother, one he had begun with cautious optimism, hoping that if he explained himself just a little more clearly this time, […]

Where Did My Loving Child Go?

It is not unusual for me to hear from parents whose now-estranged adult child once expressed deep gratitude for their upbringing and for the role their parent played in their life. Often, these affirmations were written or spoken not long before the estrangement occurred. Then, sometimes abruptly, communication stops—or resumes in ways that feel hostile, […]

Is My Life Turning Into A Checklist?

In recent years, people have been infatuated by the idea that the more productive you are, the better you will be. Productivity culture, wellness trends, and social media have fostered the belief that we should continually improve, whether physically, emotionally, or professionally. Self-improvement is usually positive, but the pressure to optimize every part of life […]

Missing the Children I Never Had

I miss the children I never had. I was never pregnant. I never miscarried. There is no medical chart, no ultrasound photo folded into a drawer. And yet, there are two girls I have known for quite some time—two girls conceived in my mind. I’m not exactly sure when this little mental game started. Maybe […]

Can We Cultivate Forgiveness in Prison?

In 2017, Sylvester Jackson joined a forgiveness therapy group simply to get out of his cell in a maximum-security prison—he might not have participated otherwise. Sylvester Jackson and Lavansa Jackson of Believers For Change. © WTMJ-TV Milwaukee This happenstance involvement profoundly impacted the course of his life. Now living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he leads community […]

Why Your Friendships Make You Feel Anxious and Overthink Everything

Want more posts like this in your life? Join the Tiny Buddha list for daily or weekly insights. “Many of our relationship struggles are not character flaws but survival strategies that once made sense.” ~Unknown Throughout my life I’ve often been described as confident and outgoing. I can be the “life and soul” of a party […]

Voices of Generations: How Family Stories Foster Belonging

Throughout many immigrant experiences, stories collected from family members can be a starting point for migrants. The memories gleaned from parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles—who crossed dozens of borders at great risk and with immense pain—can settle into the consciousness of new host communities for decades. For the migrants, these stories and memories represent the […]

Redefining Persistence: Goal-Setting and Neurodivergence

Many people assume that everyone should be able to work toward their goals with ease and consistent motivation, viewing this skill as a standard “strength” that everyone should possess. However, for many of us, especially those who are neurodivergent, it is actually a significant challenge that requires an entirely different approach than the one taught […]

Help Is Other People: The Power of Social Connectedness

If there’s one finding in the psychological literature that warrants your most urgent attention, I’d argue that this is it: Social relationships are our most powerful psychological currency; they are the key to our psychological health. There is no “I” in “Self.” The “I” is always in “Society.” Human beings are social before they are […]