A Path Towards Mindful Time-Management
Time-management is challenging on a good day. Add the extra hustle and bustle of the holiday season and it is easy to get overwhelmed. Multiple projects pop up simultaneously, leading to anxiety and frustration around dropping the proverbial ball.
Contrary to popular belief, we now know that focusing on one project at a time rather than trying to multi-task actually leads to more efficiency and accuracy. Articles in Forbes and Time also lay out how the process of trying to multi-task can actually be harmful. Surprised? I sure was.
Read More»Helping Moms Create a Mindfulness Practice
Most moms run on auto-pilot more often than they’d like. They plow through their days with determination and focus, and fall into bed exhausted yet satisfied that their to-do lists are completed. They plan meals, negotiate housework, shuttle kids to and from school (while playing their Suzuki CDs no less), and steal a few precious minutes at the end of it all for themselves and their partners. This is not to say that dads don’t do these things either, because they do. But as a whole, moms still take on a disproportionate amount of housework in our society, even if they also work outside the home. Interestingly, this seems to be less of an issue for same-sex couples. At any rate, this article is for moms who feel like they multi-task all the time, and feel stressed and rather unfulfilled because of it. My message to these moms (and I am one of you) is simple: Develop a mindfulness practice.
Read More»3 Tips for Being a Happier Parent
“It sucks. Parenting sucks.”
Chances are that you have thought (or said) something similar if you are a parent. Clients have certainly said this to me on a number of occasions. Meeting the demands of parenting is tough, and can leave you feeling more drained than fulfilled. Not only must you juggle multiple priorities at once (attending to needs at home, in the workplace, in the community, within your larger family), but you feel a pressure to juggle with a smile on your face.
Read More»Learning Empathy
A common complaint among couples who come for help is that their partner is not very empathetic. “Why can’t he see when I’m upset?” “I’m completely overwhelmed by managing our bills, and she doesn’t care.” Sometimes it seems like we are wearing our emotions on our sleeves, but those emotions aren’t obvious to our partners. We feel like we are screaming, “help me!” and the response we get is as if nothing was wrong.
Read More»Women, Men, and Stress
- At May 13, 2015
- By Jennifer Stoos
- In Brain Science, Fighting, Uncategorized
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Do women and men experience and deal with stress differently? Popular opinions range from the “no differences” proposition to the “different planets altogether” idea. But what does the current science suggest about how men and women react under stress? Many studies point toward the idea that our hormones affect our physical and mental experience of stress, and influence how we interact with others when we are under stress. Here are a few studies that might be of interest.
Sleep Disorder?
- At April 01, 2011
- By Jennifer Stoos
- In Brain Science, Mood, Sleep, Take Care of Yourself
- 0
That snoring twitching thing in the bed next to you may just be a huge annoyance—but in too many cases she or he has an undiagnosed sleeping disorder. What signs should alert you to pursue the subject with your doctor or a sleep specialist? Get an evaluation whenever you feel a cause for concern, but see a specialist right away if you or a loved one suffers from any of the following
Read More»When the problem isn’t your relationship
- At April 01, 2011
- By Jennifer Stoos
- In Brain Science, Fighting, Mood, Sleep, Take Care of Yourself
- 0
Your partner is grumpy and moody. Little things become big things quickly. Is he depressed? Is something wrong with your relationship? Or is it just that she isn’t getting enough sleep?
We tend to take sleep for granted, and feel that we can rise above the feeling of being tired. There is no escaping the data, however. When we are tired
Read More»Who’s Got a Better Memory?
- At January 26, 2011
- By Jennifer Stoos
- In Brain Science, Fighting
- 0
Have you ever had a small argument turn into a big fight when you and your partner remember an event differently? You are telling a story, and you notice your partner’s eyes are rolling in exasperation:
“That’s not how it happened!”
“Yes it is!”
And suddenly you find yourself arguing about what happened in the first place and who remembers it more accurately.
You are not alone if you’ve had a conversation like this. Lots of couples find it irritating and exasperating when their partner seems to deliberately remember something inaccurately. We might feel like our partner doesn’t care enough to remember, or even worse, is trying to change the facts to suit their own agenda.
Now your partner may in fact be trying to pull the wool over your eyes, but it is more likely that both of you are facing the same issue: our memories are extremely inaccurate
Read More»Can We Read Minds? Mirror Neurons in Relationships
One of the most important parts of communication happens without any words. Each time we look at another person we are unconsciously making guesses about how that person is feeling and what he or she is intending to do. Sometimes we call this “empathy,” and we label some people more “empathetic” than others. But it turns out that we read each other because of our biology.
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