One in five Americans experience mental health issues every year, according to a report by the National Alliance on Mental Health. That’s at least 46 million people living in the U.S. each year. The concept of mental health didn’t use to be as recognized as it is today. In fact, a lot of people didn’t even think it was real….

Every day we drive past billboards and flip through magazines and watch commercials on television all showing us attractive people with similar sexy characteristics, but have you ever stopped to consider… …somebody made up what “sexy” is! Someone, somewhere down the line, assigned certain characteristics to the word… and we all went along with it. I call it “The Trance,”…

Nearly thirty years ago, I found a button in a novelty store in San Francisco. I had recently lost 100 pounds – and given up drinking, as well – and this button read, “Eat, Drink and Be a Big Fat Drunk.” While I believe it is an important goal in life to avoid offending others, I wore it with pride…

Do you ever have thoughts like these? My life would be better if I looked better. I will never look as good as _____________. My _________ is/are so ugly. I am so fat. The scale can’t be right. I look disgusting; no one could ever love me. If you do, you’re not alone. In a seminal study of body image…

My friend Holly recently shared something from Facebook that she’d thought was hilarious. “Lor,” she said – she always calls me that – “Remember Howard Cosell?” Cosell was a well-known sports broadcaster in the sixties and seventies, and someone had made a meme out of a photo of him standing between Bruce Jenner and OJ Simpson. In the meme, Cosell is…

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings. – Pearl S. Buck   The holidays are right around the corner, likely to be filled with tons of extra food. I would like to offer you an early holiday gift: information and awareness. Below are some solid materials that will teach you a great deal about…

Most of us probably remember being in history class as children. Or maybe you had Social Studies, as it was called at my school. Whatever the name of the class, it taught us about war – likely with a focus on the Civil War here in America. We learned that those who surrendered were the weaker side. They were the…

The most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.~ Pema Chodron Fall is here! And with Fall comes the ‘Feeding Frenzy.’ Beginning with Halloween, we find ourselves on the precipice of what can be a very challenging time for many of…