Excerpt from Rage: A Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Explosive Anger by Ronald T. Potter-Efron, MSW, Ph.D.

• Rage is an experience of excessive anger.
• Rage is a transformative experience.
• For every total rage, you probably have several partial rages.
• You may often have near-rage episodes as well.
• Not all rages look alike.
• Another way to divide rages is by the threat that each rage addresses.
• If you are a rager, you aren’t the only one in the world with this problem.
• Rages can be prevented.
• Each kind of rage needs to be treated a little differently.

by guest blogger Susan Albers, Psy.D., author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food

It’s likely that an ordinary walk would be a helpful activity to substitute for stress eating. But you might want to try taking a mindful walk. Not only will this get your mind on something other than food and steer you out of the kitchen, it will also help you to calm down and center yourself.

Excerpt from Biting Anorexia: A Firsthand Account of an Internal War by Lucy Howard-Taylor.

My name is Lucy Howard-Taylor. I am eighteen years old. I have starved myself silent. I have slipped through people and out of sight, into black. Rigid at night from fear, curled against another day, I fell: unmoved by the landing.

But this is not the exposé of an individual. This is a chronicle. Of anorexia. Of depression. Of you and me, perhaps. And a stumble back into the light.

Excerpt from 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food: Mindful Practices for Finding Relief, Comfort & Calm

If you aren’t sure whether you want to eat because you’re truly hungry or because your emotions need calming and soothing, do a quick self-check before starting to eat. Ask yourself if any of the following statements describe your hunger. Then add up how many times you agree with these statements. Observe whether you agree with more statements under emotional hunger or belly hunger.

Excerpt from What’s Right With Me: Positive Ways to Celebrate Your Strengths, Build Self-Esteem, and Reach Your Potential

If we look back at our lives with curiosity and kindness, we might be startled at our bravery. Often, we are taken aback by our natural propensity as children to explore what we truly enjoyed.... We are still as brave, creative, and determined.

by guest blogger Jeffrey Brantley, M.D., author of the Five Good Minutes® series, The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, Calming Your Anxious Mind, and Daily Meditations for Calming Your Anxious Mind

The word mindfulness appears frequently in the popular culture and media these days.  In addition, a growing number of professionals are exploring and offering mindfulness-based activities to their clients.

But, what exactly is mindfulness?

By guest blogger Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D., author of the upcoming ADD and Your Money (December 2009), and 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD, Making the Grade with ADD.

ADD (or ADHD) affects all aspects of your life: work, home, and even your social life.  People with adult ADD usually had ADD symptoms when they were children.  You may have been diagnosed with ADD as a child and may have taken medication.  Or you may have had ADD symptoms and told you were “hyperactive,” but you were never formally diagnosed.   You don’t actually “grow out of” ADD—your symptoms just look differently when you are an adult.  While you may no longer be climbing the furniture, you are now constantly swiveling your chair during an office meeting.  Or instead of having difficulties waiting your turn in a game, you now can’t stand being stuck in traffic.  Many adults with ADD describe feeling a sense of “inner restlessness”— they are just itching to move around, fidget, or be active.