Sometimes, when people think of wellness, they think of perfection. A flawless routine and feeling good 24/7. In reality, wellness goes far beyond what we often see online. It’s not all about yoga or finding your zen state, and it’s certainly not about having a perfect routine where you feel happy all the time. Wellness is feeling good and at peace with your body and mind. It’s a journey. For me, it’s about constantly working on myself and how I can make myself feel better in all areas of my life: school, work, eating habits, exercise, family, and community. Practicing wellness can look like going for a walk after a stressful day or deciding to stay in to prioritize rest. Here are some strategies that have helped me along the way to feel present and [...]

How to create new emotional patterns The emotional brain. Lili knows exactly how she’s going to react. Every time her boss asks her for a report due the following week, something in her immediately activates—the same knot in her stomach, the same urge to do anything but that. She calls a friend she hasn’t seen in months, reorganizes the kitchen drawers, buys things she doesn’t need. The whole week goes by like this. And the day before the deadline, her body sends the bill: sweaty hands, a racing heart, a mind that won’t stop producing images of failure, of being mocked, of her boss’s disappointed face. Sleep-deprived and exhausted, she manages to turn in the report on time. But the experience, once again, was terrible.Lili knows this pattern by heart. She criticizes herself, promises that [...]