Body Love Isn’t Required for Eating Disorder Recovery
As an eating disorder therapist, I know that many individuals in eating disorder recovery feel like they have to work to ‘love the appearance of their body.’ This is far from the truth for a variety of reasons. Feeling like you have to work to ‘love your body’ is a lot of pressure that can […]
Why We Love the Olympics and How Watching Uplifts Us
There’s something profoundly moving about an athlete on the podium, tears streaming as their national anthem plays. Even thousands of miles away, we feel it; a lump in our own throat, a swell of emotion that surprises us. The Olympics aren’t just a spectacular display of physical achievement; they’re a cultural ritual that taps into […]
When Love Feels Like Pain: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
Does everything feel like too much these days? Get When Life Sucks: 21 Days of Laughs and Light for free when you join the Tiny Buddha list. “Sometimes the person you love the most is the one who teaches you the hardest lesson about yourself.” ~Unknown I once thought that being in a relationship meant […]
Seven Ways to Spread Love in the World in the New Year
Each morning after meditation and prayer, I envision the encounters that I anticipate at home or at work, and I ask myself: “How do I need to manifest love for this particular person today?” As a medical school leader, I rarely hear the people around me talking about “love,” per se, but they often have […]
How Understanding Complex Trauma Deepened My Ability to Love Myself
“Being present for your own life is the most radical act of Self-compassion you can offer yourself.” ~Sylvia Boorstein In 2004, I experienced a powerful breakthrough in understanding what it meant to love myself. I could finally understand that self-love is about the relationship that you have with yourself, and that relationship is expressed in […]
Therapy Isn’t Something to Be Ashamed Of
As a therapist, as well as someone who goes to therapy, I can speak firsthand about the importance of attending therapy. Think of it this way: you are driving your car and suddenly you hear a funny noise. At first, you ignore it and hope it goes away. But over time, the noise starts to […]
Discovering I Lived in Fear, Thinking It Was Love
“Fear is the opposite of love. Love is the absence of fear. Whatever you do out of fear will create more fear. Whatever you do out of love will create more love.” ~Osho I did not realize I was driven by fear for most of my life. I thought I was making choices from love […]
Five Ways to Show Love to Your Community on…
Valentine’s Day is usually considered a day for celebrating romantic love. Couples go on dinner dates, shower each other with affection, and give romantic cards and gifts. But Valentine’s Day is clearly not just for lovers. School-aged kids often give everyone in their class valentines with notes of kindness, helping to create a loving classroom […]
Do We Need to Love Ourselves Before We Love Others?
To be truly compassionate toward others, do we first have to be compassionate toward ourselves? Some researchers have suggested that these two types of compassion are linked, although this might not always seem intuitive. After all, we can all probably think of individuals who are selfless and giving to other people, but who have trouble […]
Harnessing the ‘Love Hormone’ for Resilience in Tough Times
By Jana Wu, LCSW, LADC Coping with the stress of our daily lives isn’t easy, particularly in the context of our collective upheaval from COVID-19, the changing climate, dramatic increases in the cost of living, and global unrest. The stress we are experiencing is real and affects our whole society. It’s therefore crucial to our […]