Exercise: Food for Your Brain

Exercise: Food for Your Brain

“You’re getting cranky. You need to go for a run!!” my wife, Cindy, would say to me. For decades, we both intuitively knew what neuroscience research now empirically supports: exercise is not only good for your body, it also helps to regulate your mood and improve...
What Does it Mean to be Compassionate?

What Does it Mean to be Compassionate?

What Does it Mean to be Compassionate? David offers a hand of friendship to the new kid at school who is alone and desperate to fit in. Sarah provides a warm meal for the homeless man who sleeps under the viaduct that she passes on the way to work every day. Jenny...
How are Your New Year’s Resolutions Going?

How are Your New Year’s Resolutions Going?

SMART Goals for 2025 Happy February! Now that we are almost two full months into the new year, how are your New Years Resolutions?  Many of us make the changing of the year a time of reflection and hope for better in the next year. However, some of us have given up...
How to Love Valentine’s Day

How to Love Valentine’s Day

Forty-nine percent of Americans are planning to do nothing for Valentine’s Day in 2024. In fact, as a population our love for Valentine’s Day is statistically declining more and more each year. Reasons to fall out of love with Valentine’s Day are varied. Here are some...
Making the Holidays Special

Making the Holidays Special

Making the Holidays Special By Jeffrey L. Santee, PhD, DCEP What Would Make Your Holidays Special This Year? To answer this question, you could reflect on particularly memorable holidays from your past, consult the Internet, or poll your friends and family for their...
The Value of Nature

The Value of Nature

By Holly Cañas, L.C.S.W Seasons in Illinois are distinct and each offers something new. They can significantly impact our mood and ability to cope and care for ourselves. Some of us prefer long hot days, while others can’t wait for a blanket of snow. As we move...