Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder in Clinical Practice
Grief is a universal human experience. Most of us, at some point, will lose someone we love—and the emotional pain that follows is not something to “fix,” pathologize, or rush. But there are times when grief doesn’t soften. It doesn’t shift. It doesn’t make room for life again. Instead, it remains intense, consuming, and disruptive long after the loss.
This isn’t “just grief.” It’s not weakness. It’s not resistance. It’s not a failure to cope.
It may be Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD)—a clinical condition recognized in the DSM-5-TR, characterized by sustained longing, identity disruption, and functional impairment that doesn’t resolve with time alone.
As clinicians, we need to know how to distinguish adaptive grief from clinically significant prolonged grief, without rushing to diagnose, minimize, or invalidate. That requires clarity, competence, and respect for cultural and individual mourning practices.
To support that work, I’ve created a 10-module clinical training on Prolonged Grief Disorder designed for counselors, social workers, psychologists, bereavement specialists, and anyone providing grief-informed care. The training is evidence-based, clinically practical, and grounded in trauma-informed, person-centered practice.
You’ll learn how to:
Recognize the clinical presentation of PGD
Differentiate PGD from depression and PTSD
Conduct appropriate assessment and screening
Understand risk patterns and diagnostic nuance
Apply core treatment approaches supported by research
The aim is simple: No pathologizing grief. No guessing in diagnosis. No forcing closure. Just clear, competent, compassionate clinical care.
Grief doesn’t follow rules, and prolonged grief disorder is more than “taking too long to move on.” This training cuts through the confusion.
We’ll break down the core symptoms, explore what makes grief become prolonged, and walk step-by-step through how Prolonged Grief Treatment approaches healing. If you work with clients who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected after a loss, this training gives you practical tools you can start using right away.
Resilience isn’t about avoiding hardship—it’s about growing through it. Whether you’re navigating personal loss, chronic stress, or just trying to stay afloat in a chaotic world, developing emotional resilience can make all the difference. To support your journey, I’ve compiled a list of free resilience workbooks for teens and adults—resources designed to help you build mental strength, emotional flexibility, and healthier coping skills. These guides are ideal for individuals, therapists, educators, or anyone looking to cultivate a stronger sense of inner calm and grit.
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”
–Steve Maraboli
Please note: These are external resources and are not affiliated with my site. Be sure to review each for suitability, and as always, follow all copyright guidelines when using or sharing materials.
Hard knocks, misfortune and adversity are things all humans have in common. We all are asked to cope with difficult times at some point in our life. Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, loss or significant stress, bounce back from it and learn from it.
This resource is an initiative of Glasgow CHP South Sector Youth Health Improvement team developed in partnership with The South Strategic Youth Health and Wellbeing Group. This Emotional Resilience Toolkit provides practical guidance in promoting the resilience of young people as part of an integrated health and wellbeing programme. The resource is designed to be used by workers and volunteers working with young people aged 10 and over.
This workbook provides a practical and entirely educational approach to improve personal resilience. The material is organized as a series of resilience exercises that support World Health Organization recommendations for suicide prevention. The exercises and the learning methods develop problem solving abilities and bring awareness to the importance of social support by applying positive coping skills to create less stressful outcomes to real life challenges. The materials can be used with all audiences to include organizations, educational settings, and families.
The Resiliency Toolkit is a comprehensive, evidence-informed workbook featuring 73 tools and worksheets designed to help people develop the emotional, mental, and behavioural skills needed to overcome life’s challenges. Created by Angela M. Doel, MS, this resource blends therapeutic techniques from CBT, ACT, solution-focused therapy, and positive psychology to support individuals in becoming more resilient, hopeful, and emotionally well.
The simplest way to define resilience is the ability to “bounce back” from life’s difficulties – to adapt well in the face of adversity or significant sources of stress, such as family and relationship issues, major health problems or financial hardships.
“Resilience is not what happens to you. It’s how you react to, respond to, and recover from what happens to you.”
– Jeffrey Gitomer
Supplementary Materials
Disclaimer: The following supplementary materials are intended to be used exclusivelyin conjunction with corresponding workbooks which must be purchased separately. They are designed to support the content and exercises within the workbooks and are not intended to be a standalone resource. Unauthorized distribution, reproduction, or use of these materials without the accompanying workbook is prohibited. Please respect copyright and intellectual property laws.
