Published in Better Humans
Are You Allowing Depression to Hold Your Happiness Hostage?
The Stockholm syndrome vs. the London syndrome, and how to break free
Photo by niu niu on Unsplash
In 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson attempted to rob a bank in Stockholm and took four bank employees hostage during the process. They were held captive in one of the vaults for six days, and Olsson threatened to kill them if police negotiators didn't meet his demands. …
Do You Get Sad on Birthdays, Holidays, or After Special Events?
Here's how to avoid the consequences of the arrival fallacy.
Photo by Olaia Irigoien on Unsplash
I once heard a comedian talk about what it was like to be diagnosed with a terminal illness. The only thing he wanted to do before he passed away was to perform his comedic act on a popular late-night TV show. With so little time left to live, he set…
How to Optimize Your Morning Routine and Improve Your Mental Health
5 simple steps anyone can do to be at their best
Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash
Being a Navy SEAL is definitely not for me, but I'm fascinated by their discipline. I've watched just about every documentary I can find about what SEAL candidates must endure in their "Hell Week" testing. …
Published in ILLUMINATION'S MIRROR
Why Mental Health, like Physical Health, Requires Discipline
You can't just do it once and expect results
Last summer, I was having nachos and beers with one of my good friends after work. She told me how whenever she went to the gym, she compared herself to the fitness girls in the locker room and wondered what their secret was. While she then washed down a nacho…
The Mind's Curious Way of Turning Opposites Against You
And how to reverse it
Photo by Andrew Shiau on Unsplash
Apparently, it's very shameful to be white in the rapping community. This was made clear in the movie 8 Mile where the white protagonist engaged in a rap battle against a black opponent who ridiculed him for his skin color. The protagonist was so embarrassed about this that when it…
Why the Mental Health Stigma Isn't Ending Anytime Soon
It's nothing personal, you're just different
Photo by Obie Fernandez on Unsplash
The day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, a school teacher named Jane Elliott conducted a social experiment on her third-grade class to teach them about discrimination. This experiment, which is now famously known as the "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise, began with her telling her students that the brown-eyed…
Why It's Important to Live as If You've Already Lost Everything
After all, how long can you hold onto a cloud?
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
When I signed up to participate in the Medium writing arena, I didn't know much about how to play the game, the competition, or anything about leveling up. Despite this, one of my first articles got curated by a senior editor. I couldn't believe it! The next week, the article's…
Does Your Depression Come from an Addiction to Negative Thinking?
How to undo the damage our negative thinking causes
Photo by adrianna geo on Unsplash
After trying to kill myself when I was fifteen, I was sent to a psychiatric inpatient unit. The minimum stay in places like these is 72 hours, but I was at such a high risk of relapsing, they kept me for a month. Despite what many people might think, I…
How to Turn Depression into Your Superpower
What the power of a belief can do for your personal development
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash
There was a time when people believed it was physically impossible for humans to run a mile in less than four minutes. People knew it was possible to get close, but our physiology had limits. Then, in 1954, Roger Bannister did the impossible and beat that limitation. Since then, tens…
Are Your Fixations Getting in the Way of Your Happiness?
Here's how to stop your vices from destroying you
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
In the story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, five kids find golden tickets in their candy. These tickets grant them the privilege of visiting Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and experiencing everything that it has to offer. Four of these kids are consumed with gluttony, greed, envy, and pride…
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