Waiting for a college acceptance letter, an interview call back, preparing to propose to your partner, or a bid on a house, the anticipation of the outcome can be more stressful than the result itself. People have a wide range of physical and emotional experiences while they’re anticipating an event. You may find yourself unable to sleep or experiencing stomach problems. Your mind might be racing and you may find comfort in eating junk food. Your whole body might feel tense, your hands cold and clammy or just feeling terrified in general, all while you sit and wait. More →
Five Ways to Reduce Anticipation Stress
December 14, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Tagged: anxiety, mindfulness, physical and mental health, stress→ Leave a Comment
7 Ways to Minimize Holiday Conflict
November 23, 2011 · 1 Comment
Holidays can be a stressful time for many. These visits may not always look like the Hallmark cards or the commercials that plague the TV for weeks prior to the holidays. Everyone may not necessarily be happy, joyful and on their best behavior. South Asians may be worried about being lectured on their major or they may feel pressure to get married or have a child. More →
Tagged: conflict, family, gratitude, holiday, mindfulness, stress, tips→ 1 Comment
The Importance of Self-Care for Caretakers: A Story of Devoted Husband
October 21, 2011 · 1 Comment
“The whole car smells like Chinese food!” Kunal exclaimed as he and his brother drove home. “I am starving!” Ashish simply smiled as he drove in the dark. His mind was on Preetika, wondering what condition she’d be in when they got home and if she was able to withstand waiting the 15 minute drive to pick up their dinner. More →
Tagged: family, healthy relationships, men's issues, mindfulness, physical and mental health, self-care, stress, women's issues→ 1 Comment
Take Better Care of Yourself So You Can Better Care For Others
October 12, 2011 · Leave a Comment
South Asian culture is a collectivistic culture, meaning that individual needs and wants are pushed aside for the benefit of the whole group. Generally, people who are raised in a collectivistic culture are taught that it is best to sacrifice oneself if that means the group as a whole will be happier. Overall, it is emphasized that others are often more important than yourself. More →
Tagged: family, healthy relationships, men's issues, mindfulness, physical and mental health, self-care, women's issues→ Leave a Comment
How to Reduce School Anxiety
September 2, 2011 · 3 Comments
For some children and teens, going back to school can be a highly anxiety provoking experience. They may count down the days as the first day of school approaches, losing sleep with each night, worrying about how it will go and dreading the day they have to walk into a new classroom or lecture hall.
Sometimes this anxiety stems from years of being behind if they have special needs, learning disabilities or academic challenges. Other children might have experienced bullying or other difficult social situations that they dread going through again. More →
Tagged: academic pressure, anxiety, children, mindfulness, stress, teens, thoughts, tips→ 3 Comments
South Asian Emotion: 7 Tips to Increase Happiness
July 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Akshay is one of those typical South Asian young professionals who spends most of his days at work. In the evenings, sometimes he will meet with friends, go out with his partner, or work until very late at night. He has several friends nearby, he takes trips when he can take time off. At a young age, he is able to buy a condominium and nice car. He sees his family once in a while, as they live a few hours away. He has a good relationship with his older sister and her husband. He loves his girlfriend and is looking forward to marrying her in the near future. More →
Tagged: gratitude, happiness, mindfulness, mood, positive psychology, research, tips→ Leave a Comment
Improve Your Mental Health: Everyday Objects Exercise
April 1, 2011 · 2 Comments
Living with stress, depression, PTSD, an unhealthy relationship, etc can severely limit your life. When we are not feeling happy or healthy, we forget to take care of ourselves and tend to isolate ourselves, choose unhealthy foods to eat or rely on substances such as alcohol or other drugs to mask the emotions that we feel. Another effect of experiencing emotional health issues is that we tend become consumed by our emotions, focusing on our negative thoughts or our body reactions to situations and we stop noticing things around us. More →
Tagged: anxiety, depression, emotions, mindfulness, stress, tips, unhealthy relationships→ 2 Comments
10 Things to do if You’re Alone on the Holidays
December 20, 2010 · 1 Comment
Tanvi was sitting at her dining room table, sipping her morning coffee and trying to fight back tears. She couldn’t believe the eerie silence around her. Her children were with their father this year. It was the first time she had spent the holidays alone and she felt a surge of anxiety through her body. How was she going to get through this day?
Kartik woke up around 5am because he couldn’t sleep so he went about his normal morning routine. He left his room to go to the co-ed bathroom to take a shower. Breakfast was in front of his computer, a bowl of Lucky Charms, his favorite cereal that reminded him of his home. More →
Tagged: anxiety, depression, family, holiday, mindfulness, stress, tips→ 1 Comment
Good stress, bad stress
November 22, 2010 · 2 Comments
There are two types of stress that each person faces: distress and eustress. Distress is the “negative” stress, such as grieving the loss of a family member, losing a job or realizing you are late in submitting a project. Experiencing distress for a lengthy period of time is called chronic stress and can result in serious physical ailments, such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Eustress is the “positive” stress that keeps us excited about life. Examples include graduation, promotions, getting married, having a child, etc. Riding a roller coaster or watching a suspenseful movie are also day-to-day examples of eustress. This positive stress gives us a feeling of fulfillment and vitality in our everyday lives. Without it, our lives would start to feel meaningless and we may start to feel depressed. More →
Tagged: anxiety, cardiovascular health, mindfulness, minimize, physical and mental health, stress→ 2 Comments
Mindfulness: Removing the “Shoulds”
November 19, 2010 · 4 Comments
A large part of learning how to be mindful is learning how to push aside the “should” statements that clutter our thinking. From our families, friends, society and media, we have visions of what it means to be a good partner or a happy person. However, most of these messages that we receive are generalizations or are unrealistic and yet we continue to live our lives measuring our success with a bar that can never be reached.
Very often in relationships, we minimize our experiences because we compare our reality to the reality that we think we “should” have. This barrage of “shoulds” tend to govern our life and relationship often resulting in a build-up of resentment, repeated misattribution of the real problem in the relationship and unhealthy communication patterns. More →
Tagged: arguments, communication, compassion, judgment, mindfulness, relationships, self-reflection→ 4 Comments