Divorced Parents: 7 Tips to Make the Holidays Smoother for Your Children
From the outside, it may seem like a bonus for children of divorced parents to have two of every holiday.
Yet, it can be a stressful time for each parent. Naturally, children sense this type of stress and tension, creating a less-than-ideal holiday for them as well.
Let’s face it, both divorce and co-parenting are hard. Furthermore, sharing children can get complicated whether you’re on good terms with your ex-partner or not. Especially around the holidays!
And it doesn’t matter if this is your first co-parenting holiday or your 15th, the holidays can still be difficult to navigate.
Here are a few tips to make the holidays a bit smoother for your children. Oh, and you as well!
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Trouble Eating Healthy During the Holidays? – How to Make Good Food Choices
Eating healthy during the holidays is a concern on most of our minds this time of year.
As the weather turns chilly and the leaves start to fall, many of us shift into a sort of hibernation mode.
Unlike a drowsy grizzly bear—whom nature has actually granted with a hefty winter sleep—you likely still have to go to work, care for the family, and attend holiday get-togethers.
At these aforementioned holiday events is when the eating problems commonly arise. After all, with such an array of deliciousness, how can you not taste it all?
Here are a few seasonal tips to eating healthy during the holidays.
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The Holidays Are Coming! – 5 Tips to Keep Levels of Anxiety Low
For many people, the holiday season can bring a mix of emotions.
In fact, feeling depressed or anxious is not uncommon in the least bit. It can get tricky to keep levels of anxiety low in the midst of the seasonal hustle and bustle.
Experiencing your own unique hodgepodge of emotions may have caught you off-guard. Or perhaps you’ve been dreading the holiday stress since May.
No matter what your situation, consider these practical tips to keep levels of anxiety low.
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Bullying Prevention at Home: How to Raise a Child, Not a Bully
Bullying has a stigma attached to it.
And bullying prevention often carries the same negative reputation.
After all, what parent wants their child to bully other children? Likely, no one reading this post.
Yet, it’s so easy for parents to look the other way when behavioral signs point in the direction of bullying conduct from their own child.
Furthermore, children prone to bullying at school often exhibit well-mannered and good behavior at home. This can make bullying prevention a bit more tricky.
So, how do you raise a child rather than a bully?
Consider these practical parenting tips.
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Why Respectful Communication and Clear Boundaries Are Important for Effective Parenting
If you’re like most parents, you’ve learned in real time that this parenting gig is no easy job.
Basically, it’s tough. And that’s putting it gently.
On top of raising one or a brood of positive contributors to society, there’s the matter of maintaining your own dreams and goals. Then, of course, you also have to comply with many unspoken societal standards and sort through the mounds of so-called parenting instructional manuals.
Oh… and have I mentioned that it’s a tough job?
So, how do you manage it?
Is effective parenting even doable? Or is it an impossible feat where survival is the only option?
Take heart in knowing that effective parenting is possible. You can raise a great kid or an entire brood of them.
But for your parenting endeavor to be ultra successful, you’ll need a hefty mixture of respectful communication and clear boundaries.
Here’s why.
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Cohabitation Issues: When Convenience Is Confused with Love
Although living together pre-marriage hasn’t always been trendy or even accepted, it’s old news nowadays.
Many people consider cohabiting as the level of commitment right before marriage. Others tend to view it as a substitute for marriage.
Also, there is the unforgettable but often overlooked gray zone of romance. This is the zone where cohabitation issues arise and living together takes on a new meaning.
When it comes to sharing a living space, it’s unsurprising that partners often confuse convenience with love. After all, cohabiting offers a sense of security that few people want to leave behind.
But what does this do to the idea of love? And how does this gray zone promote cohabitation issues?
Here’s the scoop on this common mix-up.
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Why Support Is So Important for Chronic Illness Treatment
In chronic illness treatment, caring for your physical ailment is likely at the forefront of your mind.
Often, that may cause you to leave your overall wellness somewhere towards the back, falling behind a hefty list of prescriptions and your daily to-do list.
It’s only natural to focus directly on your chronic illness treatment. In fact, you need to.
Keep in mind, though, that you are more than a physical being. Made up of emotions and thoughts, your body and mind reflect each other more than you may know.
For this reason, it’s vital to surround yourself with a stable support system.
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When You’re Afraid of Relationships – 5 Tips to Overcome Your Insecurity
When you’re afraid of relationships, there’s usually a good reason. Perhaps you were hurt, scared of being tied down, or are simply tired of trying so hard without your efforts being reciprocated.
These are all valid reasons to be skittish about romance. After all, love is a big deal. And so are your emotions, for that matter.
Most people will tell you that you just need to dive in, facing your fears. They say it will all work out.
Except… that it won’t.
You may even unknowingly sabotage your own relationship.
So, before diving in head first, consider these tips for overcoming your own insecurity.
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Are You and Your Spouse Considering a Divorce? – How Discernment Counseling Can Help
Divorce is one of the most impacting decisions you will ever make. It will affect you for the rest of your life.
Yet, sometimes it’s the right way to go.
Knowing when it’s time to call it quits doesn’t come easily. Usually, making a life-altering decision like divorce requires time to identify your true desires and weigh your options.
Some people spend a vast amount of time deliberating, unable to pull the trigger on either staying married or getting divorced. This feeling of limbo can become very uncomfortable, exacerbating the problem.
If this situation sounds all too familiar, perhaps it’s time you consider discernment counseling.
Different from other forms of therapy, this type of counseling focuses on couples who are seriously considering divorce. It can help you figure out what you really want.
