Living Proof

What gives you peace? What puts you in 'the zone' where you lose track of time and senseless thoughts? As we get older, it seems like there's no time for hobbies or things that give us joy. If you're smart enough, you'll find the time for all the things you love. But what if you have depression, and your sadness makes you unable to enjoy things things you used to love? It happens to the best of us. I go through waves of each hobby of mine. I have many outlets since I've been a spring chicken. I'm kind of like how my mom was---if I was stressed out, I'd cook a big meal or clean the house to rid of the negative thoughts. If I was having a panic attack, I would pray to God, meditate and play my soothing music in my prayer room. Other times, I'd pick up my guitar and play for an hour or two. Another favorite of mine is throwing myself onto the sofa and diving into a really good book. For me, reading puts me in the moment---it makes me focus on words an

Remember when you were back in grade school, and during recess the kids would pick their teammates for their dodgeball game? More and more of your peers were leaving your side because they were lucky enough to get picked. Your mind starts racing, thinking how nobody wants you on their team or that you're not good enough. The self-loathing thoughts start rushing through your mind, leaving you to feel nothing more than mediocre---you were one of those "last but not least" kids. With a lump in your throat, you did the walk of shame over to whichever team needed one more player. Even as you enjoyed the game, you still weren't giving it your all because let's face it, most of them didn't want you on their team. Isn't this kind of similar to what we think about when we try to belong to a church? When I was younger, I attended Catholic school, or (CCD) so I can get my communion and confirmation. Most Italian Catholics did this, even if they were lukewarm in

Written by: Donald Eide Wouldn't it be great to just nod off at a click of the fingers? Well, you wouldn't be alone: 40 million American’s suffer the same problem; insomnia being the most common case. And when you reach the age of 65, there’s a 50% chance you’ll have some form of sleep disorder. It’s important to note ASMR would be highly unlikely to cure a multitude of sleep disorders. There are more than 70 recognized sleep disturbances after all. What it really helps with are issues involving a lack of sleep: insomnia and shift work sleep disorder (because you work night shifts).  The other two types of sleep disruptions are disrupted sleep disorder, the prime example being OSA: obstructive sleep apnea, and excessive sleep being the other, where you sleep too much: narcolepsy being an example where you really can sleep at will. P.S. we also have a post on the overall health benefits of ASMR. Sleep, although incredibly important, is only part of the picture!

Have you ever gone through something so terrible, that along the way, you kind of lost your faith--or perhaps you thought that God was punishing you for something? Many of us get thoughts like, "Why would God let this happen to me?" Even questioning the loss of a loved one, loss of a child, the loss of a parent or some type of other traumatic event that took place can really test your faith. But that's life. We lose people. All sorts of things happen to the human body: we live, we sometimes get sick, we die---these are just the biological, scientific facts of life. We're not made to be immortal. We don't live perfect lives, even though you may think other people do. They don't. Imagine a perfect life. No stress, no worries, the perfect house, the perfect family, no sicknesses, no deaths of loved ones or pets. No conflicts, fighting, loss of employment or divorce. Imagine there's no such thing as being less fortunate, or even being hit with poverty.