How to Stop Feeling Shame
Andrea Brandt2019-03-11T13:40:21+00:00Shame is one of the hardest emotions to talk about. It can also be the hardest emotion to recognize in ourselves, and it can feel the most [...]
Silence Negative Self-Talk In Just 5 Minutes a Day
Andrea Brandt2019-03-11T13:36:03+00:00Your pattern and style of self-talk most likely originate from the way your parents or caregivers spoke to and treated you. If your mother was overly critical, [...]
Science Proves That Gratitude Is Key to Well-Being
Andrea Brandt2019-03-11T12:06:10+00:00“Building the best life does not require fealty to feelings in the name of authenticity, but rather rebelling against negative impulses and acting right even when we [...]
4 Ways to Be Kinder to Yourself and Build Self-Empathy
Andrea Brandt2018-05-25T13:16:56+00:00“You are a failure.” “You look ugly today.” “Everyone’s life is better than yours.” Have you ever said these things to a close friend? How about a [...]
3 Ways Mindfulness Can Help Us as We Age
Andrea Brandt2018-02-26T11:55:26+00:00Living mindfully means living in a state of awareness. You savor every flavor, admire every sunset, cherish every moment with loved ones—always grounded in the moment instead [...]
How to Live a Regret-Free Life
Andrea Brandt2018-02-14T15:07:49+00:00What is the difference between a mistake and a learning experience? Perspective. When we see mistakes as learning experiences, regret transforms from a painful emotion into a [...]
9 Health Experts Reveal How They Stick to Their Resolutions
Andrea Brandt2018-01-30T13:33:08+00:004. Think Beyond Fixing a Problem Set your sights higher than mere solutions to problems, and focus on what you really want, says Andrea Brandt, Ph.D., a [...]
When Forgiving Yourself Is the Hardest Kind of Forgiveness
Andrea Brandt2018-02-14T14:59:02+00:00So you’ve done something wrong. You’ve hurt someone else or yourself, and now you feel angry, guilty, sad, or ashamed. If someone else had wronged you, you’d [...]
How Self Love Saves Lives
Andrea Brandt2017-03-27T13:14:54+00:00When you love yourself, you don't rely on others for your self-esteem or self-image. When you love yourself, you feel comfortable in your skin and accept yourself [...]
6 Steps to a Positive Outlook on Life
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:16+00:00Positive Outlook Whether it's January 1 or June 30, every day is one in which you can make a resolution to improve your life. Every [...]
Don’t Just Survive the Holidays, Enjoy Them
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:16+00:00Don't Just Survive the Holidays, Enjoy Them It's that time of year again. The displays of small potted Christmas Trees and poinsettia greet you at [...]
What Do We Mean When We Say “Self-Love?”
Andrea Brandt2018-03-29T08:04:39+00:00Therapists like myself spend a lot of time talking about self-love. But if you’re like many of my patients, you might not know what self-love means exactly. [...]
Can You Hear Me Now: When to stop fixing and just listen
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:16+00:00When a client comes to you in emotional distress and you sense that childhood wounds are the cause, your instinct is to spring into action. I’ve spent [...]
How Do You Forgive Even When It Feels Impossible?
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:18+00:00Someone hurts us in a way that feels irreparable and we say, "I will never forgive you." Someone wounds us emotionally or physically and we think, "That's [...]
Why You Should Never Vote Angry
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:18+00:00You're probably familiar with the adage, "The secret to a happy marriage is to never go to bed angry." I've been thinking about this a lot while [...]
6 Steps to Bring Out the Best in Each Other
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:19+00:00It is often said that in the best relationships, partners bring out the best in each other. Sometimes in the midst of the stresses and ups and [...]
4 Tips to Help You Survive the Holidays
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:19+00:00Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's, many of us spend more time with our families in the final five weeks of the year than we will [...]
What to Do When Your Emotions Overwhelm You
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:19+00:00Trying to control your emotions doesn't work because it can't work. When you go out in the world and interact with people, turn on the radio or [...]
3 Ways to Stop Having the Same Fight Over & Over
Andrea Brandt2017-09-18T11:02:35+00:00Can't figure out why you keep having the same arguments? Read on ... September will always be back-to-school season in my mind––the sadness of summer ending, the [...]
3 Steps to Keeping Your Cool (and Saving Your Relationships)
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:20+00:00Your good friend says something hurtful; your partner seems remote and uninvolved; your coworker makes a new demand when you're already overwhelmed. Stress hormones flood your body, [...]
Emotional Honesty: How to Tell if It’s Missing from Your Relationship
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:20+00:00Few of us grew up in an emotionally safe environment, a place where we could be truthful about our feelings. Instead, we inherited faulty beliefs about our [...]
How Your Beliefs About Yourself Limit Your Potential
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:20+00:00Right now, you are talking to yourself. All day, every day, you talk to yourself about the world around you––narrating, interpreting, judging. More importantly, you talk to [...]
10 Resolutions to Help You Become More Mindful
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:22+00:00It’s always a good time to resolve to make personal improvements that include new attitudes, changed behaviors and improved routines. In looking back at my nearly three [...]
The 10 Secret Steps to a Happier Family This Holiday Season
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:22+00:00The holiday season and dysfunctional family dynamics go together like turkey and cranberry sauce or a stocking full of presents and an empty wallet. You get in [...]
How Do You Forgive Even When It Feels Impossible?
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:22+00:00How do you forgive someone who has wronged you, and why should you do it at all. Forgiveness isn't something you do for the other person. Whether [...]
7 Tips to Become the Person You Want to Be
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:22+00:00You have the power to become the person you want to be. Many of us don't like who we are. We feel weak or indecisive or [...]
Mindful Anger review: Lessons learned from Dr. Andrea Brandt
Andrea Brandt2017-09-19T11:45:00+00:00(Guest blog by Deirdre Fay) Anger has never been a stranger to me. Over the years it has come to visit, sometimes for short blasts, sometimes for [...]
Stepfamilies Are Fertile Ground for Passive Aggressiveness
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:25+00:00How to deal with passive aggressive family members. Guest post by The Evil Stepmother Speaks' Barb Goldberg. Passive aggressiveness runs rampant in our stepfamilies. I hypothesize that [...]
Five Strategies for Handling Holiday Stress
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:25+00:00Dr. Andrea Brandt's Five "P.E.A.C.E" Strategies for Handling Holiday Stress in the Workplace. The holiday season is upon us! Often times, the hustle and bustle of the [...]
Coping With Holiday Depression
Andrea Brandt2017-02-07T15:17:25+00:00How to deal with feelings of stress and sadness around the holidays. For many people, the holidays can be a time of joy and nostalgia while for [...]