“Holding Vigil”: A Poem For Difficult Times

Let this poem be a mirror for those who need it, a reminder of the ways we hold one another as we move forward into difficult and uncertain times.

BlogAllison ScharmannNovember 7, 2024poem, poetry, processing, grief, emotions, coping, coping skills, calm, relaxation, meditation Comment

5 Free Mindfulness Resources

Read on for five resources to help un-break your brain without breaking the bank.

Allison ScharmannMay 3, 2024minfulness, meditation, mindfulness resources, mental health, wellness, self care, reflection, mindfulness exercises, guided meditationComment

10 Ways to Make Yourself Feel Better

Everybody has those days! Read on for some silly, sweet, and serious ways to cheer yourself up…

Allison ScharmannApril 4, 2024happiness, mental health, mindfullness, meditation, self care, joy, cheer, health, wellness, self love Comment

How to not be socially awkward

As people emerge from their quarantine shells and start attending social gatherings again, a lot of us are feeling more socially awkward than usual. That’s totally normal to feel strange after not interacting with people in a social setting for a while!

So I wanted to offer a strategy for coping with social discomfort, whether it’s coming from post-quarantine awkwardness, chronic social anxiety, or something in between.

Ashley KirsnerAugust 3, 2021awkwardness, awkward, social awkwardness, I feel awkward, socially awkward, I'm socially awkward, how do I be less awkward, be less awkward, how to be less awkward, how can I be less awkward, tips to not be socially awkward, tips for introvertsx, tips for shyness, tips for being shy, pandemic awkwardness, how do i be less awkward, how can i be less awkward, how to stop being awkward, how to stop being socially awkward, Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, how to be less socially awkward, be less socially awkward, conquer social anxiety, conquer social awkwardness, social anxiety, how to not be socially anxious, socially anxious, self-compassion, mindfulness, belly breaths, meditation, breathing exercise, breathing exercises, breath, anxiety reduction, social anxiety reduction, reduce social anxiety, how do I stop being anxious, how do I stop being socially anxious, stop being socially anxious, stop social anxiety, how to not be socially awkward, not be socially awkward, stop being socially awkward, stop being awkward Comment

Mindfulness for people who hate mindfulness

Modern mindfulness meditation practices often aren’t trauma-informed. So, it’s no wonder that a lot of people have trouble finding a practice that works for them.

And that’s unfortunate because when done well, mindfulness can offer so many benefits to your everyday experience of the world that research often has a tough time keeping up with all the wonderful things that mindfulness can do: it’s been shown to help smokers quit, reduce social anxiety, decrease chronic pain, improve memory, and so much more.

So here are some tips, from one person who used to absolutely hate meditation and all things mindfulness-related (and who now actually enjoys them), about how to make meditation and mindfulness work for you.

Ashley KirsnerJune 3, 2021mindfulness, mindful, meditation, meditate, meditating, i hate mindfulness, I hate mindfulness, I hate meditating, I hate meditation, how to like meditating, how to like mindfulness, hate mindfulness, hate meditating, mindfulness for people who hate mindfulness, you are here, 20 minutes a day, mindfulness activities, loving-kindness, loving kindness, loving kindness meditation, loving kindness meditations, loving-kindness meditation, loving-kindness meditations, trouble focusing, trouble focusing in meditation, trauma-informed mindfulness, trauma-informed meditation, trauma-informed, trauma, ptsd, meditating with ptsd, meditating with cptsd, meditating with depression, meditating for depression, meditating for anxiety, meditating with anxiety, meditating for mental health, meditating with mental illness, meditating for mental illness, mindfulness for mental illness, mindfulness for ptsd, mindfulness for cptsd, mindfulness for anxiety, mindfulness for depression, mindfulness for mental health, mindfulness for bipolar, mindfulness for bipolar disorder, mindfulness for chronic pain, meditating for chronic pain, meditating with chronic pain, meditating with fibromyalgia, meditating for fibromyalgia, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, meditating for cfs, cfs, meditating for chronic fatigue, meditating for chronic fatigue syndrome, mindfulness for chronic fatigue, mindfulness for chronic fatigue syndrome, mindfulness for cfs, mindfulness for fibromyalgia, mindfulness for fibro, meditation for fibro, bad at meditating, bad at mindfulness, I'm bad at meditating, I'm bad at mindfulness Comments

The surprising secret to productivity

If you’re American, chances are that you’re bad at resting.