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Help! My Parents Are Getting Older!” – 6 Tips for Caring for Aging Parents
While it may be your deepest calling, caring for aging parents is no small task.
From trying to understand confusing healthcare plans to meeting with an attorney to solidify a will, the elderly don’t have it easy. And, in helping them, you don’t have it easy either.
But even in the midst of declining health, financial worries, and the overall anxiety that often befalls humans during the golden years, you and your parents can find peace.
Let’s face it, getting old is hard work. Hard work that none of us can avoid.
Nevertheless, here are six valuable tips on how to maintain your calm as your parents age and require more of your help.
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Pets for Seniors: 5 Amazing Health Benefits
No one truly knows what it’s like to grow old until it happens to them.
And when it does, it can be tough to handle.
Having a faithful companion by their side during the golden years could be the difference between living healthy and living distressed. These are likely the things you think about in caring for your aging friend or family member.
Be comforted in knowing that many scientific studies point to the benefits of pets for seniors.
Here are a few of those benefits.
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Exercise for Anxiety: How Physical Activity Promotes Anxiety Relief
If someone advised you to exercise for anxiety relief, would you take it as a candy-coated hint to workout?
After all, getting into shape is the new cool trend.
Here’s the thing about using exercise for anxiety relief—there’s actually a science to it.
Maybe getting into shape should be on your to-do list. It should be on mine, too. But not just to make friends with the scale. More than anything, it helps to relieve anxiety symptoms like shakiness, muscle tension, and shortness of breath, to name a few.
Exercise can even help you to react differently to anxiety. Here’s how it works.
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The Gut-Brain Connection: How Your Diet Can Improve Your Depression
At times, it may seem that your gut-brain connection is limited to pestering you with cravings.
Or perhaps you only sense a link between the two when it’s nearly mealtime.
Unsurprisingly, most people don’t realize the impacting relationship the gut and brain have on each other. In terms of depression, for example, various environmental factors like diet, stress, and smoking can influence it.
To understand how you can improve your depression, it’s important to first wrap your head around your gut-brain connection.
Here’s the scoop.
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Struggling with Self-Esteem and Body Image Issues? – 5 Powerful Self-Care Tips
For some, looking into the mirror is an unpleasant experience.
Perhaps an inadequate reflection stares back at you when you look in your mirror at home.
Struggling with body image issues has a way of getting you down. Not only can you feel your self-esteem plummet but all those tiny imperfections you see often become insurmountable.
Despite appearing externally healthy to others, you may feel like a huge spotlight is shining on things you’d love to change about yourself. In fact, at times, you are likely overwhelmed with the feeling of never being enough.
When body image issues overwhelm you, here are a few tips on how taking care of yourself will keep your self-esteem from taking a nose dive.
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Looking for Anxiety Relief? – 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting an Anti-Anxiety Medication
Jumping headfirst into an unknown body of water seems a little extreme, right?
And you’re right. It is extreme.
Even more so, it’s unhealthy. You have no idea what to expect when you hit the water. Something surprising might be in there turning the calm-looking water into an unexpected challenge.
Looking for anxiety relief, many people dive in headfirst when it comes to taking anti-anxiety medication. But, sadly, like the diving scenario, that approach is extreme and unhealthy.
It’s important to cover your bases before opting for medication!
Here are 10 questions to start you out on the right foot.
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Understanding What Drives Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse occurs when one person belittles, ignores, rejects, isolates, or scares another with the aim to devalue their thoughts, feelings, desires, appearance, preferences, or needs.
The ultimate goal? To gain control over them.
What drives emotional abuse and why?
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Understanding Panic Attacks: Causes, Effects, and Coping Strategies
For those who suffer from them, panic attacks can be a scary and debilitating experience.
They may strike at any moment, making it very difficult to have a semblance of a normal life.
If this sounds like you, it’s important you learn more, understanding panic attacks and what to do about them.
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How to Employ These 6 Powerful Stress Busters During Remodeling
During a remodel, your home goes from being your safe haven to a building site.
Although you’re probably really looking forward to the finished project, the process might feel rather intrusive.
From drywall dust to budgeting concerns and everything in between, keeping your cool might prove to be difficult during remodeling. Even more than squeezing every last penny out of your budget, you might be searching for stress busters to maintain your calm.
Here are a few tips to help you get through the remodeling process and keep your nerves from fraying.
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Marital Revival: 7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Relationship
If you’re like most people, you’re more than ready to feel a warm breeze and sunshine on your skin.
Needless to say, winter has a way of getting people down in the dumps.
The long, dark days don’t just affect your mood. They can negatively impact your relationship as well.
In fact, long, dark days in any season can affect your relationship. The reality is that seasons aren’t really to blame. The long, dark day culprit is actually distance—an emotional gap.
No matter how this gap is created, it can dim the spark in your relationship, leaving you in need of a marital revival.
So, in the spirit of all things spring, here are some tips on how to spring clean your own relationship.
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He Said/She Said: 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Becoming a Stepparent
you’re like most people, then you’ve probably never planned on becoming a stepparent.
But, life happens.
And when life happens, sometimes becoming a stepparent happens, too.
The thing about parenting someone else’s kids is that no one can tell you exactly what to expect. The range of experiences run the gamut when it comes to caring for stepchildren.
It could be the greatest experience of your life or it could completely crush your self-worth. And further still, it could do both—all in about two hours worth of time.
To help you wrap your mind around the endeavor of becoming a stepparent, here are 10 things some may neglect to tell you, but that you must absolutely know.
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