We’re hoping that you can join us for the first Psych Central Conference this coming June 3-4. It will be held at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, located in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts. Early-bird registration is now open, with a savings of $30 if you register before March 1.

The 2-day conference will highlight mental health, mindfulness, stress-relief, psychology and other self-help topics from a wealth of knowledgeable speakers from around the country. Workshops will be available in multiple tracks throughout both days, along with plenary sessions highlighting key topics each day.

We’ve posted some of the conference plenaries and general talks as well as the full list of conference workshops and presentations we’re hosting this year. It looks to be a packed conference, full of something for everyone!

Early-bird registration ends Feb. 28, so now’s a great time to register and save $30 off the price of a normal admission ticket.

In his book, Understanding Depression: What We Know And What You Can Do About It, J. Raymond DePaulo Jr., M.D. asserts that for the 20 percent of his patients who are more difficult to treat, or “treatment-resistant,” he sets an 80 percent improvement, 80 percent of the time goal. And he usually accomplishes that.

Now, if you’re not someone who has struggled with chronic depression, those stats won’t warrant a happy dance.

But if you’re someone like myself, who assesses her mood before her eyes are open in the morning, hoping to God that the crippling anxiety isn’t there, then those numbers will have you singing Hallelujah.

Whenever you’re anxious, sad or overwhelmed or simply need some soothing, it helps to have a collection of comforting — and healthy — tools to turn to.

But some calming activities don’t work for everyone.

For instance, some people are allergic to bath salts, while others can’t drink herbal tea because of possible drug interactions (e.g., blood thinners). Many of us also can’t afford manicures or massages. And most of us are pressed for time.

So we asked three experts for their take on how readers can truly soothe their minds and bodies without needing more money, time or anything else, for that matter. Below are 13 strategies anyone can use to comfort themselves when they’re having a bad day.

There is magic in ordinary moments, in the mess of life. It’s just that sometimes we miss it.

Sometimes we’re so focused on the future or so buried in the past that we neglect the present. Sometimes we crave something so badly that we want time to speed up. And in that yearning, we gloss over the glory of today.

Other times we get so overwhelmed by daily pressures that we assume we don’t have time for the activities that feed us and bring us joy.

In her beautiful book A Field Guide to Now: Notes on Mindfulness and Life in Present Tense author Christina Rosalie shows us how to take notice, and take action, to live a mindful, passionate, truthful life amid the inevitable challenges and stressors.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) doesn’t just affect the individual. It affects the entire family, according to Mark Bertin, MD, a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician and author of The Family ADHD Solution.

Parents of kids with ADHD not only have to navigate a complex neurological disorder, but they also have to contend with criticism and judgment from others, he said.

For instance, parents might be told that ADHD doesn’t exist or that their child’s disorder is their fault. Or they’re criticized for putting their kids on medication.

Not surprisingly, studies show that parents of kids with ADHD are at greater risk for anxiety, depression, relationship problems and divorce, among other issues, Dr. Bertin said.

That’s why focusing on ADHD’s effect on parents is critical. Without it, “we aren’t addressing ADHD fully,” he said.

Are you in control of your life? If you live with any form of chronic pain, fatigue, malaise, or physical limitation, you probably often feel victimized by your condition.

Here are a set of practices that can help you cultivate a sense of mastery and well-being.

Attentional training is what allows us to begin this journey. For example, we all engage in unhealthy habits, many of which are too subtle for anyone — including ourselves — to notice. We can’t begin to change bad habits until we become aware of them. So how do we increase our attention and awareness?

Gratitude is a lifejacket on a sinking ship. Gratitude is a door held by a stranger when you’re carrying lots of stuff. It’s a smile from your spouse after you’ve had one of those days at work. It’s a blanket when you’re cold. Soup when you’re sick. A call when you’re lonely.

Gratitude provides for us even when we think we have nothing or no one. Because we do have many things and people in our lives. Gratitude just lifts the opaque veil from our eyes so we can see that more clearly.

“People who are grateful about events and experiences from the past, who celebrate the triumphs instead of focusing on the losses or disappointments, tend to be more satisfied in the present,” write Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons in their book Living Life as a Thank You: My Journal.

In it, they feature practical exercises and inspiring stories and quotes to cultivate gratitude. Here are three exercises to try.

Did you know that our taste buds tire quickly? Yes, it’s true. If you’ve ever bitten into a piece of chocolate cake and found that first bite heavenly and then finished the cake barely noticing the taste of the final bite, then you’ve experienced tired taste buds.

Our taste buds are chemical sensors that pick up on taste acutely for the first few bites.  After eating a large amount, we may taste very little of what we’re eating.

So what does this have to do with belly fat and mindfulness?

According to clinical psychologist Jean Kristeller, PhD, president and co-founder of The Center for Mindful Eating, many of us are eating too often and too much.

For as long as I can remember I’ve struggled with obsessive thoughts, with severe ruminations that can interfere with daily life. My thoughts get stuck on something and like a broken record, repeat a certain fear over and over and over again until I scream out loud, “STOP IT!”

The French call Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder “folie de doute,” the doubting disease. That’s what obsessions are — a doubt caught in an endless loop of thoughts.

But even those not diagnosed with OCD can struggle with obsessions. In fact, I have yet to meet a depressive who doesn’t ruminate, especially in our age of anxiety. Every day gives sensitive types like myself plenty of material to obsess about. So I’m constantly pulling out the tools that I’ve acquired over time to win against my thoughts, to develop confidence — the antidote for doubt — to take charge of my brain, and to stop obsessing. I hope they work for you too.

Mindfulness is the practice of being in the moment, right here and now, with your entire being in a non-judgmental and non-evaluative fashion. It’s a way of finding a greater inner peace and balance in your life through simple meditation practices.

Mindful eating, then, is re-learning how to eat not just as a way of giving your body the energy it needs to survive, but of experiencing food through all of your senses. It’s about treating each meal as enjoyable, nurturing experience unto itself, rather than just stuffing your mouth with food indiscriminately.

That’s why I’m pleased to introduce you to a new book by our blogger Pavel Somov, Ph.D., Eating the Moment. This book intends to give you a new appreciation for eating, moving it from a rote behavior to one of enjoyment and fulfillment.

If you’re an avid reader, you’ve probably had a moment when your book felt more real than the world around you.  Curled in a favorite spot, you may have felt almost as if you were in Narnia, had traveled through middle-earth with Frodo Baggins, or felt Holden Caufield’s adolescent confusion and angst.

Michigan State University professor Natalie Phillips frequently had such experiences.  She would become so lost in a book that the world around her would feel less real than the world created in the novel she read.

Curious as to how this distraction — or perhaps more accurately, absorption in a book — affected the brain, she decided to conduct a study. 

Phillips teamed up with neuroscientists from Stanford University to determine if there were differences in brain activity between, casual, somewhat distracted skimming vs. captivated and engaged reading.

What did they find?

There’s a good chance you’ve been lectured on the virtues of selflessness. Regardless of how religious you are, putting others’ welfare before your own can carry a lot of clout.

But is acting on others’ behalf always a good thing? Should a willing altruist ever keep from extending a helping hand?

As it turns out, there are many situations in which unbridled benevolence may be a dangerous deed.

Say hello to pathological altruism. Broadly defined as “good intentions gone awry” by pathological altruism pioneer Barbara Oakley, the term applies to any helping behavior that ends up hurting either the provider or recipient of supposedly well-meaning intentions.

Codependency, helicopter parenting, eating disorders, animal hoarding, genocide and suicide martyrdom all count as kinds of pathological altruism. Each is a combination of information deficiency, self-righteousness, and misdirected aims.