All posts tagged: Growth

10 Ways to Calm Your Internal Mama Bear

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The other night I got mad. Real mad. I came across something online, something someone said about a person I know, and the mama bear in me raged. I wanted to act. I wanted to chase someone up a tree. I had my response and was ready to throw it like a pine cone. Anger is an emotion we all have and we constantly are learning to navigate. I grew up around several individuals who had tempers and therefore I associate anger and being upset as “bad” emotions. I’m still learning how to be better at being mad. It is natural for things to upset us. It is okay for things to upset us. It’s how we handle them that makes the difference. Anxiety is particularly good at stirring up our anger. We are prone to negative thought patterns, obsessive worry, and increased irritability. If you struggle with anxiety odds are you also find yourself struggling with angry emotions from time to time. But there are ways to help yourself through these moments… 1. Acknowledge …

Interview with Comedian Samantha Ruddy

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If you haven’t heard of Samantha Ruddy yet you will soon enough. She is one of the funniest women on Twitter. She writes for College Humor. And she recently opened for Tig Notaro. Aka all around badass. I first came across her when I was one of the hundreds/thousands of people to retweet/favorite this  gem: To me, comedy writing and stand-up comedians are the pinnacle of confidence and intelligence. I am seriously in awe of stand-up comics. I wanted to ask Samantha about being a creative person, living fully, and finding confidence. Samantha was gracious enough to answer our questions and I’m still pinching myself and asking, as Samantha sometimes does, Me? Seriously? First off, can you introduce yourself to our readers? Hi! I’m Samantha Ruddy.  What initially drew you to stand-up comedy? I’ve always loved comedy. Cliche, but true. I work well with others, but I love just getting lost in my head and writing, which I think lends itself to stand-up since you’re working mostly alone. Was there ever a moment where you …

Just Breathe.

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“It’s sad, I don’t want to,” I said, turning away from his outreached laptop. “Just watch it, it’s cute!” “I already know what happens. He loses his candy and can’t find it. Sad.” As Jared tried to get me to watch the latest viral animal video, the one of a raccoon who loses his candy (or so I inferred from the tweets and facebook posts I’d seen about it), I kept refusing. I already know what happens. The adorable creature loses his candy. He’s confused. It’s a metaphor for all of humanity. The truth is, I’ve been feeling more raw lately. A little more sensitive than usual. A little less tough. I don’t think I could handle this raccoon. I’m not sure if it’s the recent holiday season, the scrappy nature of my current career, or the fact that our wedding is less than two months away (*screams internally*) but I’ve felt a little bit like a porcupine on its back: vulnerable. I’ve struggled with blogging about being engaged and planning our wedding, since the last thing …

Ask What You Want Wednesday: Holiday Distance Anxiety

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Nearly two weeks ago I started spending time with a very lovely man who I met through mutual friends. Being with him is wonderful. He is very calm, kind, and we don’t stop talking. I feel as though I’m falling for him very quickly. Now, over the holidays, all I have to rely on for contact are very sparse texts. I’m an avid texter, and he’s not. I’ve heard this is just how he is and his friends all have difficulty getting in touch with him. Waiting for him to respond to me is torture. Having anxiety alongside feeling strongly for him very fast, then facing separation over the holidays has been an absolute nightmare. Dating and the holidays as separate concepts are bad enough for the anxious, but both together are horrific.   Do you have any advice on how I can chill the heck out over Christmas and trust that it will work out if it’s meant to? Okay, let me tell you right here right now THIS IS SUCH A COMMON EXPERIENCE. Not only do the holidays bring …

2015: The Year of Facing Fears

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If you’re anything like me you’ve recently found yourself turning to your coworker and asking “how is it already December!?” and by coworker I mean cat and by asking I mean shouting. But seriously, how is this year coming to a close already? The end of the year always makes me anxious because I feel like I’m “running out of time” to “do everything I wanted to do this year.” This is silly because it’s not like time comes to a screeching halt after December 31st (unless there’s something you’re not telling us ANCIENT MAYANS). A few years back a friend of mine explained that she doesn’t list New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of a year. Instead, she assigns a theme to her year. For example, she might have dubbed 2013 “The Year of Intention” or maybe 2010 was “The Year of Patience.” I dug this so hardcore because a) as a student of literature I’m ALL ABOUT themes, b) I like the idea of not having the pressure of a written list and c) I’m sorta lazy and …