These techniques may sound silly, but they are surprisingly effective at pulling you out of a slump — It’s natural to have the blahs from time to time, but new data shows one of the most alarming signs yet of the toll on mental health exacted by Covid-19. Roughly half of adults in the U.S. said they felt “down, depressed, or hopeless” or had “little interest or pleasure…

Tips to reset your brain and body when everything feels impossible — According to psychiatrist and neurobiologist Dr. Dan Siegel, each of us has a “window of tolerance.” Siegel coined the term to describe normal brain/body reactions, especially following adversity. The idea is that human beings have an optimal arousal zone that allows emotions to ebb and flow, which, in turn, enables…

How to open and close the tap on difficult emotions — “Tick… tick… tick…” That’s the sound of the timer on the bomb forecast to detonate on November 3, 2020. Its rhythm is in step with society’s heartbeat (and fluctuating nervous system), a nagging reminder of this election’s high stakes. …

Conscious breathing, cellular breathing, and other easy techniques to feel calmer — Air is vital to our survival. But when we find ourselves facing extraordinary levels of stress, as is today’s daily norm, it can be difficult to catch our breath. Stress can feel suffocating. And eight months into this so-called new normal, individuals and communities are inevitably struggling to hold on…

Some things are just sad — Five words was all it took to break through the blockade that surrounded my heart, freeing it to feel legitimate pain and eventually inspiring it to let go: Some things are just sad. A wise friend said this to me over dinner six months after I, at age 33, had…

Turns out humans are designed for it through the “diver’s reflex”. — Anxiety makes us feel “hot under the collar.” But evolution has provided a mechanism to help cool us down. Enter the “diver’s reflex” — or the mammalian diving response, the body’s physiological response to acute submersion in cold water. Scientists have long known that aquatic mammals, such as seals, whales…

A therapist explains how to distinguish between the two — I was eight years old when the wrecking ball of doom came a-swinging. One minute I was riding my Huffy Sweet Thunder down the road, speed lifting my pigtails, adrenaline twisting the handlebars as I launched off the curb, bravado daring me to let go, as if to say, “Hell…

Yes, they actually work. — Part Four: This is the final installment of the “How to Tend and Befriend Conflict” series. If you think you know how to deal with conflict, think again. Just before COVID struck, I was sitting in my car on an onramp waiting to mount the Bay Bridge, the exceedingly long…

New research shows the ‘tapping’ technique reduces anxiety, depression, and PTSD — For years people thought the practice of “tapping,” aka Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), was, well, crazy, to put it kindly. But after 100+ clinical trials have shown its efficacy, even the hard-won U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) got hip to the idea. EFT/Tapping is a brief intervention that combines elements of…

Sweeping new studies shed light on the underlying mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder — June is PTSD awareness month. Thanks to the arduous work of researchers, advocates, survivors, and psychological and medical professionals over the years, the acronym for posttraumatic stress disorder is now common parlance. The effects of PTSD are also more widely known: About 8 million adults in the U.S. …