Mental Health – On Life, Hope y todo lo demás…

Farewell Eyes

People often ask, “What’s the point?” But the answer shifts with time and age. At 60, I’ve come to realize that I now think in terms of “last times.”The last time I might go on a date.The last time I’ll hike 20 kilometers.The last time I’ll feel confident wearing a sleeveless top. A growing list […]

by Laura Basset Carbonell

Learning to Stay

What one can achieve in sobriety is deeply personal; it looks different for everyone. For me, the emotional challenges were far more difficult than the physical ones. Alcohol gave me a false sense of self. I felt free, uninhibited, as if I had finally broken the chains of shyness and insecurity. But that freedom was […]

by Laura Basset Carbonell

Changing self-defeating habits.

Our lives are ruled by habit, and deeply ingrained beliefs. We are hardwired to resist change, holding on to what is comfortable and familiar, even if we are not happy with the lives we lead, or the way we are. Breaking free from traits that do us harm is hard work. It takes more than […]

by Laura Basset Carbonell

The curse of being a woman.

I always like to joke sarcastically about how great it would be to have a lobotomy, so as not to feel so much and so intensely as we women do. Another solution would be to be injected a high dose of male hormones to stabilize and freeze emotion. Of course, without the awful side effects […]

by Laura Basset Carbonell

Finding new drives to keep your body and mind healthy.

I got sick after a wonderful trip to my home country. It’s become, as one of my friends says, a routine. I travel, I get sick upon my return. There might be a mind-body connection. It’s no wonder, since this always happens after I spend a month with my dear friends and […]

by Laura Basset Carbonell

The importance of slowing down in this frenzied world.

We run everywhere trying to meet deadlines, we make to do lists that are far from realistic, we text, e-mail and update our status in different sites because we have to be out there letting people know we are alive and keeping it all together. But in time, something has to give. As with myself, […]

by Laura Basset Carbonell

Making friends with your neurosis.

I can’t change the fact that I suffer certain neuroses. For years I fought them, hated them and wanted to change ever so badly. I thought I could overcome them overnight, but that was wishful thinking. I hated myself for being the way I was.

by Laura Basset Carbonell

Finding meaning in a meaningless life.

It’s National Suicide Awareness Month and for this reason I get to talk about it. Not in-depth, just adding my grain of salt for those who contemplate suicide as a way out.

by Laura Basset Carbonell

8 ways to reclaim your optimism.

I’m an optimist. If I weren’t, I would have probably checked out a while ago. As extreme as it might sound, I’m sure that if you’ve experienced dark nights yourself, your thoughts lingered, even for a second, on the possibility of quitting. We don’t all come as well equipped with the resilience to withstand despair. We […]