Cue the confetti, Reader! We're celebrating over on Why Didn't They Tell Us this week. I am a big fan of pausing for progress every day, but today's celebration is in honor of a momentous milestone. Why Didn't They Tell Us is officially one year old! In a short year, we've covered A LOT. From the first episode of differentiating between goals and wishes, to learning how to love your body and the skin you're in, to overcoming anxiety, to ditching resentment on Valentine's Day (bookmark this...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
I think of self-confidence as the holy grail of feelings but for many, happiness is the elusive emotion they long for more of in their day-to-day lives. There's language embedded into our collective dialogue that perpetuates this yearning – from the “Pursuit of Happiness” to “and they all lived happily ever after.” Surprisingly though, not many people are happy. This makes sense if you look at the state of the world, the headlines of mainstream media, or latest posts on every social platform....
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Do you ever wish someone would just give you the playbook for how to parent? Same. I admitted that to Dr. Leigh Weisz, my guest on this week’s episode of Why Didn’t They Tell Us, while talking about how to raise children to become confident and independent adults. Dr. Weisz humored my request for a "mom manual" but also noted that we in fact have too many manuals. I know this to be true because I’ve lived it. Constantly wondering and worrying if my choices were serving or stifling my kids’...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
I remember being introduced to the concepts of Mitzvah (good deed in Hebrew) and Tzedakah (charity) when I started Sunday school at a very young age. While the do-gooder in me was compelled to give, the curious and perhaps precocious part of me was wary. It seemed that most our Sunday school’s Mitzvah and Tzedakah was for Jewish people and organizations. I couldn’t understand why we weren’t helping everyone. It seemed we should. I took my concerns to my father, a Hebrew and Sunday school...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
You know something no one tells us, Reader? With the blessing of age comes hardship. The older we get, the more likely our chances for loss. For illness. For trauma. For heartbreak. I’ve found myself in that chapter of life recently and based on conversations had on recent walks with friends and talks with loved ones, I know I am not alone. Perhaps they don’t tell us this because, honestly, who wants to hear it? It’s depressing and the alternative is even more depressing! Sorry to be the...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Whether you’re a teen, the mother of a teen, or a woman with breath in your body, you’re dealing with hormones. It might be with your tween daughter who just got her period for the first time. Perhaps it’s with your teen or young adult who experiences mood swings and shifts that have you questioning her sanity versus understanding her cycle. Or maybe you’re experiencing it yourself – the ebb in your energy, the influx of feels, and the changes in your body. Even though almost every woman has...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
I don't know about you, but I am doing a happy dance knowing that school is back in session. It’s not that I don’t adore my kids and want to soak up and savor every moment with them. It’s that my brain loves routine. My brain prefers a schedule. My brain likes to know what’s happening and when. This makes so much sense because with a routine and schedule, my brain knows what to expect. There is a calm that washes over me knowing there’s a plan in place. And this isn’t just my beautiful brain....
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
You might not know this, but eight short years ago I suffered from debilitating panic attacks. A few got so bad that I took myself to the hospital – convinced I was having a heart attack. On the second ER visit, the doctor on-call advised me that physically I was fine. The problem was mental and I needed to start talking to someone (and she was clear that she was NOT the people I should be talking to). In my first appointment with a therapist, she asked what had been going on for me recently....
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
My daughter was feeling super anxious before the first day of school last year. And this anxiety kicked in weeks before the first day was even upon us. No matter how many times I tried to quell her anxiety with reassurances that she would have an amazing year, she still defaulted to nerves and anxiety. My sunny outlook was no match for her kryptonite thoughts that were focusing on everything that could go wrong - every worst case scenario she could dream up. On the first day of school, when...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read