Setting Boundaries for Healthy Relationships

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

Over the past 100-odd years, women have played a critical role in the ever-changing labor force. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 57.3% of women are now in the workforce and 68% of men, yet despite this representation, only 24% of women hold high management C-suite positions.With this lack of women in prominent senior positions, alongside other gender-related issues, including the gender pay gap and prevalence of harassment towards women at work, it is clear there are still leaps and bounds to be made by industry leaders and organizations to better promote gender equality in the workplace.The good news is that some steps can also be taken by female business leaders who are looking to voice and fight these issues, take charge of their careers, and grow their business or influence in the industry.The path to advancing in the industry looks different for everyone – a marketing professional may look to broaden their network by attending conferences, while a social worker completes an online Master of Social Work to get a higher certification. Whatever your business model or entrepreneurial path is, here are our top tips to help achieve this success.

You can’t calm the storm. What you can do is calm yourself, and the storm will gradually pass. So do your best to breathe when negativity surrounds you today.

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” ~Anaïs Nin

There’s a gritty, unfiltered side of success that rarely makes it to our timelines or TED Talks. It’s not drenched in neon lights, wrapped in viral quotes, or toasted with champagne selfies. It’s quiet.

One of the strongest signs of your growth is realizing you’re no longer holding on to the false beliefs that once used to drain you.Marc and I received a thank you email recently from a longtime reader and coaching client named Kevin (I’m writing about him today with his consent). He said our books and coaching sessions helped him and his wife maintain grounded and intentional mindsets as they struggled and grew through one of the most difficult periods of their lives.

This guest blog is written by Shebna N. Osanmoh, PMHNP-BC, a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner affiliated with Savant Care, Los Altos, CA, a mental health clinic.The legal profession is known for long hours, adversarial culture, and high stakes. While all lawyers are vulnerable to mental health issues, an often overlooked group may be suffering in silence—mainly male lawyers.There’s been increasing awareness of mental health in the legal field, but how depression shows up and is managed in men has been underexamined.