Perinatal and Postpartum Anxiety: What to Watch For
The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. Rajneesh Motherhood. ...
Date Night: An Overlooked Relationship Resource?
Date night. Does it have a priority place in your calendar? Or is it a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence? Leading relationship experts John Gottman, PhD, and Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD contend that ...
The Summer Blues: 5 Signs You Might Be Experiencing It
{ summer blues } …the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time. Sylvia Plath The sun’s out. The birds are singing. ...
8 Ways to Boost Emotional Wellness Outdoors
{ 8 Ways to Boost Emotional Wellness Outdoors } In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. John Muir Life can feel pretty complicated these days. ...
10 Emotional Wellness Tips for Graduating Seniors
We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better. J. K. Rowling It’s ...
Summer Break: 9 Tips for Transitioning with Ease
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was ...
Holidays, Parenting, Relationships, Spring
Mother or Not, This Is Our Wish for You
The past several weeks have ushered in Mother’s Day, Stepmother’s Day, Infertility Awareness Week, and Mental Health Awareness Month. And we know that with these public acknowledgements come a wide ...
Video Games: Separating Fact from Myth
Most people think video games are all about a child staring at a TV with a joystick in his hands. I don’t. They should belong to the entire family. Shigeru ...
Mental Health Awareness Month: 10 Ways to Take Action
There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction. John F. Kennedy May is Mental Health Awareness Month. A ...
Brené Brown: 5 Emotional Wellness Lessons from Her New Netflix Special
Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. Brené Brown If you’ve visited a bookstore at any point over the last decade, chances are good ...
How to Tell Someone You’re in Therapy
This post was inspired by a request from a reader! If there’s a particular topic or question you’d like us to cover on the blog, we’d love to hear from ...
Emotional Wellness, Mindfulness, Stress Management
There’s an (Emotional Wellness) App for That
New technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It’s all about how people choose to use it. David Wong Technology is becoming so seamlessly integrated into our ...
4 Myths About Couples Counseling
Conflict is an opportunity to learn to love our partner better over time. Julie Gottman You’ve heard friends talk about it. Maybe you’ve thought about giving it a try. (Or ...
Parenting Adult Children: 5 Signs of a Healthy Relationship
A child needs to internalize a model of someone who has a life of her own. The parent whose life is centered around her children is influencing them to think ...
Boundaries in Parenting
Children raised with good boundaries learn that they are not only responsible for their lives, but also free to live their lives any way they choose, as long as they ...
Boundaries: Understanding this Emotional Wellness Buzzword
Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others. Brené Brown It’s one of those terms that gets a lot of ...
Spring Break Ideas to Boost Emotional Wellness
Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring. Lilly Pulitzer So, the weather hasn’t exactly gotten the memo… But, spring break is fast approaching! Maybe you’ve got big travel plans ahead. ...
Seasonal Affective Disorder: 5 Signs That May Surprise You
O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? Percy Bysshe Shelley The snow shows no sign of melting. Summer feels like a distant memory. You’re pacing your house ...
Preparing for Your TMS Evaluation
So, you’ve done your research on TMS. Thought it over. Maybe talked with friends and family. Completed your complimentary consultation. And it turns out TMS may be a good fit ...
TMS: The Promising Depression Treatment You’ve Never Heard Of
Flexibility requires an open mind and a welcoming of new alternatives. Deborah Day Are you (or is someone you care about) struggling with severe depression that hasn’t improved, no matter ...
Depression Treatment Options
There are far, far better things ahead than anything we leave behind. C.S. Lewis Living with depression can keep you feeling stuck in the past, disconnected from the present, and ...
Understanding Depression Symptoms
Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also harder to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is ...
How “Tidying Up” Can Improve Your Emotional Wellness
To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no longer need them, then that is ...
7 Emotional Wellness Lessons from MLK
Some words are so powerful, they echo throughout the ages, offering up new insights each time we revisit them. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we’re highlighting ...
Which Type of Support Is Right for You?
Surround yourself with people who support you. Find champions. Sarah Gavron When life becomes challenging, you might have the sense that you could benefit from additional support. But what does ...
Gratitude, Habits & Goals, Mindfulness
5 Emotional Wellness Habits to Adopt Today
You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. John C. Maxwell This is the time ...
Habits & Goals, Healthy Boundaries, Holidays, Seasonal, Winter
10 Things to Let Go Of this Year
All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. Havelock Ellis It’s the last day of the year. You know what the means… ...