For highly-rated resilience guides and workbooks that can be purchased on Amazon, see below:
4.7 stars on Amazon, 1,961 reviews
Publisher’s description on Amazon: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A masterpiece of warrior wisdom: how to be resilient, how to overcome obstacles not by “positive thinking” or self-esteem, but by positive action. The best-selling author, Navy SEAL, and humanitarian Eric Greitens offers a self-help book unlike any other. “Eric Greitens provides a brilliant and brave course of action to help navigate life’s roughest waters.”—Admiral Mike Mullen, seventeenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff In 2012, Eric Greitens unexpectedly heard from a former SEAL comrade, a brother-in-arms he hadn’t seen in a decade. Zach Walker had been one of the toughest of the tough. But ever since he returned home from war to his young family in a small logging town, he’d been struggling. Without a sense of purpose, plagued by PTSD, and masking his pain with heavy drinking, he needed help. Zach and Eric started writing and talking nearly every day, as Eric set down his thoughts on what it takes to build resilience in our lives. Eric’s letters — drawing on both his own experience and wisdom from ancient and modern thinkers — are now gathered and edited into this timeless guidebook. Greitens shows how we can build purpose, confront pain, practice compassion, develop a vocation, find a mentor, create happiness, and much more. Resilience is an inspiring meditation for the warrior in each of us. “This book is a gift not only to Greitens’s comrades-in-arms, but to readers everywhere.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
4.6 stars on Amazon, 1,415 reviews
Publisher’s description on Amazon: These days it’s hard to count on the world outside. So it’s vital to grow strengths inside like grit, gratitude, and compassion—the key to resilience, and to lasting well-being in a changing world. True resilience is much more than enduring terrible conditions. We need resilience every day to raise a family, work at a job, cope with stress, deal with health problems, navigate issues with others, heal from old pain, and simply keep on going. With his trademark blend of neuroscience, mindfulness, and positive psychology, New York Times bestselling author Dr. Rick Hanson shows you how to develop twelve vital inner strengths hardwired into your own nervous system. Then no matter what life throws at you, you’ll be able to feel less stressed, pursue opportunities with confidence, and stay calm and centered in the face of adversity. This practical guide is full of concrete suggestions, experiential practices, personal examples, and insights into the brain. It includes effective ways to interact with others and to repair and deepen important relationships. Warm, encouraging, and down-to-earth, Dr. Hanson’s step-by-step approach is grounded in the science of positive neuroplasticity. He explains how to overcome the brain’s negativity bias, release painful thoughts and feelings, and replace them with self-compassion, self-worth, joy, and inner peace.
4.5 stars, 2,074 reviews
Publisher’s description on Amazon: In Do Hard Things, Steve Magness beautifully and persuasively reimagines our understanding of toughness. This is a must-read for parents and coaches and anyone else looking to prepare for life’s biggest challenges.”—Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers and host of the Revisionist History podcast. From beloved performance expert, executive coach, and coauthor of Peak Performance Steve Magness comes a radical rethinking of how we perceive toughness and what it means to achieve our high ambitions in the face of hard things. Toughness has long been held as the key to overcoming a challenge and achieving greatness, whether it is on the sports field, at a boardroom, or at the dining room table. Yet, the prevailing model has promoted a mentality based on fear, false bravado, and hiding any sign of weakness. In other words, the old model of toughness has failed us. Steve Magness, a performance scientist who coaches Olympic athletes, rebuilds our broken model of resilience with one grounded in the latest science and psychology. InDo Hard Things, Magness teaches us how we can work with our body – how experiencing discomfort, leaning in, paying attention, and creating space to take thoughtful action can be the true indications of cultivating inner strength. He offers four core pillars to cultivate such resilience:
Pillar 1: Ditch the Façade, Embrace Reality
Pillar 2: Listen to Your Body
Pillar 3: Respond, Instead of React
Pillar 4: Transcend Discomfort
Smart and wise all at once, Magness flips the script on what it means to be resilient. Drawing from mindfulness, military case studies, sports psychology, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, he provides a roadmap for navigating life’s challenges and achieving high performance that makes us happier, more successful, and, ultimately, better people.
