A relaxed mind is a happy mind. It took me two months full of busyness and stress to realize that simple truth. I relaxed my mind and found it to be happy.

Personal growth doesn't necessarily only happen when the conditions are perfect. Seeds tend to develop only when conditions are right. A seed will remain dormant, or inert, until moisture and temperature are favorable for growth. Unfortunately, as humans, we don’t always have the luxury of growing when conditions are just right. Sometimes you must cultivate personal growth and  flower where you’re planted, often in spite of external circumstances.

There is one step positive people take to feel happier. I've always admired positive people, and now I am one. I found that I can be a positive person in only one step. That one step positive people take is to surround themselves with positivity. Really, that's all it takes to be a positive person and join the ranks of positive people living fulfilling lives.

I learned the hard way that social networks are important for health and happiness. Loneliness can be dangerous. I know. I spent five years living abroad, separated from my friends and family, with only the occasional visit back home. During this time I felt isolated, alone, and suffered one of the worst and longest depressive episodes of my life. This difficult experience, however, taught me an invaluable lesson. By being so lonely, I learned the importance and necessity of maintaining a social network for my health and happiness.

I learned many years ago that it is almost always better to be thankful rather than sorry. I used to say, "I'm sorry" anytime something went wrong. I said it habitually—even when I did nothing wrong. I simply over-apologized when I had no reason to be sorry. One day, I decided to say something different. I decided to be thankful and not sorry.

Are you living each new day with the goal of being a better version of yourself than you were the day before? If you are working toward self-actualization and personal fulfillment, learning from your life experiences, and navigating challenges with grace, you can begin to manifest a better version of yourself.

When you have chronic depression or bipolar disorder, depression relapse seems inevitable and you need to know how to survive depression relapse. I’ve been in treatment for bipolar disorder for almost 12 years and I still struggle with these relapses. Here are some tips I gleaned recently on how to survive a depression relapse.

You can thrive in chaos. When your life seems out of control, it's easy to get sucked into a vortex of anxiety, depression, and a general feeling of paralysis. When life gets crazy, rely on a few simple practices that will allow you move beyond just surviving and help you to start to thrive in chaos and uncertainty. 

It’s hard to experience peace in uncertainty. If I always knew how the chips would fall life would be easy and I would be happy, right? I’m not sure if certainty really leads to bliss, but I do know it’s possible to experience peace in uncertainty.

Loneliness and isolation can tear apart your happiness, but you can prevent it.  I work as a peer specialist and I often hear people concerned about feeling lonely or isolated (Mental Illness Is an Isolating and Lonely Disease). Today, I want to share three tips that have helped prevent loneliness and isolation in my life.