Oxytocin is known by most as “the love hormone” or “the cuddle chemical.”  It turns out that these descriptions are simplified to the point of no longer being correct. (Have you noticed how that happens a lot in health science?)

I know, I lured you into this post like this was something difficult to do. The truth is that your brain changes its structure, chemistry, and function every second of every day in response to your actions, thoughts, and environment. 

Changing your brain chemistry really comes down to changing your behaviors.

Isolation has been a major theme for 2020. I’ve been seeing it manifest in many, many ways, and it seems to be intensifying as the year progresses.

Healthcare providers and practitioners are under enormous amounts of mental stress. Caring for patients who are struggling, while maintaining safety protocols, donning masks for entire shifts, and balancing the anxiety of “what’s next?” is casting a shadow over everyday life. And that’s on top of the extra stress of taking care of patients who are extra stressed, while being extra stressed ourselves.

On one hand, this makes self-care incredibly important. On the other hand, self-care has its limitations—and providers need professional support too.

Recently a friend with a brand new business asked me “How did you learn to relax on your days off?”

Most business owners are wildly familiar with this sensation, of being exhausted but unable to relax, of knowing that you need a day off but being unable to pull your brain away from work.  This is a work in progress for me, as it is for many business owners and entrepreneurs.  As such, I called in my business coach to help me answer this question.  

Holidays are supposed to be a time to celebrate—to give thanks (AKA practice gratitude), and spend time with family. Instead, that often turns into high-stakes gift giving, overeating Jello salad (personally I think we’re playing fast and loose with the word “salad” here, but maybe that’s just me), and a mad dash to innumerable gatherings with family members we don’t connect with for the next 11 and a half months.

It’s not hard to see how any version of that can be a financial, emotional, and nutritional burden. So how can you avoid it? Let’s talk about a few reasonable solutions to reducing holiday stress.

I’ve had a strongly hit-or-miss experience referring my clients to other healthcare providers. Many have gone to other caregivers and received such advice as, “there’s nothing I can do to help until it gets worse.” Or, they’ve been outright dismissed despite clear and present symptoms (a more frequent occurrence for my female clients). 

Because I know how hard it can be to have a conversation with any new healthcare provider, I’m sharing my tips for how to talk to your doctor.

Have you ever noticed that scientific evidence seems to say something different every day?

Keeping up with evidence is a sizable challenge. Many people make it their full-time jobs, and barely manage to scratch the surface. That said, even a non-expert (you) can take some simple steps to critically evaluating evidence that will help you manage your health decisions.

With kids back in school, cooler weather approaching, and more activities taking place indoors, the not-so-welcome cold and flu season is also upon us. This year in particular, with our extreme alertness to anything viral and/or respiratory, it’s more necessary that we keep ourselves aware of the possibility of getting sick—and be proactive about taking steps to keep ourselves healthy.

Our bodies are built to handle immediate and short-lived challenges. What tends to wear us down are the long-lasting challenges. And the most insidious ones are the long-lasting, low-grade challenges—their effects are almost never immediate, but build up over time. 

Dealing with the ongoing stressors of a global pandemic is a textbook illustration of this kind of long-term, ongoing challenge. It’s a near-perfect example of chronic stress, with daily tasks being just a little bit harder, and daily events being laced with fear and caution.

But what exactly is chronic stress—and why does it matter? Let’s define it, and help you figure out how to best deal with it, now and beyond COVID-19.  

Most of us spend several hours per day, five to seven days per week working.  For a lot of us, that means being at a computer-based workstation for more than 20 hours per week.  A sketchy set up for your workspace can kill your mood, hamper your ability to focus, and cause lingering pain in your back, neck, and shoulders. 

Whether you’re working from home, or trying to set yourself up for success in the office, these six simple steps will help you set up your work space to boost you mental game and save your neck, back, and shoulders.