What is self-esteem? How can we maintain balance?
Self-esteem refers to our evaluation of our self-worth. It is considered a generally stable trait, although it can fluctuate depending on our experiences, our expectations, and our level of self-awareness (Orth & Robins, 2014). When we notice a gap between how we would like to be and what we believe we are now and judge ourselves
What is PTSD? Strategies to maintain health and wellbeing
Whenever something happens out of the ordinary, it can have a significant impact on people. A traumatic event is described as such because it overwhelm us - such as a car accident, natural disasters, or when a person is attacked or injured. In these situations, most people will experience symptoms as a reaction to the distressing
If only… Strategies to deal with regret
Do you look back on your life and wonder what if you had made a different decision at a critical point? Research shows that we tend to regret more the decisions where we did not act, rather than the decisions where we did something but went wrong. Regret over inaction weighs more as we imagine possible
What are the benefits of self-awareness and how can we develop it?
We hear that we need to develop self-awareness to manage stress and to create positive relationships. But why is it so important? Research demonstrates that self-aware people are more balanced, confident, maintain positive relationships, and have a greater sense of achievement (Eurich, 2017). Being self-aware is an element of emotional intelligence (Mayer et al., 2008). As
How to manage self-doubt and build confidence in times of uncertainty
Living through the pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone. Many feel under pressure with the ongoing demands at home, homeschooling children or caring for relatives, and the increasing workload at work. We may feel drained as the days working from home blend into each other. Add to this, experiencing self-doubt and worry due to
Boost your motivation and feel engaged again
Are you noticing that you do not feel motivated to sit down and start or continue with a task, even though you know that delaying it will make it even harder? The problem is that we cannot force ourselves to feel motivated. Instead, we can create the conditions to enable us to engage with our work. What
Being quiet in a loud world
We live in a world that celebrates those who are outgoing, talkative, that like to be in the spotlight and appear to be comfortable in large groups. We often hear people say all we need is to have confidence - to believe in ourselves - and we can achieve anything we want to do. So, what is
How we can maintain our resilience in times of uncertainty
Being resilient does not mean that we do not feel frustrated, disappointed, or upset. It means that even when things are not working out in the way that we were hoping for we have the capacity to tolerate this, and take time to reflect on this to find ways to understand the situation. It is a
Living with uncertainty: how to manage worry thoughts
We all have worry thoughts from time to time, and more so when we are dealing with uncertainty. In evolutionary terms, we have a natural tendency to focus on the negative side of things as a survival mechanism. We have a brain that has a hard time tolerating not knowing, so we try to explain to
Feeling stressed? Exercise for body and mind
“ If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed.” (Tarnopolsky, 2016, cited in Oaklander, 2016) The body’s stress response is triggered when our brain (amygdala) detects danger and our body’s resources are not sufficient to manage the demands of the situation. Prolonged