It’s not your fault; it’s deeply engrained in American culture that we need to “earn” our rests.

But we have it backwards.

We can’t expect to be productive in order to earn our rests; we actually NEED rest FIRST in order to be productive.

Ashley KirsnerMarch 10, 2021productive, productivity, hacks, productivity hacks, Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, Skip the Small Talk blogpost, Skip the Small Talk blog post, blog, blog post, blogpost, psychology, psychology research, alone with my thoughts, alone with your thoughts, meditation, meditating, rest, restfulness, sleep, get enough sleep, meditate, resting, art, capitalism, American culture, America, American, how to be more productive, how to be productie, how to be productive, how can I be productive, how can I be more productive, I feel distracted, distracted, distractions, how to lower distractions, how to get rid of distractions, work, workplace, workplace advice, work advice, how to do better at work, how to be a better worker, how to be a better employee, how to add value, how to add more value, add value, add more value, take a break, how to take a break, how to rest, how to get rest, doodling, spending time in nature, nature, the surprising secret to productivity, secret to productivity, productivity hack, how to be more productive at work, capitalist Comment

How to calm down when everything is horrible

If you’re feeling like you’re struggling a little more than usual right now, you’re not alone.

As of writing this article, a lot of us are feeling burnt out from about a year of masking up, social distancing, and avoiding social gatherings.

Fortunately, there’s actually a physiological shortcut to calming down when you’re feeling anxious or angry.

It’s called the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve helps bring your body back to homeostasis after it’s freaked out.

The nerve runs throughout your body and controls a ton of body functions, like digestion, blood vessel dilation/contraction, heart rate, breathing, and more.

So, when you activate your vagus nerve, you get your digestion to speed up and your heart rate to slow down.

The good news is that there are some neat (and possibly surprising) shortcuts to stimulating your vagus nerve!

Ashley KirsnerFebruary 24, 2021anxiety, how to calm down, how to calm down when you're angry, how to calm down when angry, how to calm down when anxious, how to calm down when you're anxious, how to calm anxiety, how to calm anger, how to chill out, how to relax, I want to relax, tVNS device, breathing exercises, meditation, mindfulness, how to breathe, how to breathe better, vagus nerve, how to stimulate vagus nerve, how to stimulate your vagus nerve, stimulate your vagus nerve, dive reflex, box breath, box breathing, box breaths, belly breath, belly breaths, belly breathing, singing for anxiety, singing, garglig, gargling, laughing, laughing for anxiety, laughing for anger, singing for anger, massage, massaging, smile, smiling, smiling for anxiety, smiling for anger, smiling to calm down, smile to calm down, massage for relaxation, massage to calm down, CBD, CBD oil, meditate, meditations, how to meditate, I hate meditating, meditating doesn't work, meditating doesn't work for me, meditating sucks, meditating is the worst, I'm stressed, I'm angry, I'm anxious, I'm worried, I'm nervous, how to calm down when you're nervous, how to calm anxiety before a talk, how to relax before a talk, how to relax before, how to relax before a hard conversation, how to get centered, how to feel grounded, feel grounded, feel centered, get centered, get grounded, how to feel better, I feel like garbage, I want to feel better, everything is horrible, how to calm down when everything is horrible, how to calm down when everything sucks, everything sucks Comments

A unique strategy for big feelings

This week, I’m thinking about the above quote I found via psychologist and author Nedra Tawwab.

TIPS, STORIES, AND insPiration