Additional Therapist-Recommended Resources for Resilience
Most people think of a cane as a simple mobility aid—something for balance, a sign of aging, or a marker of weakness. I never thought much about them myself… until I had a stroke. This is my stro-called life now.
Suddenly, a cane wasn’t just a stick with a handle. It was possibility. It was strategy. It was even a little bit of power. And it stirred up something complicated in me—part shameless, part protective, part pride.
I don’t remember exactly how the cane was first introduced—whether it was handed to me or just left leaning against a chair at IRC. But I remember this:
I wanted it.
Not for balance. Not for stability. But because it might get me off the fall-risk list while I was in rehab. And if I’m being brutally honest, because it might let me board planes first—before first class. (I travel a lot, and yes, I’m shameless enough to view a mobility aid as a golden ticket.)
Here’s an excerpt from my new memoir, My Stro-Called Life: Notes from the Brain That Betrayed Me:
My Stro-Called Life: Notes from the Brain That Betrayed Me
Okay, and maybe I like the idea of a statement cane—something bold, like one topped with a gilded dragon egg. Or a discreet weapon I’d never actually use but can fantasize about wielding in some artful, heroic act. Not that I’m violent. I’m very anti-violence. But the image of a perfectly timed cane whack? Makes me smile.
“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go … and wear a sword instead of a walking‑stick.”
-J. R. R. Tolkien
Also, I have another, quieter reason for wanting the cane. I know I’m different now—slower, off in ways I can’t always pinpoint but others can probably sense.
The cane would be a kind of shield, a visible explanation for my invisible disability. Instead of people wondering, What’s wrong with her?, the cane would answer for me. It would give context. It would give me cover. If I stumbled, forgot something, or acted a little strange, the cane would speak before anyone had to ask.
…
Pre-Stroke Brain: So… we’re actually excited about a cane now?
Post-Stroke Brain: [Is excited and lies] Not excited. Just… it’s strategic. This bad boy could be our ticket off the fall-risk list.
Pre-Stroke Brain: Uh-huh. And the priority boarding thing?
Post-Stroke Brain: Obviously.
Pre-Stroke Brain: And the fantasy about a cane topped with a dragon egg?
Post-Stroke Brain: Yes?
Pre-Stroke Brain: Or the imaginary person you’re mentally whacking with said dragon-egg-cane?
Post-Stroke Brain: They earned it. Every. Single. Whack. [Snorts in laughter]
Pre-Stroke Brain: Right. Totally. And the part where you want it so people won’t wonder what’s “wrong” with you?
Post-Stroke Brain: [Somber now] Yeah… that part’s real. It feels safer when the cane explains me before I have to.
Pre-Stroke Brain: Or maybe it just explains what you think people are wondering.
Post-Stroke Brain: Maybe. But if it makes them pause before they jump to conclusions? I’ll take that trade-off.
Pre-Stroke Brain: Fair enough.
…
My dad, on the other hand, genuinely needs a cane—his mobility is limited—but he chooses not to use it.
I think, for him, it’s about pride. He doesn’t want to be seen as disabled. He’d rather stumble his way through the world than carry something that signals vulnerability. It’s interesting, really—how we see the same object so differently. For him, a cane represents weakness. For me, it feels like armor.
“I put my armor on, I’ll show you that I am”
-Sia
I used to roll my eyes at my dad’s stubbornness. Now I wonder if I’m any less prideful—just in a different way.
He resists the cane because it reveals something he doesn’t want the world to see.
I reach for it because it reveals something I need the world to understand.
Maybe we’re both just trying to control the narrative in a world that often jumps to conclusions.
And honestly, maybe I also like the idea that, with a cane, I can be the one who’s noticed for something, instead of judged.
It’s not just about mobility or boarding planes early. It’s about context. It’s about walking into a room and having a silent explanation for the moments when my words get stuck or my processing lags. A visual cue that says: Don’t judge me too quickly. There’s a reason. And it’s now my stro-called life.
