How My Mother’s Alcoholism Shaped Me—and How I’m Healing Now

You can’t calm the storm. What you can do is calm yourself, and the storm will eventually pass.Calmness is a human superpower. The ability to not overreact or take things personally keeps your mind clear and your heart at peace, which gradually gives you the upper hand in all walks of life.

Parents seldom deny it: Summer break comes with its own set of challenges. Sure, those nine months spent cajoling your kids (and maybe even yourself) out of bed and to school on time are over. You survived the late-night homework and test agony.

“Make it a great day that ends with a smile in your heart.”

There lies a realm seldom seen but deeply felt… the realm of the spirit’s unseen battles. Here, pain is not […]

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I’m so tired, but I got enough sleep,” or “I just don’t feel like […]

Putting things off is part of the nature of many people. And it’s not about laziness. Sometimes, we procrastinate on our important tasks because of stress, anxiety, and being overwhelmed at study or work. Studies show that chronic procrastination affects about 20% of adults, and it often leads to poor sleep, low mood, and higher stress levels. 

Many people who are in recovery from a substance use disorder (SUD) are ready to change for the better the minute they’re sober. However, change can have its own timetable and needs to be pursued one day at a time. 

It’s easy to think that the harder you work out, the better the results will be. We’ve all heard the messages: “No pain, no gain.” “Push yourself.” “Go hard or go home.” But while intensity has its place in any effective fitness program, chasing it every single day can do more harm than good.

The Power of Paying Attention

Patience isn’t about waiting, it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard for what you believe in.As you move through the days and weeks ahead, remind yourself that it takes roughly 66 days to form a new habit. So for the next nine and a half weeks, consciously leverage the actionable reminders below to look at the brighter side of your life, and you will gradually rewire your brain…When life feels like an emotional roller coaster, steady yourself with simple rituals. Make the bed.

Strategic planning combined with unwavering dedication allows you to rise above the chaos of YouTube—luck won’t get you anywhere. Getting a strong start or feeling stagnant are two completely different problems, but they both need momentum, viewer engagement, and growth to fix them.Without trust, nothing can be achieved. The YouTube algorithm and your audience both require trust in order to engage with your content.

You can’t lift a thousand pounds all at once, yet you can easily lift one pound a thousand times. Tiny, repeated efforts will get you there.I have witnessed people reinventing themselves at all ages — 48-year-olds starting families, 57-year-olds graduating from college for the first time, 71-year-olds starting successful businesses, and more. How did they all do it? In a nutshell, they started making gradual progress in their lives, step by step.

Too often people overestimate the significance of one big defining moment and underestimate the value of making good decisions and small steps of progress on a daily basis.You’re probably familiar with what’s known as the Serenity Prayer. It goes like this:God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.There’s an important lesson here — one that’s very often glossed over…When a chaotic reality is swirling around us, we often try to relieve our anxiety by exerting our will over external things we cannot control.It helps us stave off one of the most dreaded feelings: complete powerlessness.With that in mind, I have good news and bad news.The bad news is that generally speaking, almost everything is outside your control.

Worry gives small things a big shadow.Some people wait all day for 5pm, all week for Friday, all year for the holidays, all their lives for happiness. Don’t be one of them.

Most of us, when faced with challenges, instinctively seek certainty and answers. In turn, our ego steps in and prompts us to defend our views, double down, or perhaps disengage. But what if the real superpower in challenging conversations isn’t being right, it’s being curious?Curiosity often takes a back seat to certainty and gets labeled as a soft skill, which makes it sound obvious and easy.

“Until you make peace with who you are, you will never be content with what you have.” ~Doris Mortman

Your brain is a Rivian. When its battery becomes depleted, it needs to stop and recharge.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a popular form of exercise that involves alternating between short, intense bursts of movement and brief periods of rest. As an ADHD coach, I’ve always considered the HIIT method to be well-suited for people with ADHD outside of fitness. The short intervals of work and rest are manageable and work to sustain focus and mental engagement.With my own clients, I’ve adapted HIIT into a protocol for helping them manage dreaded tasks and get things done.

I know many of us are yearning for a simpler and selective range of life experiences in the month ahead — the happier days, the normal times, the settings and experiences that make us feel more comfortable. And yet, the full range of our reality often brings something very different.