Grief & Loss, Holidays, Seasonal, Self-Care, Winter
When the Holidays Are a Struggle
Expectations are high this time of year. What you should do. Where you should be. How you should act. How you should feel. It’s enough to cause stress for even ...
Habits & Goals, Holidays, Seasonal, Winter
10 Acts of Kindness to Try this Season
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop No doubt, you’re knee-deep in lists by now. Grocery lists. Gift lists. Address lists. (You might’ve even started ...
Healthy Boundaries, Holidays, Seasonal, Winter
10 (More) Ways to Say No (with Kindness)
When you say “Yes” to others, make sure you are not saying “No” to yourself. Paulo Coehlo When it comes time to say No to someone or something, many of ...
10 Holiday Boundaries to Set this Season
Last year, we shared a series of posts all about the value of setting holiday boundaries. In the first post, we highlighted how healthy boundaries “preserve your precious resources, helping ...
7 Tips to an Emotionally Well Holiday Season
As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, ...
How to Apologize More Effectively
Each day, we have the opportunity to learn something new, apologize for our mistakes, and become better. Lewis Howes It’s one of those little inevitabilities of life: Sooner or later… ...
10 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude
Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented. Sonja Lyubomirsky ...
Fall, Holidays, Seasonal, Self-Care
Self-Care for Kids: Helping Kids Learn to Treat Themselves
When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos. L.R. Knost This week, the kids in your life likely have ...
Anxiety, Depression, Mindfulness
10 Types of Thinking That Are Getting in Your Way
The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Eckhart Tolle Ever had a thought that you ...
Caring in the Midst of Infant Loss
What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us. Helen Keller As a culture, we tend ...
Emotions 101: Improving Your Emotional Vocabulary
Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. Robert Frost We’ve covered a lot of territory in our series on Emotions! We’ve: Separated ...
Emotions 101: Sharpening Your Emotional Intelligence
need to be comfortable talking about feelings. This is part of teaching emotional literacy – a set of skills we can all develop, including the ability to read, understand, ...
Emotions 101: 5 Myths about Emotions
I gave myself permission to feel and experience all of my emotions. In order to do that, I had to stop being afraid to feel. In order to do that, ...
Your Emotional Wellness: 50+ Ways to Support It
It’s a big day on the Sonder blog… Today marks our 50th post! We’ve had so much fun sharing practical emotional wellness guidance, tips, and inspiration over the past year. ...
Therapy 101: When a Loved One Is in Therapy
It takes courage to push yourself to places you have never been before. Anais Nin So, your loved one is in therapy. Maybe you helped them decide to try it. ...
Back to School, Fall, Relationships, Seasonal
Do You Work with Students? Commit to 3 Things This Year
I am enough of a realist to understand that I can’t reach every child, but I am more of an optimist to get up every morning and try. Preston Morgan ...
Back to School, Fall, Seasonal, Self-Care
Heading to College? Keep These 3 Things in Mind
Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. Frederick Buechner Dorm supplies have been purchased. Good-byes have been said. Dr. Seuss has been quoted (and ...
Back to School, Fall, Relationships, Seasonal
Back to School: 3 Keys to Preparing as a Family
You know the signs. The weather is changing. The email communication has begun. Unless you’ve been spending the summer unplugged on an uncharted island somewhere (in which case, good for you), ...
Contentment: Turn What You Have Into Enough
No one can steal contentment, joy, gratitude, or peace… we have to give it away. Kristin Armstrong As the end of summer approaches, you might notice an antsy sort of feeling ...
Anxiety, Gratitude, Mindfulness
Having Anxious Thoughts? Give This a Try
Don’t believe every worried thought you have. Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate. Renee Jain Good old anxiety. It thinks it’s helping us (and sometimes it is)… …but often it’s just ...
Medication, Self-Care, Therapy
5 Ways to Help Your Medication Do Its Job
Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. Hippocrates Once you’ve met with your medication management provider to talk through all of your ...
Preparing for Your Medication Evaluation
So, you’ve done your research. Given it some thought. And you believe medication could be an important part of your emotional wellness care? Congratulations! For many of us, it is. ...
Healthy Risk-Taking: 10 Simple Ways to Practice Vulnerability
Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness. Brené Brown A common myth about emotional wellness is that asking for ...