"I've gained so much weight during the pandemic that I need to go out and get new work pajamas." An abundance of research establishes humor as an effective means of coping with adversity, reducing stress, and promoting a positive mood (Strick et al., 2009). Most of us don't have the time or the desire to take a stand-up comedy class. Still, there are things we can do to enhance our ability to reframe stressful or difficult situations. Read about it here…

With the lack of certainty today, it is not surprising that we often don’t feel we have control over our lives. This is troublesome because a sense of control is an essential component of what it means to be human. We will go to great lengths to gain this sense of control, even if it means engaging in non-productive or unwanted behaviors. We are drawn to social media because it reduces our anxiety by giving us a temporary feeling of control (Atroszko et al., 2018). So, are we using it too much?

From the beginning, the Levelhead approach to developing a mindfulness practice was based on the assumption that people have busy lives and need to be able to practice whenever, wherever it fits their lifestyle. We realize that people are time-starved and have a limited desire for practices that require more than 5 minutes. Take a look at what recent research says about what is needed to develop a mindfulness practice…

Recently, I saw a study that captured my attention because it aimed to understand the extent to which participants could establish a habit of gratitude thinking before sleeping (Lo & Leung, 2020). The researchers defined gratitude as an inclination to appreciate and savor daily events and experiences. Here is what the researchers found.