Popular YouTube creator Jacksepticeye recently announced that he is taking a break. He cited several reasons, including finding less joy in creating videos, fears of diminished quality of his work, and his own mental health. He described the energy he spends on his work: creating videos daily, going on tour, and doing live shows. He […]
Habit building is never easy. It requires persistence, resilience, and a whole lot of planning to do it right. And for some of us, that can be a lot to handle. Particularly those of us whose habit-building intentions tend to shift whenever we find something new to get excited about. (In case it’s unclear, I’m […]
Perfectionism doesn’t sound like much of a problem if you haven’t struggled with it. Someone wants to do things too well? Big deal, right? But perfectionism isn’t the same as striving for excellence. It often comes alongside anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, and it puts roadblocks in the way of achieving not only […]
Jennifer Hale has voiced some of the most memorable characters in video games and television. She’s been Bioshock Infinite’s Rosalind Lutece, Metal Gear Solid’s Naomi Hunter, and — for a great many of us — the one and only Commander Shepard of Mass Effect. In this new video from our friends at CheckPoint, Hale takes […]
If you haven’t heard of Hygge, you may not have been inside a bookstore lately. It’s a Danish word meaning, roughly, “wellbeing,” but it’s also a concept that encompasses coziness, contentment, wellness, friendship — the good life, more or less. Since the 2016 release of The Little Book of Hygge: the Danish Way to Live […]
Mindful Powers from Smashing Ideas on Vimeo. Most of us go our entire lives without learning to be mindful — to be present and fully aware in the moment. Though it can be a powerful tool for self-regulation in the face of anxiety and other mental health issues, it’s also a challenge to master. To […]
For many people with chronic pain, a brighter future can be hard to imagine. Chronic pain is closely linked with several mental health issues, substance use issues, and it’s no wonder — it’s hard to have hope for the future when your hurt all the time. Freelance game journalist Nathanael Peacock opens up about what […]
Feeling burned out? If you’ve been pushing yourself too hard for a while, you might be looking at occupational burnout. While that’s not a diagnosis in the DSM, it is common issue for a lot of people in the video game industry. If you’re wondering what causes burnout, what it feels like, or how you […]
Kelly Bastow is a Toronto-based illustrator who publishes illustrations (some NSFW) and comics at Moosekleenex. She recently shared this powerful reminder that self-improvement can easily become a way of amplifying our critical voices if we don’t approach it with compassion. You can also find more of Bastow’s work through Patreon and Etsy.
Happy New Year, friends, and welcome to 2018. How are those resolutions going? Keeping a resolution up for a couple days is generally pretty doable, but most of us have been through that mid-January lull when they start to drop off. It happens — a lot. Particularly when we get into the mindset that a […]
