Here’s the problem. The study didn’t actually include people who experienced trauma. It simulated trauma with 52 healthy college students by having them watch a 12-minute film and then tested them on their memory of the film with and without having played Tetris.

This isn’t easy for me! I’m usually dreaming, scheming, and working towards the future. I look for challenges to meet and mountains to climb! If I look to the past, it’s usually for hints about how to navigate the future or for memories to connect better with people in my life.

Competition is great for us. It teaches us perseverance, resilience, and tenacity. It also teaches us how to win and lose with grace. We need to keep this in mind whenever we challenge our siblings or our friends to a competition.

Gift giving doesn't just have to happen at Christmas, anytime of the year is a great time to experience the delight of giving. Many times we think that the one who benefits the most in a gift exchange is the one who gets the gift, but I think the best part is actually saved for the giver.

Relational goals are just as important as our task goals, even more important in many cases. So, as you start a new year, new month, or new week, think about those in your life that you want or need to invest in more. What can you do to build that relationship?

My family vacations are interesting. Vacation implies that rest will be had. Family vacation implies that we will be spending a whole week, just the six of us, doing everything together. When we were younger, by the end of the week, we were ready to not see each other for at least a few days.

Eventually, I came up with a list of things that would make us smile and give us some exercise. Here are a few of the hobbies we decided to pursue either as a family or individually that check both the fun and good for you boxes!

If you haven’t already, you will experience grief (likely several times) during your lifetime. Grief comes as a result of many experiences. The most common one is due to losing someone who we care about, but we can also grieve breakups, divorces, etc.

“I just want to talk to her. We broke up a couple months ago, and everyday, I just have the urge to reach out. She wasn’t just my girlfriend, she was my best friend. Shouldn’t I just reach out? If it’s been this bad, it’s not ever going to get better.”

“Codependence.” Whether you know it as the mental health buzzword of the past decade or are not familiar with it at all, it’s likely that several people you will be close to throughout your lifetime will struggle with it.

This life is guaranteed to come with trouble, challenges, and situations we wish we would not have to go through. When hardships come, they can crush us or make us stronger.

Work through college - If it’s possible, try to work at the same time that you are taking classes so you aren’t racking up debt without any active momentum toward paying down those bills or buying your books.

What is it that makes resting so hard? Is it the fact that we feel we’re letting others down? I think it is. I know whenever I get sick there’s a complicated reaction that takes place in my gut.

When I was in elementary school, I bought a diary at the school’s book fair. I thought it was so neat with it’s pretty pink cover and a lock and key to keep all my secrets safe. I had grand ideas of all of the things I would “tell” my diary. 

We often hear people say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” or “I have XYZ still to do, I’ll sleep when that’s done.” We can easily neglect one of the biggest things our bodies need, and it may be that sometimes we just forget how important it is. 

Fast forward several years. I didn’t want her around, but she kept appearing. Online, in memory, in person, in random connection with people I knew. It felt like our lives were linked, and it annoyed me. She bothered me, like an ant crawling up my leg.

Someone you trusted is caught in a lie. A friend who is loyal is found to have shared your secret. A brother who appeared to be of high integrity is found being deceptive.

I love to clean. I love to start with a big mess and systematically trudge through it until I am left with a clean space, organized, and decluttered. If I always left my room clean, then how would I have a huge mess to have fun with and clean up?!

This can be for other tasks that you keep procrastinating on because they look too big or overwhelming. Start small. Break the large job down into small tasks and take them one step at a time.

But, not all of us view breaks the same. For some of us, it may be harder to take breaks than others. Some personalities have a running list in their head of what needs to get done and have to fight against the voice telling them they can’t rest until everything is complete and in its place.