psychology Archives - The Health Sessions

What Philosophy Can Teach You About Living Well with Chronic Illness

Living with chronic illness can turn your world upside down. Everything you used to believe about yourself, about life and the way the world works may change. How can you make sense of your new identity and altered reality?

Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, reality and knowledge. In a nutshell, it tries to ask and answer questions about how we should live and think. With thousands of years of wisdom from all around the world integrated into theories and practices, can philosophy teach us how to have a positive and meaningful life despite our health problems?

Have a look at these 5 existential lessons from philosophy that will change the way you live with chronic illness.

6 Ways to Beat Bad Online Habits

This article was written by Alice Yoon from ThesisRush.

Everyone’s got bad habits, especially in the digital age, working on online platforms. We know them and despite knowing the consequences of tagging them along, we always find ourselves struggling to stop them. Why stop them? It’s fun to binge-watch Netflix, to browse Instagram and Facebook all day long, or to go online shopping at late hours. In addition, you may be forced to check your email periodically throughout the day.

But these online habits are bad for you. The things mentioned above will lead to eye strain, emotional problems like depression, poor sleeping habits, negative body image, decreased focus and mental energy, and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?

It is not easy to get rid of these harmful online habits, but it is possible. Actually, most of the things we do each day are not out of a decision we have made. They are something that has become a habit. We just find ourselves doing things that we would otherwise not do because they were not in the plan. If you want to get out of this, here are 6 ways to beat bad online habits.

12 Determination Quotes to Spark Your Persistence

The whole deal of chronic illness is that it’s a long-term thing. Normally, when you encounter a problem, you deal with it and you move on. But living with chronic illness means there is no easy fix – and sometimes no fix at all. To keep going, to make the most of each day even though you’re sick and in pain demands a lot from your emotional resilience.

I’ve always felt that living with a chronic illness feels a lot like starring in your own action hero movie. Everyday living can seem like a quest, demanding all your willpower to complete simple tasks and achieve your goals. You need a determined mind to continuously take action to finish your studies, get through your workday, raise your kids or pursue your dreams despite the obstacles on your way.

But unlike our movie heroes, in real life you don’t get inspirational speeches during those moments you’re struggling to hang. So to fuel your motivation, take a look at these 12 quotes to spark your determination and persistence.

13 Spoonie-Proof Strategies to Improve Your Attention Span

“Where did I leave my keys?”

“It’s on the tip of my tongue…”

We all know what it’s like to be forgetful or have trouble finding the right words. But when your brain constantly lets you down, it has a big impact on your daily life.

Cognitive problems like poor memory, slow thinking, difficulty focusing and mental fatigue are common and frustrating symptoms that accompany many chronic diseases. Mild mental impairments can be the result of physical changes in your body, a side effect from medical treatments or intensified by stress, anxiety and depressive feelings.

People often don’t realise how much cognitive problems affect your everyday activities. When you can’t think as clearly and fast as you used to, it can be hard to finish your studies, perform well at your job, navigate busy traffic safely or even join in on conversations. As a result, having cognitive problems can contribute to loneliness and social isolation almost as much as physical symptoms do.

Attention – the mental ability to focus on one thing while mostly ignoring everything else that’s going on around you – is one of our most basic cognitive functions. It supports countless brain activities, from listening to someone talk and reading this sentence to driving and memorizing new facts.

That’s why the tips below focus on the often-overlooked mental side of recovery: your attention span.

5 Positive Psychology Books for a Happy, Fulfilling Life

For most of its history, the main goal of the field of psychology was to prevent and treat mental health problems. It wasn’t until twenty years ago that prominent psychologists shifted their attention from reducing suffering to studying how people can lead a good and happy life. Instead of trying to get depressed and anxious patients back to a neutral state, this new area of research focused on what a person would need to flourish – to go from feeling “OK” about life to finding fulfillment.

Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning, searching for the factors that allow individuals to thrive. With an ever-growing body of research, positive psychology wants to build a bridge between the academic theories and the self-help movement. Because how do we define happiness? What do we need to be happy and how can we put the results from all those studies into practice?

Have a look at these 5 must-read positive psychology books from the leading experts on happiness.