Does Daylight Savings have you down? You’re not alone! You may have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of depression that affects 5% of American adults in the winter months. But did you know that 10-20% of adults experience a milder form of seasonal depression nicknamed the “winter blues”? That’s right, that sluggish feeling you get when days get shorter and the weather gets colder just might be clinical. But don’t despair, we put together a list of activities guaranteed to get you out of bed and back into the world.

Allison ScharmannJanuary 12, 2023sad, seasonal affective disorder, winter blues, winter, funComment

It’s not just you: Why you feel weird lately

If you’ve started feeling odd as we come up upon the one-year-anniversary since a lot of us started quarantining, it’s not just you. You might just be experiencing just one or a few of these things, but some things you may notice are:

Sleep problems
Strange or unpleasant dreams
Irritability
A feeling of restlessness
Feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, and/or anxiety without a clear cause
Flare ups of chronic health issues

Does any of that sound like what your last few days or weeks have been like? If so, then you might be having a trauma anniversary.

Ashley KirsnerMarch 4, 2021Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, STST, STST blog, why you feel weird lately, why you feel weird, why do I feel weird, why I feel weird, pandemic, covid, covid-19, covid-19 feels, i feel bad, why do i feel bad, why do I feel bad, trauma, trauma response, trauma responses, trigger, triggers, triggering, trauma anniversary, trauma anniversary reacton, trauma anniversary reaction, anniversary reaction, anniversary reactions, anniversary, covid anniversary, covid-19 anniversary, pandemic anniversary, sleep problems, trouble sleeping, sleeping problems, insomnia, strange dreams, bad dreams, nightmares, irritable, irritability, i'm irritable, why am I irritable, why do i have bad dreams, why do I have nightmares, why am I having nightmares, why am I restless, restless, restlessness, sadness, sad, anger, angry, guilt, guilty, anxiety, anxious, why am I anxious, why am I so anxious, why am I sad, why am I so sad, why am I angry, why am I so angry, why do I feel guilty, why do I feel sad, why do I feel angry, why do I feel anxious, why do I feel nervous, nervous, nervousness, chronic health flare up, flare up, chronic health, chronic health problems, quarantine, quarantine anniversary, quarantining, why do I feel bad all the time, why do I feel angry all the time, why do I feel sad all the time, why do I feel mad all the time, why do I hate everyone, I hate everyone, I hate everything, why do I hate everything Comment

Three tips for surviving the holidays

Whether you’re spending the holidays with family, with friends, or with yourself this year, your celebrations probably won’t live up to the impossibly wholesome fireside gatherings that the media depicts as the norm. Well, the good news is that no matter how many pictures of glistening ham you see on Instagram, nobody else’s holiday is going to be perfect, either. So, we’ve come up with some tips for making the most out of your holidays, whatever they look like.

Ashley KirsnerDecember 21, 2017holidays, holiday, Christmas, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Chanukkah, Happy Chanukkah, boundaries, setting boundaries, how to set boundaries, how to have boundaries, how to have a healthy relationships, how to connect, family, how to be with family, self-care, mindful, mindfulness, mindful acceptance, mindfully accept, three tips for surviving the holidays, survive the holidays, how to survive the holidays, depression, sad, lonely, I feel lonely, feel lonely, Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blogpost, Skip the Small Talk blog, Skip the Small Talk blog post, missed my flight, anxiety, Maslow's hierarchy, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Maslow, boundary, set boundary, how to connect with family, visiting family, without going crazy, party, holiday party, holiday party ideas, Christmas party, Christmas party ideas, Hanukkah party, Hanukkah party ideas, hosting a party, host a party, how to host a partyComment

When vulnerability backfires

Hey,

So you tried to be vulnerable in some way, whether it was telling someone how you felt, or asking for what you wanted or needed, or sharing about yourself in a way that felt like “too much,” or otherwise extending an invitation to someone to join you in being a little more human together. And for whatever reason, in some way, it didn’t go as well as you’d hoped. And maybe right now, you feel some combination of disappointed, sad, hurt, invalidated, anxious, hopeless, worthless, angry, frustrated, and/or other feelings you didn't sign up for.

Ashley KirsnerJuly 13, 2017vulnerability, for when vulnerability kicks your ass, vulnerable, pain, emotions, feelings, Skip the Small Talk, letter, letter for when vulnerability sucks, vulnerability sucks, rejection, rejected, feeling awful, feel awful, sad, disappointed, hurt, invalidated, anxiety, hopelessness, hopeless, feeling anxious, feeling hopeless, feeling worthless, feeling angry, feeling frustrated, feeling rejected, feeling sad, comfort, comforting, suicide hotline, emotional support, crisis, suicide, imperfect, imperfections, imperfection, embrace imperfection, embracing imperfection, i'm sad, i'm feeling sad, i was rejected, feel sad, i feel sad, i feel rejected, I feel like a burden, how can i comfort, how to comfort, how to deal with rejection, how to cope with rejection, how to rejection, love, worthiness, worthy, vulnerability hangover, trying again, try again, begin again, frustrated, frustration, I'm hopeless, I feel hopeless, I'm worthless, I feel worthless, I feel sad, I'm sad, I'm disappointed, I feel disappointed, I'm hurt, I'm invalidated, I'm anxious, I feel invalidated, invalidating, I'm frustrated, I'm frustrated with, I feel like shit, I feel shitty, I feel awful, feeling shitty, I'm feeling shitty, feel like shit Comments

TIPS, STORIES, AND insPiration