by guest blogger Rick Hanson, PhD is the author of Buddha's Brain and Just One Thing

Everyone messes up. Me, you, the neighbors, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, King David, the Buddha, everybody.

It's important to acknowledge mistakes, feel appropriate remorse and learn from them so they don't happen again. But most people keep beating themselves up way past the point of usefulness: They're unfairly self-critical.

Therefore, you really need your inner protector to stick up for you: to put your weaknesses and misdeeds in perspective, to highlight your many good qualities surrounding your lapses, to encourage you to keep getting back on the high road even if you've gone down the low one, and frankly, to tell that inner critic to shut up.

by guest blogger Randi Gunther, PhD, author of When Love Stumbles and Relationship Saboteurs

Good long-term relationship partners have many of these traits. You can probably think of others that have special significance for you or your partner. The following short quiz will help you evaluate where you stand now on these fifteen.

The quiz is comprised of one summary question for each of the fifteen traits. Answer each question with a number corresponding to the following guide:

Most of the time = 5

Some of the time = 4

Occasionally = 3

Not often = 2

Never = 1

by guest blogger Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPC, author of Anger Workbook for Teens

Sexting behaviors are experiencing rampant growth among college students. According to a study conducted by the University of Rhode Island, 4 out of 5 college kids have received sexually suggestive messages. Out of the 204 participants, approximately 56 percent reported that they have received sexual images and 17 percent of those surveyed have forwarded those messages to others.

But college students aren't the only ones sexting. Just recently there were about two dozen teenagers caught in a sexting ring in Vermont. The 17 girls that were in the pictures were ages 14-17. I would venture to say that none of the parents were aware that their daughters were taking risqué photos of themselves and sharing them with others. Likewise, I bet the boy's parents weren't aware that they were sharing these photos with one another via shared email accounts.

by Steven C. Hayes, PhD, author of Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life

The ninth Association for Contextual Behavioral Science World Conference (WC IX) was held in Parma, Italy, July 11 through 15. Organized by ACT-Italia, the Italian chapter of ACBS, it was the largest (596 registrants) and most diverse world conference ever—22 countries had nine or more registrants.

For those who attended, this conference had a tangible sense of a more matured and developed community—intellectually, socially, and practically. Many new datasets were shared, but there was a shift away from anxious questions such as, "Is ACT / RFT empirically supported?" toward more self-confident ones such as, "How can we advance this work?" or, "What are we missing?"

by guest blogger Ruth C. White, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.W. is the author of Bipolar 101

I am a strong African-American woman: I aced two challenging, concurrent grad school programs while pregnant; spent years of duty as a single, professional mother thousands of miles from family; backpacked alone through Central America in my 40s; soloed up 6,000-plus-foot mountains; worked as a social worker with challenging populations in Canada, the U.S.A. and the U.K.; rode the rapids of the White Nile in a tiny kayak and on a big rubber raft; got tenure; and started a highly successful maternal and child health project in Africa. I've earned a cape and a big "S" on my chest.

I am an African-American woman with a brain disorder, also known as a mental illness -- specifically, manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder. I have spent time in a mental health treatment facility, will probably need medication for a lifetime, and have spent many hours in a therapist's office. I've got a whole professional team that works with me to keep me sane.

I used to be ashamed and secretive of the reality described in the previous paragraph but proud of the life described in the first. Now it's an integrated whole. I know that taking off the cape and stripping my chest of the "S" doesn't make me any less of a strong African-American woman. Superhero status is not required. I cannot save the world, and sometimes I'm the one who needs saving.

by guest blogger Rick Hanson, PhD is the author of Buddha's Brain

As unique standing waves, you and I are constructed each moment by the currents -- the forces and factors, both internal and external -- flowing through us. We have no choice about being "lived" by these currents, continually giving over to them.

But we can choose to give ourselves over to the good ones.

by guest blogger Stephanie Sarkis, PhD, author of 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD, Making the Grade with ADD, ADD & Your Money and Adult ADD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed

So is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) a real thing, or is it just a byproduct of the times we live in? We have overcommitted, over-scheduled and overextended ourselves. We have to answer our emails right now. We have to check Facebook as soon as we wake up in the morning. Television shows have quick edits and short sound bites, and we have 800 channels to choose from. Have we been conditioned to be an ADHD/ADD society?

Not exactly.

by guest blogger Randi Kreger, co-author of Stop Walking on Eggshells and Splitting

"My pain, resentments, and sadness give me my strength. My strength ruined my mind, body, and soul. I've been trapped all my life--not by man or cages, but by my own emotions. Where I have been, what I have seen, when I travel inside myself, can be summed up by one word. Damn!"

These are the words that open a trailer for a documentary about Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall and his struggle with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Marshall revealed his diagnosis at a Miami press conference on July 31, 2011. Newspapers and television stations quickly picked it up.

Marshall credits McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., where he spent three months undergoing intensive evaluation and treatment, for finally identifying his problem.

Here is our latest editor's pick! Acquisitions Assistant Editor Angela Autry Gorden shares why she enjoyed Yoga for Pain Relief:

In Yoga for Pain Relief, Kelly McGonigal, an experienced yoga teacher and psychologist, gently guides you through easy-to-understand exercises to alleviate chronic pain. It's almost like having your own yoga therapist. She provides a nice blend of asanas, meditations, and explanations for aspects of yogic philosophy that help you have more compassion for yourself and get to know your body. The book builds from an introduction to the basic concepts behind yoga's ability, to helping you heal physically, soothe your emotions, and learn more about your mind. The tone of the book is hopeful and supportive, which I found to be refreshing and helpful when dealing with my chronic pain.