Claire Hopple

Perhaps the following scenario describes you. You’re at a party and you remember that you detest small talk. You have a tinge of social anxiety.

Nostalgia is actually considered a valuable copoing mechanism for depression, anxiety, and especially grief. Plus, not only does it counteract anxious feelings, it can actually make you more hopeful about the future. No wonder a higher occurrence of nostalgic feelings are found in the most resilient people.

It’s no secret that time away from the office needs to be savored as much as humanly possible.

In case you haven’t noticed, food elitism did not go out with the abolishment of the food pyramid. But before you call your broccoli a power-hungry classist, make sure you know your basic facts.

Sometimes just saying the words “fast” and “food” back to back makes us want to sneak a glimpse behind us, waiting for the

FAST, EASY RESULTS!

SHEDS POUNDS INSTANTLY!

You more than anyone should try to carve out some space for yourself.

Sure, happiness is too abstract a concept to measure perfectly, and it’s safe to say that a serious case of the Mondays can find you no matter what poorly drawn boundaries you’ve planted yourself within. Still, an environment can make a significant impact on your overall mood.

Nothing makes me get my Grinch on faster than glitter-bombed Christmas wrapping and nasally voices ringing in my eardrums at every store.

It’s not that you don’t love the people calling you (unless you’re solely receiving spam calls), it’s just that you’d rather be with them. You think that the phone can’t replace seeing their faces, experiencing their presence in all the dimensions currently available to humans. And sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) you just need time to recharge by yourself. Why does that feel so wrong sometimes?