“It’s okay to let go of those who couldn’t love you. Those who didn’t know how to. Those who failed to even try. It’s okay to outgrow them, because that means you filled the empty space in you with self-love instead. You’re outgrowing them because you’re growing into you. And that’s more than okay; that’s something to celebrate.” ~Angelica Moone

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Buddha“People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it.” Edith SchaefferOne common way to get things done, to achieve and to motivate yourself is to be kind of hard on yourself.To set very high standards for yourself that you want to stick to every time.Now, this way of going about things can indeed help you to accomplish big things in your life and to get things done every week.But it comes at a price.Three negative things about taking this position towards yourself are:You tear your self-esteem down. As you achieve things you tend to tear down your own self-esteem at the same time.So you feel less and less like you deserve success. And frustration and being angry can become more and more common as you fail to reach those very high standards.You suck the fun and excitement out of things.A hard or harsh attitude towards yourself has a tendency to make things that used to be fun and exciting less and less so.This attitude does instead over time turn those things into just work that you may start to dread because you fear failure or not meeting your high standards.You’ll perform worse and worse.As your self-esteem goes down you’ll feel less motivated to tackle the tasks and projects in your life.

What if love transcended lifetimes, language, and logic? What if two souls were destined to meet again and again, beyond […]

We’ve all had to deal with multiple urgent deadlines, clients, investors, or partners demanding attention, and only so many hours in the day. You see, the ability to effectively manage competing priorities isn’t just a nice-to-have skill anymore.

When I was a high school freshman, a 260-pound freshman girl showed up for track and field tryouts right alongside me. Her name was Sara, and she was only there because her doctor said her health depended on it. But once she scanned the crowd of students who were on the field, she turned around and began walking away.

A note about AI: On the Talkspace blog we aim to provide trustworthy coverage of all the mental health topics people might be curious about, by delivering science-backed, clinician-reviewed information. Our articles on artificial intelligence (AI) and how this emerging technology may intersect with mental health and healthcare are designed to educate and add insights to this cultural conversation. We believe that therapy, at its core, is focused around the therapeutic connection between human therapists and our members. At Talkspace we only use ethical and responsible AI tools that are developed in partnership with our human clinicians. These tools aren’t designed to replace qualified therapists, but to enhance their ability to keep delivering high-quality care.If you’ve hit a rough patch with your partner and aren’t sure who to talk to, you’re not alone.

The live events industry is experiencing a digital renaissance. Concert halls are sold out, sports stadiums are packed, and festivals are breaking attendance records—but behind the scenes, the way we buy, sell, and experience tickets is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Enter NFT ticketing: a technology that’s turning ordinary event passes into digital collectibles, solving decades-old industry problems while creating entirely new possibilities for fan engagement.

Cancer has a great impact on the mental and emotional well-being of a person.  In recent years, many patients have sought out supportive holistic methods after undergoing such therapies and struggling painfully to regain lost vitality. Homeopathy is a holistic medical system that aims to stimulate bodily natural healing processes effectively. Homeopathy increasingly gaining recognition for complementing cancer care especially in restoring energy and boosting life quality during and after treatment.

Depression is a complex and challenging mental health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in daily activities. Depression can disrupt daily life, making it difficult to function and enjoy even the simplest tasks. While therapy and lifestyle changes play an essential role in managing depression, medication can also be a vital component of treatment. One such medication is Lexapro, which has gained recognition for its effectiveness in treating depression.

Are you always tense about your acne-prone skin and looking for an effective solution to get it treated completely? 

Putting things off is part of the nature of many people. And it’s not about laziness. Sometimes, we procrastinate on our important tasks because of stress, anxiety, and being overwhelmed at study or work. Studies show that chronic procrastination affects about 20% of adults, and it often leads to poor sleep, low mood, and higher stress levels. 

If you like to experiment with your nails, you might have already tried different kinds of tips, shapes, and styles. Press-on nails can be a quick and easy option for changing your nail look at home or before a big event. But you may not have explored all the clever techniques that can make your experience even better.

You do not have to hit rock bottom to rethink your relationship with alcohol. You do not need a dramatic intervention, a DUI, or a wake-up call. In fact, more and more people are exploring sobriety not because they have to but because they want to. This is what it means to be sober-curious.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anaïs Nin