I’ve always been a coffee person. The first cup of the morning felt like a ritual—steam curling in the air, the first sip warming me into the day. But there was a stretch of weeks where I noticed something unsettling: my shoulders felt tight, my thoughts raced, and my patience thinned for no clear reason.
When I first got serious about my skincare routine, I was guilty of what I now call “ingredient enthusiasm.” If one product promised results, why not layer three more for faster benefits? That’s how I ended up with redness, tightness, and skin that stung when I applied my moisturizer.
Most of us don’t have time for 90-minute workouts and perfect lighting. Life is busy. The to-do list is long. And sometimes, just finding 20 minutes that belong to
It didn’t hit me until I reached for my phone one morning and realized I wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t gotten a message, wasn’t checking anything urgent—I just reached out because it was a habit. That moment (quiet, a little disorienting) made me realize: my devices were running the show more than I was.
I’ve had plenty of seasons where the word “workout” felt like an obligation I just couldn’t meet. Too much on my plate, too little energy, or simply a lack of motivation to jump into structured movement—no matter how cute my yoga mat looked that day.
Sleep used to feel like a mystery to me. I’d do everything I thought was “right”—go to bed early, drink chamomile tea, use lavender oil—and still find myself wide-eyed at 2 AM, mentally rewriting to-do lists or Googling why my eyelid was twitching.
I didn’t know it at the time, but my 20s were laying the groundwork for the skin I’d wake up with in my 30s. Not in a “reverse aging” kind of way (we don’t do unrealistic beauty standards here), but in a “my skin actually feels healthy, balanced, and like it belongs to me” kind of way.
Stress and sugar cravings often seem to walk hand in hand, don’t they? It’s like clockwork: after a tough day, we find ourselves reaching out for that cookie, chocolate bar, or sugary drink. While stress eats away at our patience, sugar seems to offer a comforting, albeit temporary, balm. But why does stress drive us into the arms of sweet treats, and is this a behavior we can manage? Let’s explore this subject with the kind of warmth and understanding you'd expect from a good friend who knows a thing or two about wellness.
