The mind is a powerful instrument. You can use it to focus on what’s not working on your life or teach it to zoom in on what’s right.

It’s amazing what you can learn by spending time with both critical and positive people. The pessimist for example, will enter a room and gaze upon the one imperfection-the dirt lagging in a corner, the smudge on a glass frame or dust gathering on the floor. Another person walks into the same room and notices the gorgeous chandelier, the beautiful paint color or the craftsmanship of the wooden table. It’s all about perspective.

How you choose to see your world depends not only on what’s in it, but how you see it.

This week you’ll delve deeper into this topic whether it’s finding out the truth about your unconscious mind or learning how you can change a limiting thought into a more conscious one. Sometimes you have to work from the inside out to live a healthy and happy life. That may mean working on confronting the inner negative thoughts that say, “I can’t do this” or “I’m not creative/healthy/____ enough.” It may mean developing an awareness of your limitations and finding ways to work around them. However you choose to live your life, we hope you find ways to use our posts to develop helpful, healthy ways to enjoy it to the fullest.

{Etsy wooden sign by Reprieve’s Corner}

Pills are not the only way to manage your child’s inappropriate or maladaptive behaviors.

Neurofeedback therapy is a safe, non-invasive, alternative option for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. In November 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics approved biofeedback and neurofeedback as a Level 1 or “best support” treatment option for children suffering from ADHD.

For parents looking for an effective, non-drug treatment of ADHD, neurofeedback is one worth serious consideration.

Recently I had dinner with an old friend, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. Over burgers, we shared updates on our lives. Our conversation began at a surface level, but as the waitress refilled our Diet Cokes and we doused fry after salty fry in ketchup, the topics grew more personal.

As we talked, a red-light warning flashed across my brain: you’re over-sharing! I took a moment to reflect: Was I?

Here’s what I realized: through our conversation, I was starting to be more and more honest with my friend. And that felt a bit uncomfortable.

So your partner left. You’re alone and have to cope on your own with the loss of the relationship.

Not only is your partner physically gone, but you are now left with hurt, anger, grief, frustration, and several other feelings.

How do you cope? How do you move forward? How do you resume a normal life and feel happy again?

Most people have heard the old adage “time heals all wounds.” This is true for the ending of relationships as well. In the moment it may feel like you will never heal, but it gets easier with time.

There also are things you can do to get back on your feet and get back to a healthier and happier you. Here’s a few ideas to begin the healing process.

This guest article from YourTango was written by Dr. Aline Zoldbrod and Dr. Shoshana Bennett.

How can you add more spice to your sex life? This age-old question may seem stupid to young couples in love, but after 5 or 10 years in a relationship, some couples begin to appreciate it.

In this article, two of our experts discuss how being more kinky — and vulnerable — together — such as taking naked photos, reading erotica aloud — can make  sex more fun. Not every one of these ideas is going to be right for you and your partner.

But even if none of these ideas work for you, it may spur an idea of your own. So open your mind, and share this article with your partner.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post, Are you a tortoise or a hare about work?

It was about the question of whether you’d prefer to work fewer hours over more days, or more hours over fewer days.

I’ve been thinking more about this distinction. First point: I’m re-naming these categories marathoners and sprinters.

A larger point: one reason that I’m a marathoner is that I really dislike deadlines. I really, really, really don’t like to have work hanging over me.

In our monthly series, we take a sneak peek into the creative processes of everyone from photographers to authors to artists to creativity coaches.

This month I’m excited to share my interview with Miranda Hersey. Hersey wears many creative hats. She’s a writer and editor, creativity coach, and host of the blog Studio Mothers. And she’s a mom of five!

I’ve already interviewed Hersey for several creativity pieces, and I love her interesting insights and valuable tips. Her e-book on creativity and motherhood is excellent. (I shared a few of her tips here.)

And her mission is powerful: to help others live deeply satisfying, creative lives.

Navigating your work life and the direction of your career can often be fraught with danger and many unknowns. It can sometimes lead to stress, which most of us can’t help but let trickle into other aspects of our life — with our family, our friends, our spiritual life.

So it often comes down to finding a successful work/life balance that makes sense. Too often, we let ourselves get out of balance between our careers or jobs, and our family life. Once we get out of sync with that balance — if we’ve ever even had it — it can be really difficult to find a path toward a more equal home and work life.

Joyce Marter, LCPC to the rescue!

German psychoanalyst Eric Fromm said, “The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity.”

Everyone I have ever known — I take that back — every likable person I have ever known in this world has admitted to periods of sheer insecurity. They looked at themselves from the perspective of someone else — perhaps a person with no appreciation of their talents, personality traits, abilities—and judged themselves unfairly according to the perverted view.

I am terribly insecure much of the time. I grew up with bad acne, braces, and a twin sister who was in the popular group. The adolescent self-doubt had sticking power. At times I can pull off the image of a self-confident author and writer, but it usually lasts as long as the speaking event or lunch with my editor.

Lately the junior high inferiority complex has made a surprise visit, and I’m more insecure than usual. So here’s one of those lists that people are always writing — suggestions on what to do if you are feeling insecure, too.

“You could sum up my inability to make a decision in two words: ‘wishy-washy.’ Wait, is that two words or only one? Not sure. Think it’s one word but maybe it’s two. I know that lots of people have trouble with decision-making, but I think mine is epic. I am always of two minds. Or three. Or four.

I envy those people who are certain of themselves. They have no doubts. “This is what I want. This is what I’m doing. This is what I believe. Don’t really care if you agree with me or not.”

Me. I have major doubts about all kinds of stuff. From whom to marry? (Knew I was making a mistake when I said “I do.” But I did.) To what to buy? (I spend way too much time returning stuff.)

When I finally do make a decision, does that end the turmoil?”

May marked the end of another Mental Health Awareness Month.

From the Newtown, Conn. tragedy in December 2012, to the Oscar-winning movie Silver Linings Playbook and all the way through the DSM-5 controversy this spring, mental illness has certainly been getting plenty of attention in the news.  

Spanning the horrific to the enlightening, from the uplifting to the nitty-gritty, these three cultural talking points alone have been reshaping America’s ongoing thinking about a frequently overlooked aspect of our general health.

Considered in itself (or in its partial absence, illness), mental health shapes the rest of our health. If one is off-balance emotionally — even temporarily — physical health can and usually does suffer.

One of the greatest negative contributors to your health and well-being isn’t just illness, it’s stress. Unfortunately, stress is a household name these days. Everyone seems to be experiencing it on different levels. We’re worried about the future of the world as much as we’re concerned about the future of our children. But no matter what we’re going through, all problems lead to the same basic solutions.

We can accept what’s given and find ways to control what we can. Sometimes this means focusing on what’s working in our lives and practicing gratitude. It could also mean being more mindful of our diet, how we parent or on how our past affects our present life. As you’ll read below, we do have more control over our lives than we think. It’s all about figuring out what we can change, doing away with perfection, and learning how to be more balanced.

{Flickr photo by bottled_void}