No release date yet—because writing this memoir, much like stroke recovery, takes patience, persistence, and more than a little creativity. But like the cane, it’s also a shield—something that helps me steady myself while letting the world know what’s really going on. Just like the cane became my unexpected armor, this book is becoming a way to carry the story forward—with humor, honesty, and resilience. When it’s ready, you’ll be the first to know. Until then, stay tuned for more glimpses into a journey that proves strength sometimes comes disguised as a stumble.
Grief is universal, yet deeply personal—and for many, navigating it alone can feel overwhelming.
That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce the highly anticipated Coping with Loss: A 12-Session Group Curriculum—a comprehensive, evidence-informed program designed to support people who are grieving a significant loss. This structured group format gently guides participants through the complex terrain of grief while fostering safety, connection, and hope. The group curriculum draws on the content and structure of my Coping with Loss Workbook.
The Group Curriculum: What It Is
This facilitator-ready group curriculum includes everything you need to run a therapeutic grief support group, including:
12 detailed session guides (90 minutes each) with facilitator sample scripts and prompts
Structured check-ins, audio/visual elements, group discussions, and experiential activities
Printable assessments, handouts, and worksheets
Facilitator preparation checklists and tips
A pre- and post-test assessment to measure group effectiveness
Bonus materials including facilitator feedback forms, group flyers, certificate templates, journal pages with prompts, and more
The group format blends education, reflection, skills-building, and creative expression to help participants process their loss and build healthier coping strategies.
The Group Curriculum: Why It Matters
Grief isn’t something to “get over”—but with support, it’s possible to move through it in ways that are safe, meaningful, and sustainable. This program provides:
Validation of grief experiences
Tools for coping with overwhelming emotions
Opportunities to reduce isolation and rebuild social support
A sense of community, belonging, and shared understanding
The Group Curriculum: Who It’s For
The curriculum is designed for mental health professionals, grief counselors, and support group facilitators working in clinical or community settings, including outpatient clinics, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations. The curriculum can be adapted for correctional settings.
Launching this group curriculum has been a labor of love—born from years of grief work, countless hours of writing, and a deep belief in the healing power of community.
The full curriculum, including facilitator guide and participant workbooks, is now available for purchase here.
Because no one should have to grieve alone.
To give you a closer look at how the program works, I’ve included a sample section from the facilitator preparation materials and the full Session 1 guide in this post. This preview offers a hands-on glimpse of the group format, activities, and tone you can expect throughout the 12 sessions.
When most people think of therapy, they picture sitting in an office talking to a psychotherapist. But healing doesn’t always look like a conversation across a couch. While traditional talk therapy is incredibly effective, many people also find relief and growth through non-traditional therapy and alternative approaches.
If you’ve ever felt like talk therapy wasn’t quite enough—or you’re simply curious about what else is out there—this post will walk you through several non-traditional therapy alternatives that support mental health and overall well-being.
Digital Non-Traditional Therapy Alternatives
Sometimes, the biggest barrier is access. That’s where digital platforms can help as non-traditional therapy alternatives.
Headway connects you with therapists who take your insurance—removing one of the biggest hurdles people face.
BetterHelp and Talkspace offer flexible, online therapy that fits into busy schedules.
Online-Therapy.com combines live sessions with structured worksheets, making it a more hands-on, skill-based option.
These platforms expand therapy beyond a once-a-week session and can be more accessible for people who want affordable, convenient care.
Mind-Body Practices
Our bodies hold stress and trauma, so healing isn’t always about words—it’s also about movement and stillness.
Calm or Headspace can introduce daily mindfulness practices to reduce stress.
Insight Timer offers free meditations as well as paid programs with expert teachers.
Yoga platforms like Alo Moves or Glo help people reconnect with their bodies through breath and movement.
These practices support nervous system regulation, which is often the foundation for deeper healing.
Creative & Expressive Therapies
For some, the path to healing is artistic expression.
Platforms like Skillshare and CreativeLive offer classes in painting, writing, photography, and more.
Journaling programs and art-based workshops provide structured ways to process emotions without relying solely on words.
Self-expression can unlock emotions that are hard to articulate, making creativity a powerful therapeutic tool.
