Source: http://greatist.com/live/signs-of-depression-am-i-depressed-or-sad?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Whether it’s the death of a loved one, a devastating breakup, or a super sad movie, plenty of things in life can bring you down. And it can happen to anyone. (Even the most optimistic people in the world aren’t always happy.)

Feeling all the feels is common—and even beneficial, research shows. “Sadness is a normal part of the range of emotions that humans typically feel,” says Russ Federman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. “These feelings will occur throughout your life as appropriately sad events happen.”

But if you’ve been bummed for a long time and can’t seem to snap out of it, a nagging thought may come to mind: Am I actually depressed? Read on for a few ways to tell if you’re experiencing more than just the usual blues.

What It Means to Be Sad

“Sadness is attributable to a situation,” says Margaret Wehrenberg, Psy.D., clinical psychologist and author of The 10 Best-Ever Depression Management Techniques. In other words, you can fill in the blank: “I’m feeling sad because ____”. (I broke up with someone I loved. My grandfather died. I lost my job. My best friend and I had a fight.)

Any of those situations would leave you in a tough spot. But if you can see the silver lining or know you’ll find an eventual solution, it’s likely you’re experiencing sadness—one of the emotions that make you human. (Side note: You should never feel ashamed to seek help for any emotion…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/zd8o2a7KgEA/

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ~Epictetus

When I lost my aunt to cancer three years ago, her death sat over me for months and acceptance didn’t begin until I had dinner with Kathy, one of my best friends.

Over noodles, I shared with Kathy all the things I wouldn’t be able to do with my aunt: the conversations we would never get to have, the places we wouldn’t get to go, the food we wouldn’t be able to eat, and the grand-nephews and nieces she wouldn’t get to hold.

Kathy asked me, “what about all the things you did get to do with your aunt?”

I shared with Kathy how every time I experienced a break-up my aunt would make me a bowl of pho and make time to reassure me that everything would be okay, how every time I thought I was working too hard and not having fun she would invite me to play cards with her, and how when I told my family I didn’t want to be a doctor and my family disapproved she supported me.

Tears sweep over my face with each story I was telling Kathy, but so did the biggest smile I had in a long time.

“You’re so lucky to have the known your aunt. Think about all the people who don’t have someone like that in their life,” K…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/A06z6xqDe34/

“The simplest things in life are the most extraordinary.” ~Paul Coelho

Life can be frustrating. Things don’t always go according to plan.

People let you down, your loved ones seem insufficiently appreciative, the future seems uncertain, demands pile up, and stress invades your life.

You start to beat yourself up over mistakes. You might even start to question if you are worthy of love. Life loses its shine.

You’re not alone. Hundreds of millions of people feel this way. But pause for a little while to consider this story.

A personable young man approached me at a gathering and introduced himself. I had known his father professionally. Some weeks later, to my surprise, I was invited to participate in a benefit concert for this same young man.

He had been in a sports accident only weeks after we met. In an instant, he was paralyzed from the neck down. He was flown to a leading center for such severe injuries.

I was doubly horrified, as a parent, because our own children were not much younger than he was. Such an accident might crush anyone’s spirit, I thought.

I recalled my own childhood. Sometimes my parents would speak words of appreciation, but more often they would criticize me. For years, I remained eager to win their approval and…

Source: http://www.runningonrealfood.com/low-fat-vegan-pesto-zoodles-with-broccoli/

Hey, hey, my dear readers, new ones and you RORF veterans who I love so much!  As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Who’s ready for low fat vegan pesto zoodles! ME, ME, ME!! Before we get there, let’s catch up. So, I’m really getting the hang of this eating for volume idea, hence…

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The post Low Fat Vegan Pesto Zoodles with Broccoli appeared first on Running on Real Food.

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Source: http://greatist.com/live/healthy-body-image-is-not-an-excuse-to-do-nothing?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

In 2016, the “love your body” movement took off. The premise, as I am sure you’re aware, is to love your body right now.

The message is that whether you’re the fittest woman on the the planet or if you have 200 pounds to lose, love your body. No matter what our size is, there is something beautiful in the reflection it gives. Loving our bodies is about loving ourselves, unconditionally, inside and out. Forget about why your pants are tight or how if you tilt your head down, a double chin forms. We are more than the “imperfections” we see. We are amazing creatures that are strong and capable.

Yes, all of us! And our bodies do not define us. It’s a powerful message, right? One that I love and respect.

But I also kind of hate it. A lot.

Hear me out on this one, before I receive hate mail from beautiful women all over the world. The true meaning of the movement is awesome, and when taken as it’s meant to be, it’s the perfect motivator to better yourself.

