If you’ve ever been so exhausted that even simple tasks feel impossible, you may have wondered, “What’s wrong with me?” or “Why can’t I just push through like I always do?”

Here’s the truth: burnout isn’t a sign of laziness. It’s a sign that you’ve been strong for far too long without enough rest, support, or recovery.

Burnout is not a flaw in your motivation, discipline, or character. It’s a physiological, psychological, and emotional response to chronic stress—and it’s much more common than people realize.

The holidays are meant to be about memory-making and celebration, but they are also often quite stressful. Recent surveys show that 81 percent of Americans report increased stress during the holiday season, with financial concerns, grief, and difficult family dynamics ranking among the top stressors. If you’re not prepared, it’s easy to get caught up in overwhelming situations. Here’s how you can protect your wellbeing during this festive but often challenging season.

Low self-esteem doesn’t always look like self-hatred. Often, it manifests as silent second-guessing, constant self-comparing, and that subtle sense that everyone else got a memo about life that you somehow missed.

Insecurity and low confidence are sneaky because they blend into your internal narrative so deeply that you start to think it’s just your personality rather than learned beliefs about your worth. And the problem with learned beliefs is that they can affect many different areas of your life.

Low self-esteem can have an impact on more than your self-image. It influences your mood, relationships, ambition, communication, emotional regulation, and how you interpret other people’s reactions. This is why low self-esteem is deeply linked to depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal—how we feel about ourselves shapes how we move in the world. Let’s learn more about self-esteem and its links to depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal.

Burnout is more than just feeling tired. It’s complete exhaustion that won’t let up despite any rest you try to grab. While burnout can affect anyone, recent data shows women are much more likely to experience it than men. What’s particularly difficult is that burnout manifests differently in women’s lives, touching multiple spheres in ways that men typically don’t experience. This difference is rooted in the reality of how we move through the world.

The new year arrives with a familiar chorus: “New year, new you!” While fresh starts can be motivating, January also brings an avalanche of social expectations that can threaten your mental well-being. From weight loss pressures to career advancement demands, the messaging surrounding the new year often implies that who you are right now isn’t quite enough.

This cultural phenomenon creates a perfect storm for anxiety, self-doubt, and feelings of inadequacy. Understanding how these social pressures operate and developing strategies to maintain your mental strength can help you navigate the new year on your own terms, honoring your authentic needs rather than conforming to external expectations.

Experiencing burnout can make even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming. However, burnout recovery begins when you recognize that exhaustion, irritability, and detachment are signals that your body and mind are asking for care. In a culture that celebrates constant productivity, it’s easy to lose touch with your natural rhythm. Therefore, never forget that rest is essential, not optional. Recovering from burnout requires both intention and patience with yourself. The right support, along with mindful practices, can help you rediscover balance and reconnect with what truly sustains you.

The holidays are meant to be about memory-making and celebration, but they are also often quite stressful. Recent surveys show that 81 percent of Americans report increased stress during the holiday season, with financial concerns, grief, and difficult family dynamics ranking among the top stressors. If you’re not prepared, it’s easy to get caught up in overwhelming situations. Here’s how you can protect your wellbeing during this festive but often challenging season.

When we think about heartbreak, romantic relationships typically come to mind first. But there’s another kind of heartbreak that cuts just as deeply, yet receives far less recognition: the ending of a friendship. It’s a loss many of us go through, sometimes many times over our lives. Some people even report that their friendship breakup was as significant as, or more significant than, some of their past romantic breakups. Friendship endings often leave us feeling isolated and unsure of how to process our grief.

If you’ve been through a traumatic experience, you’re probably wondering what kind of therapy might work best for you. You might have heard about eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and Brainspotting, and you’re likely curious about the differences between them. Both approaches offer powerful pathways to healing, but they work in distinct ways.

If you’re a millennial feeling overwhelmed by money worries, you’re far from alone. The numbers tell a striking story: surveys say that over half of millennials experience anxiety about their finances at least three days a week. There’s a real connection between what’s happening in your bank account and what’s happening in your mind and body. These are systemic realities for millennials that are taking a measurable toll on your mental health.

If dating in today’s world feels exhausting, overwhelming, and disheartening, you’re definitely not alone. If you’ve found yourself wondering why connecting with someone feels harder than ever, there’s actually solid research backing up what you’re experiencing. Recent studies show that nearly 79% of Gen Z and 78% of all dating app users report feeling emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted by the modern dating process.

Have you ever found yourself lying in bed, your mind racing with worries while the clock ticks away precious sleep hours? You’re not alone. Anxiety and insomnia create a frustrating feedback loop: anxiety keeps you awake, and lack of sleep makes you more anxious, which then makes it even harder to fall asleep. It’s a cycle that can leave you feeling exhausted. If this is a situation you often find yourself in, here are six techniques to help you manage your nighttime anxiety.

When it comes to processing trauma and reducing the emotional distress tied to difficult memories, two therapy approaches are smart options: accelerated resolution therapy (ART) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Both are evidence-based, both use eye movements, and both can lead to a life free from the negative effects of trauma.

But despite their similarities, ART and EMDR are distinct in their structure, goals, and how they guide you through the process. Let’s break them down so you can better understand which fits better for your needs.

Becoming a parent is one of life’s most important milestones. Yet, for many new mothers (and some new fathers), the postpartum period brings unexpected emotional challenges. Postpartum depression is more than just the “baby blues”—it’s a serious mental health condition that can affect a person’s ability to bond with their baby and function day-to-day.

Let’s explore what causes postpartum depression, how long it typically lasts, and what support is available for those who are struggling.

We often mistake self-criticism for self-motivation. Many people believe that if they’re hard enough on themselves, they’ll finally change—they’ll get in shape, do better at work, be a better partner, and finally feel “good enough.” But research and clinical experience tell a different story. Rather than leading to growth, persistent self-criticism can quietly erode our mental health and pave the way to depression. Here’s how to recognize the cycle and stop it in its tracks.

We know eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) mostly as a treatment for trauma and PTSD. But in recent years, EMDR has gained attention as a promising therapy for other mental health conditions, including depression. If you or someone you love is struggling with depression and searching for new paths to healing, you may be wondering: can EMDR actually help my depression? Here’s a closer look at how EMDR works, why therapists now use it for depression, and what the process involves.

Humans have been questioning the meaning of life since we could even formulate the idea. It’s normal to wonder about your place in the universe, whether you’re living authentically, and what happens after you die. However, if these questions deeply distress you, you may be suffering from existential anxiety.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re not sleeping well, everything feels more difficult? Your mind races, your emotions feel more intense, and even small tasks can seem overwhelming. If you’re constantly feeling tired and anxious, you’re not alone. The connection between sleep and mental health could be an important piece of the puzzle. Here’s how.

Depression doesn’t always look the way we think it will. While some people are deeply sad, cry all the time, or lie in bed all day, others go to work, take care of their families, and even keep up their social lives.

Depression can be subtle, insidious, and easily mistaken for other things. That’s why recognizing the signs, especially the ones we tend to dismiss or minimize, is so important. Here are some of the ways depression might be showing up in your life without you realizing it:

We now live in a world where likes, shares, and followers can define our self-worth. Social media has become both a connector and a thief. It connects us to friends, ideas, and inspiration, but often at the expense of our mental and emotional well-being, especially for women. Beneath the curated feeds and filtered photos lies a hidden emotional toll: rising anxiety, self-doubt, and the feeling that who we are is never quite enough.