Wellness Podcast

In this episode, I define restorative rest as something that, when we finish doing it, we feel like ah, that was nice, rather than, oh man, why did I do that? I give examples of restorative rest (yoga, meditating, going for a walk/run around the block, making tea and texting a friend, listening to or dancing to a song, 10-minute nap, etc.) and explain that we can use the time in our day that we al...

In this episode, I talk about the one thing that has really helped me to feel better on a daily basis. When I remember to do this thing, I notice it in my digestion, in my attitude, in my level of tiredness, and when I forget, I notice that I am sometimes even nauseous, more tired, even dizzy (especially in the summer). This thing is-you guessed it (or maybe you didn't)- drinking water! Here i...

In this episode, I talk about when we need to let things go (control or also other people's emotions that don't have to do with us) versus when to fight (meaning take action or DO something about our emotions or thoughts. I talk about how meditation has helped me to be able to make a conscious choice about when I take action versus let the emotion or thought pass, and how a lot or maybe ev...

In this episode, I talk about how my kids can leave their ice-cream unfinished and how it is because in our house, we do not tell anyone to stop crying. If that sounds like it can't possibly be right, then listen for the details! Action item: come up with a list of things you can do instead of emotional eating, like drinking a glass of water, going for a walk, making tea or coffee, writing in...

In this episode, I talk about belonging and also fitting in, based on the definitions from Brene Brown. Fitting in is changing yourself to be who you think people want you to be and belonging is being who you are and feeling like people like you for who you are. Belonging makes you feel better but it also means you won't be for everyone and that's OK too (see Brene Brown and also Mean Girl...

In this episode, I define "adulting" (doing all the things adults have to do every day like laundry and getting to work on time and keeping our jobs, etc.), and talk about 3 reasons why the heck it's so hard! 1) burnout and productivity as a moral judgment (those who do the most things are seen as "good" people whereas those who don't are "lazy") 2) a lack of...

In this episode, I talk about what "catch-up week" is to me (as a professor), about benefits/pitfalls and give an action item. Some benefits: giving people (and ourselves) a little bit of a grace period, having the ability to forgive ourselves and move on, knowing how to catch up when we need to as practice for the "real world" in which we are in fact allowed to delay deadlines...

In this episode, I talk about the "problem" with empathy, starting by definine compassion, pity, empathy, and sympathy (2 sets of near enemies), using Brene Brown's definitions from her book, Atlas of the Heart. I talk about the 2 different kinds of empathy (cognitive empathy, the "good" kind, and affective empathy, the "bad" kind) and give a practical example of...

In this episode, I talk about three important life lessons that I have learned from bringing up a neurodiverse child. These lessons apply to kids but also to adults, neurodiverse and neurotypical. 1) Emotions are not a side thing, they are THE thing 2) set reasonable expectations for ourselves and others 3) kids (and adults) do well when they can (Ross Greene). If we use these lessons in our lives...

In this episode, I talk about the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. First, I explain how stress can build up and how and why we need to complete our stress cycles to avoid holding in all the stress or letting it all out on our families at home! I give concrete examples of ways to complete the stress cycle and an action item: Try to actively work t...

In this episode, I talk about how I got tenure (yay!) and although I am grateful and feel quite a bit relieved, actually my happiness levels are about the same as they were before (and my stress/anxiety). This is good/bad news because it does mean that once you get that (fill in the blank)- house, kid, promotion, job, wedding, etc.- you won't be able to start your "real" life or be h...

In this episode, I talk about my love of plants and gardening, and how plants can help give you something to take care of, dig in the dirt, give you a little greenery even in a small apartment, and teach us so many lessons about life/death/taking care of things and letting go. Action item: if you can, go out and buy a plant to take care of this week (even for $5 or $7) and start benefitting! Last...

In this episode, I talk about my experience with neurodiversity both in my students and my own family, about the Parenting ADHD podcast by Penny Williams which is saving me right now, I define neurodiverse and neurotypical and talk about some of my thoughts about "getting our minds right" (from Penny Williams) about ourselves and others who are neurodiverse. Action item: let's start...

In this episode, I talk about transitions, liminal spaces (basically a fancy word for transitional periods), the past, present and future and how we can get through change, which is one of the few things that is consistent about life (that it always changes). Action item: give yourself time and space for reflection and to recharge during times of transition, to think about the past and future but...

In this episode, I talk about nearing the end of the semester (project/whatever) and appreciating that in life, we are constantly going through cycles of being really busy, then resting, and we need to not forget the rest part at the end. This can happen at the end of a semester, but also when you have a big work project or even a baby. Action items: if/when you are going through a busy period, ma...

In this episode, I talk about my experience with meditating for 50 days in a row, including increased focus and calm, I talk about the reasons I finally started meditating and discuss the book Peak Mind by Dr. Amishi Jha, which explains that 12 minutes 5 days a week of meditating seems to be the key to increased focus. Action item: try to meditate! You can use the free version of the Calm App, Hea...

In this episode, I talk about how we need both comfort and discomfort to get us to a better place when it comes to anxiety. I wrote this episode while I was reading 2 books at the same time- The Comfort Book, By Matt Haig, and Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents, by Reid Wilson & Lynn Lyons, and both were giving what seemed like opposite advice. The first was telling me to get over anxiety (and depr...

In this episode, I talk about Flow (from "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly), define what Flow is and is not, and give some examples of activities that can induce flow in our lives. I explain that more flow = more happiness, according to positive psychologist Csikszentmihaly. The action item for this week is to find and incorporate more activities that induce f...

In this episode, I talk about the tools in my own wellness toolbox, I talk about what exactly a wellness toolbox is and about how it can help boost our brain power. Action item: start building/editing your own wellness toolbox and be sure to practice when you "don't need it" so that you know how to use the tools when you really need them! It will sneak up on you!

In this episode, I talk about some science-backed ways (and tested by me ways) to read better, for academic or work purposes (anything you want to read to learn from, rather than "fun" reading). Action item: try one (or more) of these 6 ways to read better and see if you can retain more information and work smarter, not harder!

In this episode, I talk about how we can bring the beauty of a snow day into our lives (even if/when we don't "get" a snow day) to appreciate our lives a little bit more and to mix things up. Action item: think of one thing you can do today/this week, no matter how tiny, to just mix up your routine a bit and do something a little bit out of the ordinary.

In this episode, I talk about what you can do to study/review material when you have 5 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour. I talk about all my favorite things here, including brainstorming (5 minutes), doing practice problems/quizzing yourself (30 minutes) and creating mind maps and outlines (1 hour), all ideally trying to use recall first (aka not looking at your notes!). I also talk about spaced (be...

I am trying something new that I learned from the Happiness Lab and creating a mini-season based on what I know about learning, the brain and (meta)cognition. In this first episode, I define learning, using the book Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It, by James Lang. The 3 steps of learning are 1) attention, 2) processing/encoding (starting with holding information in...

In this episode, I talk about the ways in which we talk to ourselves and how that affects what we think of ourselves, which in turn affects what we do (or do not) believe we can do to "do better". I define shame and guilt, using Brene Brown's book Atlas of the Heart, and talk about how all humans make mistakes every single day and we can believe that we ARE bad (shame) or that we DID something bad...

In this episode, I talk about not quitting. It's the end of January and I'll bet we have mostly quit our New Year's Resolutions at this point (I've forgotten what mine were?), which a lot of the time involve exercise. You don't have to use the advice in this episode for only exercise/running, but I talk about how I have not (yet) quit running over the past almost 3 years. My trick: tricking(?) my...