Depression is an issue that affects a lot of us. I, for one, have two sides. A light and sunny side, and also a darker side that sometimes wants to hide and shut out the world. According to the World Health Organization, 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression. Nearly 50 percent of the people diagnosed with it are also diagnosed with an anxiety d...

Hygge is a Swedish word for creating a cozy atmosphere in your home and making it feel warm and welcoming, especially in winter. Long before I heard of hygge, I was good at hygge-ing up my personal space. Maybe it’s because I come from a line of Swedish grandmas, or maybe, it’s because I don’t like being cold, so in winter, I put my energy into making my hom...

Winter is challenging for me; I’m not going to lie. When the weather is cold and glum day after day, it gets old, and it’s easy for me to sink into depression and get sick. And with my health history, I really can’t afford that.   Three years ago, I experienced a crisis when my colon burst. I was off the charts, septic and as close to being dead as you can b...

When it comes to doing special things for yourself, do you consistently fall short? If you fall short, I get it. People depend on you, and you’ve got responsibilities to show up regularly, and there’s not a lot of spare time at the end of the day. I know because I've BEEN THERE! Sometimes I am there, again. Putting YOU first on the list occasionally is essen...

When I was 32 I snapped. My therapist called it an emotional breakdown. I didn’t see it coming because it was brought on gradually and caused by a lifetime of mounting frustration and unhappiness. There were people in my life who saw I had a problem and said I needed help. I denied it, insisting I was fine. Oh, I knew I was obsessed with how I looked but I d...

I've always loved Christmas a lot. Back in the day when Christmas sweaters were trendy and cool before they became a thing to mock and laugh at ugly sweater parties, I had some adorable ones. Back then, I could hardly wait for December 1st to start wearing my fabulous collection of Christmas sweaters, and I was always a little sad when it was time to put the...

When I was first introduced to essential oils, it was in the early nineties, and I was in massage school. I started out by only buying oils that smelled good, and as my appreciation for the therapeutic properties of essential oils grew, my collection expanded.    When a friend invited me to try a new brand of oils, claiming they were the highest quality of o...