As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that people really only want gifts that will make their lives easier. That’s why I put together this collection of gifts for stressed-out people– a collection of beautiful, functional stress relief gifts that promote mental health and well-being. We live at a moment in history when divisive […]
anxiety relief
25 Research-Backed Remedies for Meaningful Anxiety Relief
The latest statistics from the World Health Organization estimate that over 260 million people across the world struggle with anxiety and chronic stress– a figure that is projected to grow exponentially in an age of increased political tension, economic upheaval, and post-pandemic rebuilding. While shocking, this figure isn’t necessarily surprising. In the digital age, information […]
The 12 Best Herbal Remedies For Anxiety (& The Most Effective Ways to Use Them)
Herbal remedies for anxiety and stress have gone from being woo-woo to commonplace. As we wrote in our Comprehensive Anxiety Toolkit, anxiety is a multifaceted experience and as such, you should take a multifaceted approach to treatment. Exercise, meditation, getting good sleep, eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and maintaining healthy relationships can all […]
How To Use Glimmers (The Opposite of Triggers) to Relieve Stress
I first heard about glimmers and the concept of a “glimmers list” when somatic coach Sarah Baldwin mentioned them both in a tutorial about how anxious people can learn to understand and regulate their nervous system. After 10 years of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and about ~3 years of Somatic Therapy, I was surprised that this […]
How to Get Better at Overcoming Rumination (aka Obsessive Thoughts)
Rumination is the phenomenon of continuously, obsessively thinking about negative or unpleasant thoughts in a way that makes it hard to let go. By definition, it is a repetitive thought process that has a negative tone because it is focused on negative experiences, which often get replayed over and over. Many people struggle with excessive […]
This is “The Most Calming Song in the World” According to Neuroscientists
Hunting for relaxation music and want to get really clinical about it? Marconi Union’s “Weightless” is literally the most calming song in the world– at least according to neuroscientists. Allow me to explain further. In 2011, British ambient band Marconi Union worked with sound therapists and researchers from Mindlab International to specifically design an 8-minute […]
Try This Genius Hack for Calming Spiraling Thoughts
Spiraling thoughts are easily identifiable as any obsessive, repeating, or circuitous thoughts that grip your attention in a negative way. You become obsessed, and can’t stop thinking about that thing. This is a thought spiral, and they usually weigh you down. Spiraling thoughts make it so that it’s hard to focus on anything else, and […]
Gut Health Strongly Linked To Anxiety, Research Finds
Gut health and mental health may be more strongly associated than scientists previously suspected, new research suggests. According to recent meta-analyses published in the medical journal General Psychiatry, anxiety might be alleviated by regulating gut bacteria. This is a massive finding considering that as much as a third of the global population experiences anxiety, and […]
How Mental Health Became Pop Music’s Unlikely Muse
Maybe you’ve noticed that some of the biggest songs on the radio in recent years have dealt with themes of depression, anxiety, suicide, and other aspects of mental health. Or maybe you saw Lady Gaga‘s 2019 speech at the Grammy Awards in which she mentioned, perhaps unsurprisingly, that many artists deal with mental health issues. […]
3 Helpful Tools & Insights From Dr. Michele Kambolis’ Stress-Focused Book, “When Women Rise”
For the last 25 years, Vancouver-based Dr. Michele Kambolis has worked in private practice treating women with various degrees of stress, anxiety, and trauma in their lives. Accordingly, her new book on women and stress, When Women Rise: Everyday Practices to Strengthen Your Mind, Body, and Soul is both a primer and masterclass on […]