However, we’re human, and oftentimes, we interpret the meaning how we want to, whether it’s out of laziness or “settling.” That’s the part of the “love your body” movement I’m not happy with.

Settling for the Current November 2015 …

Source: http://greatist.com/live/productivity-tips-how-to-get-things-done-in-an-open-office?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

While open-office layouts are great for things like team meetings and spying on coworkers’ lunches, it’s sometimes hard to stay productive in the midst of so much coming and going. So we went straight to the pros to ask: How do you actually get something done in an open office?

1. Take a Breather

At least temporarily. The constant noise and distraction in open offices can make you feel out of control of your surroundings, says Gary Evans, Ph.D., a professor of environmental and developmental psychology at Cornell University. That can lead to an underlying sense of helplessness that puts a damper on motivation.1

The single easiest way to avoid it? Remove yourself from the situation. That may mean finding an empty conference room in which you can concentrate or simply washing your face in the bathroom. Either way, a time-out can break your action-reaction mode and help you ignore the constant office chatter, says Joshua Ehrlich, Ph.D., chairman of the Global Leadership Council.

Works Cited
Stress and open-office noise. Evans GW, Johnson D. The Journal of applied psychology, 2000, N…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/smartphone-addiction-real-signs-to-look-for?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We use our smartphones all the time—while going to the bathroom, waiting in line, before heading to bed—but when does overuse cross the line into a more dangerous addiction? The simple answer: It becomes a problem when you can’t stop checking your phone, even when doing so puts your life at risk, David Greenfield, Ph.D., the founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, tells Time. But what does that really mean?

Do you text and drive, knowing that you’re putting yourself (and others) in danger? Do you feel anxious or irritable when your phone is out of reach? These are common markers of addiction. However Greenfield does say that the number of people actually addicted to their smartphones is small.

But overuse is still a big concern. Smartphones throw off our focus, mess with our sleep, and create unnecessary stress. Yet we keep checking because who knows what might be new this time.

If you think you may be overusing your smartphone, try tracking and limiting your usage. The good news? Unplugging is a little easier with the help of podcasts and apps (ironic, we know). We even put together a list to get you started.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/06/469037646/rwanda-tries-to-persuade-its-citizens-to-drink-the-coffee-they-grow?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Emmanuel Baziruwile, 54, works at a coffee plantation in Cyimbiri, Rwanda.

Erika Beras for NPR

Some of the best coffee beans in the world are grown in Africa, and while the number of coffee consumers there is growing, most Africans still don’t drink it. That’s something Rwanda’s government would like to change.

The country’s coffee industry, which nearly collapsed after the genocide in 1994, has gradually become one of its largest and most profitable agricultural exports. Rwanda exports 99 percent of its coffee.

Now, the government wants to increase the domestic market – mostly by tapping into the expendable cash of Rwanda’s growing middle class.

<img src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/08/17/j_sq-c8c27da114a61a4eb8639226f656013a06591ff3-s100.jpg" class="img100" title="Welcome to Rwanda's coffee land, where some of the world's best coffee is grown. Here, Minani Anastase, president of Musasa Coffee Cooperative in northern Rwanda, looks over the coffee drying tables." alt="Welcome to Rwand…

Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/coffeehouse/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Exciting news! In January 2016, we, along with a trio of like-minded friends, opened an intentional, multi-roaster coffeehouse—Bandit Coffee Co.—in St. Petersburg, Florida. We’re thrilled to soon be spending more time in the Sunshine State, especially after the theatrical run of our documentary, Minimalism.

Last weekend we published a photo tour of our simple, well-curated shop on Instagram. You’ll find photos from our tour, as well as some favorites from our cofounders and customers, at the bottom of this post.

Based on the feedback, the vast majority of our audience loved the tour; however, a handful of naysayers confused our new endeavor as an advertisement, saying we “preach about minimalism,” so we “shouldn’t sell coffee,” and that only “actions are intentional, not shops.”

But, of course, there’s an appreciable difference between advertising and communication. We use our social platforms, blog, and podcast to share our lives, express our views, and communicate with people who find value in our message. We don’t, however, advertise (read Why We Don’t Advertise), and we don’t preac…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/planned-parenthood-video-parodies-hotline-bling?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Planned Parenthood of New York wants you to text “nowuknow” to 77948 to learn more about sexual health. And it wants that number stuck in your head, so naturally it put its own twist on Drake’s infamous “Hotline Bling” music video. The parody is a bit cheesy, but the teen advocates on-screen do a good job of making the case for texting the center’s hotline, which gives more information about Planned Parenthood’s services. We love that this video is coming from the teens themselves, and we’re fans of any fun way to promote sexual health.

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