“Fear is an invitation to reconnect with a deeper sense of self.” Stress Awareness Month has sparked several interesting conversations about how stress affects us. While I didn’t learn anything new, these individual and group talks confirmed three things: 1) We don’t fully understand how stress affects our bodies. 2) We don’t get the connection between fear and stress. And, 3) No one is immune to stress, no matter their background. Most of our stress comes from the fear we cr

"It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it." — Hans Selye I was quietly working in my office when I received the urgent SOS from my daughter. I rushed to her room. She was in her bathroom, slumped on the commode with a trash can up to her mouth, miserably dry heaving and sweating. She murmured that her stomach hurt unbearably. When I asked if she’d taken something for it, she nodded but said that what she took wouldn’t stay down—and the pain was getting worse.

“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Dale Carnegie Stress is something we all experience, but don’t fully understand. We feel it every day — in our bodies, our minds, and our relationships — but we rarely stop to examine what it truly means. If you asked ten people to define stress, you’d probably get ten different answers. The good news? When we learn to recognize stress and understand how it works, we can stop reacting to it blindly and start re

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” April is Stress Awareness Month—a timely reminder of the importance of caring for our mental and emotional well-being. Political upheaval, economic uncertainty, and the challenge of maintaining daily balance have left many of us feeling more stressed than ever. In moments like these, we all need an anchor that truly makes a difference. Gratitude journaling is a simple yet powerful way to shift your focus, ease stress, and bring more

A healthy person has a thousand wishes; a sick person only has one. The sickcare industry is a complicated industry by design, and navigating the system can feel overwhelming, especially when you or a loved one is already facing a health challenge. Every year, millions of people encounter confusing medical jargon and complex processes. For vulnerable populations, it can be the difference between life and death. One way to make things better is through the help of "patient

" When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure ." Viktor Frankl I’ve begun reading Anne Lembke’s Dopamine Nation . A few pages into the book left me once again shaking my head, wondering if we will rebound from this man- made calamity. Whether you've noticed it in yourself, those around you, or the culture at large, man has engineered an environment so saturated with instant pleasure that it is systematically hijacking ou

“ I am a joy bringer. Where I go, good cheer goes. Where I am not, depression, discouragement, the “blues” are present. My absence means declining powers, often thwarted ambition, blighted hopes, mediocrity, failure, a shortened life." Orison Swett Marden WHO AM I? I am the vital force of life – the greatest of all assets. I am the energy that flows through every cell in your body. I am shaped by your thoughts and

Last week, the Society of Hospital Medicine celebrated National Hospitalists Day, honoring the contributions of more than 60,000 hospitalists - physicians dedicated to caring for hospitalized patients. In recent years, hospitalists have transformed the delivery of inpatient care and are often praised for streamlining care and improving patient outcomes. Whether hospitalists improve patient outcomes is debatable, but here’s something I know for sure: during hospital stays,

“ Not the world, not what’s outside of us, but what we hold inside traps us. We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world.” Gabor Maté, M.D. No matter what you want to accomplish, old habits are hard to break. They’re woven into your routines, your identity, and your memories, and establishing new habits can be challenging because they push you

As a wellness coach, reshaping how people think about health in a society that has never prioritized prevention is like swimming upstream in a flood – I’m moving against two powerful currents: the profit-driven medical community and consumers plagued with decades of habits that have normalized the very behaviors that make them sick. Not only do both cultures resist wellness messages — they often undermine them. So this week I’m appealing to you for help. Here’s why. When we’r

February 20, 2026, is National Caregivers Day, a time to celebrate the unsung heroes among us - family, friends, and professional caregivers who provide physical and emotional support to those with chronic conditions, disabilities, and age-related needs. It’s also a good time to rethink what “Caregiving” really means. I’ve been a caregiver to my daughter for nine years now, and I’ve grown to appreciate that it's not just another responsibility on my to-do list – it’s li

In July 2025, my niece went into kidney failure and started dialysis treatments. Three months later, the nephrologist informed her that the damage was irreversible and she’d need dialysis permanently. Her primary care doctor suggested she add her name to the transplant list. But her aunt Marie and I had some different advice for our niece. Marie said to her in her “you better listen to me” tone of voice: “Brin Brin, talk to your kidneys—apologize for damaging them and promi

If you have insurance coverage through your employer, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, or Medicaid, you’ve already seen costs increase and benefits decrease - costs that create ripple effects that touch every one of us at some level. Middle-income households are being forced to choose between paying higher premiums and having their lifestyles interrupted. Lower-income wage earners are gambling with their health, dropping coverage they can’t afford, which creates a vic

Last week I watched Overcomer , a powerful movie that explores identity, forgiveness, faith, and the courage to overcome life’s challenges through the journey of a high school coach and a determined cross-country runner. My test for a really great movie is whether I want to watch it again. Well, I have to rewatch this one. Why? Because it touched my heart so deeply, I went to bed thinking about it and woke up the next morning with an exceptionally long Gratitude list, fill

As we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this week, one of his lesser-known but most insightful quotes comes to mind: " Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman because it often results in physical death. " Delivered in 1966 at the Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, these words called out a brutal truth that is just as urgent today: healthcare inequality doesn't just put individuals at a disadvantage

The Law of Increase is a spiritual principle that suggests that whatever you focus on, appreciate, or praise tends to grow and multiply in your life. When I decided to devote a year to exploring the concept of “Healing,” wonderful things began to happen almost immediately. Within just a week, I came across two new books by physicians specializing in integrative medicine, and both are now on their way to me. One was sent by a thoughtful friend who called to ask if the title

"You are never too old to start over, but you can be too old to keep doing things that don’t work." I’m excited about 2026! I have some goals I hope to accomplish, but first I must let go of a few things that are holding me back. As a small change Wellness Coach, I write to teach, and, in all honesty, writing long blog posts doesn’t jibe with my small change philosophy. So this year, I’m letting go of the need to fit conventional blogging formats and sharing in a way that

When you learn better, do better….but learning always comes first. Decide what you want to “do better,” narrow it down to one meaningful word, and dedicate a year to deeply studying that word. That’s exactly what I did in 2014 when I set out to understand the true meaning of "gratitude." The unexpected gifts of that journey continue to enrich my life in countless ways. While exploring how gratitude enhances well-being, one word kept surfacing: “healing.” So in 2024, I

After decades on this wellness journey, I’ve learned that lasting change doesn’t come from the sweeping overhauls we promise ourselves on January 1st. Wellness is ongoing. Wellness is homemade. Wellness is built from the small things we do day after day. So this Christmas, I invite you to embrace a small change Christmas wish from the small change Toolkit. May it honor your well-being each day of the holiday season and serve as seeds of transformation that last throughout

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” — Mother Teresa There are only 11 days left until Christmas – the big gift-exchange day! It seems there’s a national observance for almost everything. Just last week, I came across National Regifting Day - a lighthearted observance, held on the Thursday before Christmas (December 18) , encouraging re-gifting unwanted but usable presents to others who might appreciate them. Originally centered on office pa