Topic: self-improvement

13 for ’13: Nontraditional Self-Help Books

13 for '13: Nontraditional Self-Help Books

In our continuing quest to provide you with new year’s inspiration, here’s a round-up of 13 nontraditional self-help books. If we lost you at “self-help”—wait! The emphasis is on the “nontraditional” here. There are no “skinny rules,” no dating rules, no rules at all, really, in our reading roundup. What you will find are serious, science-backed suggestions for self-improvement; tried and true time-management techniques; positive psychology; and a little bit of hippie-ing out. Hopefully, there’s something for everybody here — unless you’re a Rules girl. In that case, might we suggest you visit Cosmo? More »

8 Spring Cleaning Tasks You Shouldn’t Skip

8 Spring Cleaning Tasks You Shouldn't Skip

You can skip dusting your door tops or whatever it is your mother told you to do each spring. But some out-with-the-old/in-with-the-new tasks are worth it, for your health or peace of mind. From tuning up your bike to washing reusable grocery bags and stocking the bar, 8 easy and mostly eco-friendly spring cleaning tasks to keep in mind as you prepare your home, body and mind for spring. More »

What ‘Eating Mindfully’ Really Means (And How To Do It)

What 'Eating Mindfully' Really Means (And How To Do It)

Ten years ago, Dr. Susan Albers published the first edition of Eating Mindfully, an alternative to fad diets and restrictive eating plans, that emphasized the examination and enjoyment of food as fuel for the body. Now, the frequent Huffington Post and Psychology Today contributor has updated the book with frequently-asked questions, tips, and eating exercises to take help readers break the hand-to-mouth habit that our busy lives often seem to mandate. More »

10 Steps to Lasting Health and Happiness From a Medical Expert

10 Steps to Lasting Health and Happiness From a Medical Expert

At Blisstree, we’re all about trying to get happier and healthier in order to live better, and we hope to help you do the same every day. But, of course, it’s not always easy to know how to make that intangible dream of happiness a reality. And even if you do know how to do it, it’s pretty challenging to keep all the parts of your life in balance so that often-elusive health and happiness last as long as possible. So I asked M.D., board-certified psychiatrist, and Blisstree contributor Dale Archer to give us ten steps we can take to promote and achieve lasting happiness in our own lives (and these are tactics he actually shares with his patients). So what are we waiting for? Let’s get happy — and healthy.
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Urban Survivalist for Earth Day: How to Sew a Hem Video

Urban Survivalist for Earth Day: How to Sew a Hem Video

It’s Earth Day, people. So what better day to run the fifth and final edition of Urban Survivalist, our DIY, self-improvement series that focuses on home-ec-related tasks that you may not ever have attempted in your life, but really should. I’m sure you know how hard and unforgiving the dry cleaning process is on our environment. But also consider just how much plastic, packaging, and wire hangers you end up leaving with every time you drop even a single garment off at the tailor for a simple repair (that you should be doing yourself anyway). And who needs that? (Did I mention today is Earth Day?) High time to distance ourselves from the tailor, and renew our friendship with Mother Nature. More »

Urban Survivalist: How to Repair a Seam Tear Video

Urban Survivalist: How to Repair a Seam Tear Video

Today marks the fourth edition of the Urban Survivalist, our DIY, self-improvement series that focuses on home-ec-related tasks that you may not ever have attempted in your life, but really should. (And while these household jobs may intimidate you, they really shouldn’t.) So how are you doing with all this cunning craftiness? As you know, our goal here is to try to encourage you (and ourselves) to become more self-sufficient in our daily lives, because we’re pretty sure that doing so will only improve our state of mental health, and – maybe on some small level – increase our overall happiness. (Here’s hoping.) Plus, we’re positive that learning to do something new (however simple) builds strong character. To top it off, we may even save a little money while we’re at it. (And we’d be lying if we said that little perk doesn’t please us.) So are you trying to learn? Learning to try? Or just supremely frustrated and dropping off your clothes at the tailor more than ever? More »