Lifestyle & Holistic Wellness
Mental health is deeply tied to sleep, nutrition, and daily habits. Apps and programs designed for whole-person wellness can provide the missing puzzle piece.
BetterSleepfocuses on improving rest, which directly impacts mood.
Noom Mood uses CBT-based techniques to manage stress and anxiety.
Devices like Muse orApollo Neuro use biofeedback to help retrain your brain and body’s response to stress.
Free Non-Traditional Therapy Alternatives: Evidence-Based Self-Help & Mental Health Websites
These are also great resources, including this site, for evidence-based workbooks, worksheets, and psychoeducation, often free or low-cost.
Some approaches may not be mainstream (yet) but are gaining traction:
Ketamine-assisted therapy (in approved clinics) shows promise for treatment-resistant depression.
Neurofeedback and biofeedback offer cutting-edge ways to change brain patterns.
Hypnotherapy platforms (like Grace Space) guide users into deep relaxation and change work.
While these approaches aren’t for everyone, they highlight just how many avenues there are beyond talk therapy.
Final Thoughts
Healing isn’t one-size-fits-all. For some, traditional therapy is enough. For others, combining it with mindfulness, creative practices, holistic wellness tools, or other non-traditional therapy approaches makes all the difference.
If talk therapy hasn’t clicked for you—or if you’re looking to enhance your current treatment—consider trying one of these non-traditional therapy options. Sometimes the most powerful healing happens in unexpected ways.
Disclaimer: A few of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you choose to make a purchase or sign up through them. These funds go directly toward keeping this site up and running. Please note that I do not specifically endorse any product, service, or organization listed here. The links are provided only as potential resources that may be helpful for your mental health and wellness journey.
Guest Post: Introducing a New Resource for Wellness
When we started A Meaning of Life (AMoL), the idea felt at once impossible and completely sane. Impossible because of its scope: to understand human wellbeing in its depth, nuance, and complexity. Sane because—really—what could be more practical than trying to understand what makes life worth living, and then sharing that understanding so others might put that wisdom into practice?
This project began with Randall, our founder, who broke his neck as a teenager, becoming quadriplegic. On the edge of death, Randall chose life—not just to continue living, but to live it fully and to share what he could about how to do so with others.
Decades later—after becoming a PhD psychologist, father, and living a life of many twists and turns—there was no silver bullet. The scientific insights were scattered, the practical applications were fragmented, and the guidance was often oversimplified. Out of that gap came a dream: to create a resource that could bring clarity, evidence, and practical insights together as one.
That dream became A Meaning of Life—a nonprofit and ever-growing library of practical-yet-science-based wisdom for a well-lived life. Today, our website hosts nearly a thousand pages of resources, organized so that it’s personal to you, and you can explore the factors that shape wellbeing in a way that is both grounded in research and deeply human.
Mapping the Web of Wellbeing
At the heart of our project are a handful of helpful mental models: each one takes a different angle of approach to map out the complex, interconnected elements that contribute to a flourishing life. There is the Happiness section, which clarifies the broken concept of wellbeing through both complex and simple lenses—complex like accounting for the inherent tangles in the web of researching wellbeing and providing an overview of Positive Psychology’s leading models, and simple like offering wellbeing in four basic elements: Pleasure, Flow & Engagement, Perspective, and Meaning in Life (the fourth and most important element).
And there are the four Cornerstones of Meaning, each cornerstone itself being a collection of factors that play a role in wellbeing. For most factors of wellbeing (there are 50 identified across the site), readers find detailed infographics, exercises, and curated web resources to guide their journey of learning wellbeing as a skill that can be practiced.
Each section of the site explores one of these factors in depth. For example, our Purposesection doesn’t just define the concept; it presents empirical research, practical exercises, and pathways to integrate it into daily life, making your dream life more life-like. It even has a deep-dive workbook for transforming one’s life into one that is rich with purpose.
Our goal isn’t to reduce wellbeing to a single formula, but to show its complexity—and to empower people to explore it in a way that resonates with their own lives.
