Wellness Podcast

In this episode, I talk about what we call in our family "a feelings loop" and how to break out of it. Feeling our feelings is always good, but sometimes we can't keep doing it-either because we aren't safe to do so, because we just can't feel our feelings at a certain time (ex: it's not OK to yell at your boss at work probably), or because we are stuck in a loop. I talk about what this means, to...

In this episode, I talk about my feelings and thoughts going into the second anniversary of the first quarantine of the pandemic. I think we are all tired- no, exhausted- and just burned out from this pandemic, maybe a little low level depressed, stressed, and maybe even a little hopeless. On that happy note, action items for this week: go back to the beginning again (sleep, exercise, healthy food...

In this episode, I talk about the connection between our brain (mind) and our body, and how if we do things to help our body (rest, exercise, eat healthy foods, etc.), they help our brain as well, and vice versa. Also, if we do things that hurt our brain (like suppressing our emotions, for example), they can actually hurt our body. I give a couple of examples from my own life, both positive and ne...

In this episode, I talk about friendships where the friends are different ages. I give a few examples from my own life where friendships with (large or small) age gaps have been amazing, I talk about the importance of reciprocal friendships (you are both "getting something" out of the friendship) and how friendships with large age gaps are not inappropriate (in most cases). Action item: take a loo...

In this episode, I try (yet again) to define the difference between comfort (which helps us feel better) and numbing (which helps us feel nothing). I talk about what I've decided for me is comfort vs numbing, I talk about how ANYTHING can be used for comfort or numbing (checking social media, food, alcohol, Netflix, anything) and how to help us figure out which things are comfort for us vs which t...

This is a 3-part episode, where I talk about making friends, keeping friends, and letting go of friends. Key takeaway: all of these things are hard, but definitely worth it. We have this impression that a lot of things in life are easy and will just happen, but really that's not true. We have to work to make, keep and let go of friends, just like everything else. Action item(s)- let's try to make...

This week, I talk about how even the smallest interactions with humans in our lives can add up to social interaction (the opposite of isolation) and increase our wellbeing (which I learned from an episode of the Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos). Then, I give some examples of social interactions that we can use to help reach our quote of social interactions, even in the time of covid, and give...

This week, I talk about my tiniest possible rebellion, blue nail polish. I also talk about how I don't wash my hair everyday, I don't wear makeup, I am super pro crying (I forgot to mention in the episode but if you don't feel your feelings, whatever they are, they will come out anyway- you can't hide from them so you might as well ride the wave and let it pass), and all the other tiny rules that...

In this episode, I talk about what actual happy people do (and don't do) - and give 3 of the main actions/attitudes of happy people, so we can all start to work on being a little bit happier! I also talk about the Happiness Lab by Dr. Laurie Santos (which I highly recommend) and that even happy people aren't happy all the time, and that's OK.

In this episode, I talk about how I am (attempting/failing at) getting through omicron. I am trying to reset, go back to exercise, sleep and healthy food, drink tea and stare out the window, and journal a lot. I am trying to also hide the holiday chocolate, check the news one time a day, and most importantly, forgive myself a lot when I fail to do all these things. I also talk about feeling overwh...

In this episode, I talk about the definition of disappointment from Brene Brown's Atlas of the Heart, about unexpressed and unmet expectations, how to express our expectations, how to let go of more expectations to help ourselves have a better holiday season, and how to move expectations from others to ourselves (since we only control ourselves!). This will be my last episode until the 2nd week of...

In this episode, I talk about starting with goals (get strong!) but then building those goals into habits (run on Tues/Thurs and walk M/W/F) and making those habits into a collection of daily habits (a system) which can help us to achieve our goals. I talk about my current exercise system and how it helps to think of myself as a "healthy person" when making decisions about exercise, food and even...

In this episode, I talk about finals week/the holidays/stressful times of the year and how to make time to sleep, eat and exercise during this time. I talk about cooking a big batch of something over the weekend (or whenever you aren't working), quinoa and polenta (grits), two of my favorite things to eat that are also pretty cheap and good for you, and building sleep and exercise into your schedu...

I came up with this idea of "emotion balls" to help my son out with dealing with some mean kids at school, but it is also important for adults. This episode is about when people take their emotion...balls? and throw them at you, instead of just showing them to you (ha ha balls, OK let's get over it now). I also discuss some action items for dealing with when you do this to others as well as when o...

In this episode, I talk about how everyone's Thanksgivings will look different this year- some people will be with their families as usual but others still will not be, or anything in between. Remembering our toolkit of things that help us feel better as we go into the holidays will help. Also, I talk about making the holidays either in a very small way (go for a walk or a run or drop 1 food item...

In this follow-up episode to the Zoom Out episode, I talk about how the most important things in life are just the tiny moments that lead up to a good or bad day (or life?). It is (maybe?) a paradox that the big things change our lives but the small things do just as much, and we have to remember that THIS is our real life, right now. Action item: pay attention to the all the little things in your...

In this episode, I talk about how this time, right now, is just shit. It's just hard, for everyone, for so many reasons. But, you are not alone. Whatever is happening to you is unique but also is shared, right? I also talk about comparative suffering (Brene Brown) and how it is not helpful and in fact hurst us, and also Glennon Doyle's We Can Do Hard Things podcast which is providing me with a com...

This week's episode is about getting out of the weeds (Brene Brown) and focusing on the bigger picture of your life. I talk about the will this matter in 5 seconds, minutes, hours, years test and read a poem by Mary Oliver called "The Summer Day" which has the quote "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Action item: practice zooming out this week!

This week, I talk about periodically re-assessing your ideal week as necessary. I have already redone mine twice this semester due to factors outside of my control! But also, does that thing need to take you that long? Longer? Also, remember your Caution Weeks (from Cathy Mazak) where you know that you will be very busy for work or non-work reasons, and give yourself a break those weeks. Also, som...

In this episode, I talk about what to do when you get stuck. We have (probably?) all had that feeling of oh no, what have I done, when we find that we have wasted an hour on Facebook or binge watching Netflix or whatever, when we were supposed to be working. My suggestion here is to figure out if 1) you are burned out or 2) you just feel bad about the thing you have to get done. If it is #1, then...

In this episode, I talk about slowing it down. Your thoughts, your movements, your life. I (literally) suggest stopping and smelling the flowers (or picking up fall leaves, or whatever) to ground yourself in the place that you are. A little bit hygge, a little bit mindfulness, a little bit calm and a lot of good will come of it. Action item: find a way to slow down something in your life. Also, I...

In this episode, I talk about community, connection and belonging. Finding our community (communities) is something we can do now based on our location (neighborhoods, etc.) but also through social media or podcasts or even through mom's yoga in the park (or whatever your mom's yoga in the park equivalent is).

In this episode, I talk about controlling what you can and letting go the rest. I talk about my favoritest person, Cathy Mazak and her making the word "overwhelm" into a noun, about Brene Brown's Guideposts to Wholehearted Living from The Gifts of Imperfection, and box breathing and completing the stress cycle. And caring about our students :)

This episode is adjacent to my anti-perfectionism episode, but is about how sometimes we can be great at everything (work, parenting if relevant, exercise, rest, etc.) and sometimes, we just can't, and that's OK too. It happens to everyone (I think?) and if you, like me, can predict when you will have busy weeks, or even if you can't, try to figure out in advance what you are OK with dropping. Tha...

In this episode, I talk about climate anxiety and what action we can take to both help the Earth and ourselves at the same time.