self care

For a healthy mind, body, and soul.

Beauty In the Eye of the Beholder
What is beauty? I'm sure that everyone has their own definition or standard of beauty. But, what do you consider beautiful when you look at yourself?
By Erica Lindsey9 years ago in Longevity
PMDD: Catalyst to Awakening?
For the millions of women coping with symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) every month, life can feel like a never-ending challenge. One week, you’re up. Then the next three, you’re rapidly deteriorating again, becoming someone you hardly recognize. Effective treatment from the medical establishment is likely to be a long time coming for this only recently identified condition. What is currently offered often results in side-effects that compound an already debilitating condition wrecking havoc on a woman’s body and mind.
By Cheeky Minx9 years ago in Longevity
The Purpose of Life
How can one answer a question that has been asked by each person on this planet? What is the purpose of life, of our being, of existing, of everything?
By Ksenia Kozhenkova9 years ago in Longevity
Running Away from Myself
We live in a society where we are more educated, more advanced, and more aware of ourselves and the world we live in, yet we are still oblivious to so much that we should know. My story today is regarding mental health, more specifically depression and my battle to survive it. I don't think I have met one person who hasn't felt that cold, hopeless despair at some point in their lives. I cannot express the envy I feel towards those who seem perpetually cheerful. They are the type that have the ability to see the positive in every situation, people gravitate towards them because of their bubbly personality and enthusiasm for life. While individuals like this often suffer from depression themselves, their ability to keep optimistic is something I have tried to achieve for many years. I have only just begun to achieve it on my good days but I still have a long way to go. I first remember feeling depressed at around six years old. At that age I couldn't understand my feelings or how to express them, I used to cry to my mother that I should never have been born, I didn't know proper social etiquette around my peers so I was always the odd one out, my classmates labelled me as "weird," a lot of my teachers took me as lazy and unwilling to learn, unaware that I was struggling so deeply within myself that I was contemplating suicide at 6yo. I planned to eat some berries that I knew were poisonous but in the end I chickened out. It felt like I was tainted by an invisible darkness that nobody else could see and I was unable to put into words. I was drowning and nobody was noticing.
By Amba Em9 years ago in Longevity
Ponderings
On the cusp of my fiftieth birthday, different friends would ask me how it felt to turn fifty. I gave the same answer to all, it feels the same as 49. Imagine my dismay on the eve of said birthday when I started to reflect back on the last 49 years and realize that indeed it did seem like a milestone had been reached and that I might feel slightly overwhelmed by the scope of those years.
By Anita M.9 years ago in Longevity
Mirror, Mirror
I have a mission for you; a little exercise in self-confidence you might call it. Most women spend a significant portion of their day looking in a mirror and assessing themselves. Usually negatively. I suspect a number of men do as well but not with same venom and fervor that women seem to. We really hate our bodies. Size doesn't even necessarily come into it. I've seen girls that could barely weigh 90 lbs hate on their bodies in front of a mirror.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity
Walking the PMDD Labyrinth
I recently came across a question on a PMDD forum that asked something like, "I just discovered I have PMDD. Please tell me there is something I can do to carry on with my life and responsibilities. And don't tell me to diet and exercise!"
By Cheeky Minx9 years ago in Longevity
Why It Is Essential to Have Happiness in Your Life
One thing I have realized over the last couple years is that I let my happiness slip away. I can't tell you exactly how or when I lost it because it went away piece by piece, without even having any conscious awareness that it had happened. I faded into the darkness of my own mind and it was scary in there. I have suffered from depression for about 9 years now, trying to scratch and claw my way out of the dark hole that was dug for me. So anyways, back to happiness; how do you define happiness? Happiness isn't something you can measure; it's something you feel. Materialistic things aren't going to give you happiness, they will give you temporary excitement and contentment, but not happiness.
By danielle9 years ago in Longevity
Dancing With Death—Frightening and Freaky Facts About Crystal Meth Addiction
EscapeMeth.com reports, “Once stereotyped as a 'biker drug,' meth has a broad new consumer base. It is commonly used by the gay community, blue collar workers, young professionals, college students, mostly white males, the Hispanic population, high school students as young as ninth grade, people in their early thirties, rural bikers, street youth, a growing number of Native Americans, service workers, farm and oil workers, employed and unemployed people in their twenties, Asians, both men and women, and cocaine users who can no longer afford cocaine. All types of people use meth. There are no boundaries. It includes all classes and all professions.
By Marlene Affeld9 years ago in Longevity
Living with Depression and Anxiety
I suffer from several mental health conditions: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, trauma, disordered eating, and neurotic issues. Over the last several years, I fell into a black hole of depression that I thought I would never get out of and am only now clawing my way up the side of.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity
How To Manage Fear When You're Fearing The Worst
Fear is one of the most powerful human emotions we can endure. It's consuming nature can overwhelm our thoughts, dominate our emotions and negatively influence our behavior. It is a mysteriously dark force that can quietly creep into your life and take hostage everything that you hold dear.
By Brandon Krogel9 years ago in Longevity
How I Reignited My Passion
A few years ago, I started a journal. We were about to move to America, and I wanted a way to document my journey to a different country. I remembered being excited, feeling that I would cherish it for the rest of my life.
By Tristan Ramos9 years ago in Longevity