Urban Survivalist: How to Sew a Hook and Eye Video

Urban Survivalist: How to Sew a Hook and Eye Video

We’re back with another edition of the Urban Survivalist, our DIY, self-improvement series that focuses on around-the-house-stuff that you may not know how to do, but really should. (And these household tasks may intimidate you, but they really shouldn’t.) So why are we on an unrelenting mission to turn you into a scary Stepford wife? We’re not, we swear. (But won’t you please come in and have some of our freshly-baked cookies? April Fool’s.) Our goal is actually much less sinister: We want all of us to try to become more self-sufficient in our daily lives, because we’re pretty sure that doing so can only improve our state of mental health, and – maybe on some small level – increase our overall happiness. Plus, learning to do something new (however simple) builds character. And hell, we may even save a little money in the process. (And don’t think for one second that we’re above caring about that little detail.) More »

5 Ways Facebook and Twitter Can Make You Happier – And Even Healthier

5 Ways Facebook and Twitter Can Make You Happier – And Even Healthier

On its worst days, social media can be a hyperactive negativity cloud, distracting your attention from work and even, according to some experts, worsening your health. But others say that Facebook and Twitter can actually make us happier, as long as we steer clear of its pitfalls. But unless you’re headed to an ashram for an extended stay or currently live in a cave, we’re guessing you won’t be ditching your Facebook or Twitter accounts anytime soon. So here are five ways to make sure you’re making the most of your time on social media – and possibly even improve your overall health while you’re at it: More »

Urban Survivalist: How to Sew a Snap Video

Urban Survivalist: How to Sew a Snap Video

Last Friday we launched Urban Survivalist, our new self-help video series with a short instructional video about How to Sew a Button, which is a simple yet essential life task that we all should know how to complete in order to become more self-sufficient, improve our state of mental health, and save a little money while we’re at it (which always helps to improve my state of mental health). But this isn’t about acting like the stereotypical dutiful little housewife; it’s about taking matters into your own hands – literally. More »

Expert Tips on How to Fix Your Sexless Marriage

Expert Tips on How to Fix Your Sexless Marriage

Yesterday I published a post called Your Sexless Marriage May Be Perfectly Healthy, in which I asked Dr. Julie Elledge – a psychotherapist for individuals and couples who deals with many issues of sexual health – about what’s considered “normal” and “abnormal” when it comes to having sex (or not having sex, as the case may be) in a marriage or long-term relationship. Today, our our resident sexpert schools us on exactly what to do (hint: face your fantasies!) if you think you might be in a sexless marriage, and are less than thrilled by that prospect: More »

Urban Survivalist: How to Sew a Button (Video)

Urban Survivalist: How to Sew a Button (Video)

Welcome to the Urban Survivalist, Blisstree’s new how-to video series that will cover many things you need to know how to do yourself in order to simplify your life and save money and time. Okay, maybe not time, exactly. But you will save money – and you’ll definitely save face. Now, you may think that learning to fix a skirt hem or sew a hook-and-eye sound like awfully crafty June Cleaver-esque things to do while Ward’s at the office competently trying to bring home the bacon. Not so. This series isn’t about reviving the stereotype of a 1950s suburban housewife; it’s about self-improvement. And actually, learning how to master these fairly simple DIY projects will, I think, help us all to feel more empowered and self-sufficient, which can only be beneficial to our state of mental health and well-being. After all, why should we give our hard-earned money to someone to do something that we’re perfectly capable of doing ourselves? Sure, we’re all really busy, and – stay-at-home mom or not – few of us have June Cleaver’s kind of free time on our hands. But for most of us, it just doesn’t make good financial sense to outsource every single chore in our lives that needs to be done on a daily basis. And I don’t think that gaining a negligible amount of time is worth sacrificing our independence, self-sufficiency, versatility, and know-how. Soon, we’ll all be changing our own tires on the side of the road and rewiring our entire houses. More »

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