From Theory to Practice: The Assessment Center
One of the resources we’re most excited about is our Assessment Center. This is where theory meets practice. Visitors can take evidence-based psychological assessments to measure every one of those 50+ factors of wellbeing, identifying which ones are strengths and which are growth zones. This is an incredible tool in its own right, and when paired with the content on AMoL, it can guide people towards what areas of life to study to get the biggest results on their wellbeing.
The assessments are more than just self-discovery, too. The data (always anonymized) has the potential to fuel research, giving psychologists and social scientists valuable insight into what well-being looks like across diverse populations. In other words, every visitor who takes an assessment isn’t just learning about themselves—they’re helping build a collective picture of human flourishing. And we’re committed to making the data free and open to researching… we are a 501c3 non-profit, and we stand by that intent.
We’re especially hopeful about the long-term research potential. Imagine being able to see, at scale, how gratitude impacts resilience, or how value alignment predicts life satisfaction. The Assessment Center opens the door to that kind of knowledge.
Visual Models for a Complex World
We know that wellbeing can feel abstract, so we’ve invested in creating visual models and infographics to make the science more accessible.
For example, our Crisis of Meaning infographic addresses the modern crisis that many people can feel, but few people have considered in detail.
Our visuals, fridge sheets, and printable exercises aren’t just decorative—they’re teaching tools. They’re designed to spark insight, conversation, and reflection, helping people see the bigger picture while also noticing the threads most relevant to their own lives.
Why We Believe This Matters
In a world overflowing with quick-fix self-help advice, our approach might seem unusual. We don’t promise instant happiness or one-size-fits-all answers. Instead, we embrace complexity. We honor nuance. We believe that cultivating a good life is a lifelong practice, grounded in science but enriched by story, art, and humanity.
And we believe this work matters because the stakes are high. Rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness are climbing. Many people feel disconnected—from others, from purpose, from themselves. In that context, our mission to explore and share the building blocks of wellbeing isn’t just an intellectual exercise. It’s an act of care.
Looking Ahead
We know our dream is ambitious. Sometimes it feels daunting to be building something so wide-reaching as a small nonprofit. But when we hear from people who found comfort in our pages, it reminds us why this work is worth it.
Our hope is that A Meaning of Life can serve as both a mirror and a guide: a mirror that helps people see their own strengths and challenges more clearly, and a guide that points toward practices and perspectives that support flourishing.
An Invitation
If our mission resonates with you, we invite you to explore A Meaning of Life for yourself. Browse our pages. Try out a few assessments in the Assessment Center. Share our resources with a client, a student, a friend, or a family member.
And most importantly, reflect on what you find. Because at the end of the day, the dream we’re chasing isn’t just about knowledge—it’s about transformation. It’s about helping people cultivate lives of greater meaning, connection, and joy. And we’re all on the journey toward that dream together.
My brain broke in the night, and by the time I reach the hospital, it is already too late. This is my stro-called life.
“Nothing prepares you for the moment your brain betrays you—not training, not experience, not even a lifetime of helping others.”
When the paramedics rush me to the ER, a code stroke is called immediately. But I am already outside the window for treatment. The clot came and went in the night, leaving its damage behind. What follows isn’t the dramatic chaos you might expect if you’re a fan of Grey’s Anatomy, but something stranger: a fog of hunger, humiliation, and denial that became my first real taste of my stro-called life.
Here’s an excerpt from my new memoir, My Stro-Called Life: Notes from the Brain That Betrayed Me:
My Stro-Called Life: Notes From the Brain That Betrayed Me
The first few days are mostly a blur, thanks to the edema in my brain—time passes in disjointed fragments stitched together by fluorescent lights and the steady beeping of machines. The thing I remember clearly is how hungry I am—and how I’m not allowed to eat. It feels absurdly unfair. What kind of place is this, anyway? A steady stream of doctors, nurses, and specialists file in, each asking different versions of the same questions. My response never changes: “Can I have something to eat?”
Then, a remarkably handsome doctor with kind eyes enters, and my spirits lift. Eagerly, I report my most pressing concern: I am starving. His face, however, falls with genuine disappointment.
“I was hoping you were going to report having a bowel movement,” he replies. While he doesn’t bring me food, Dr. Morven proves to be one of the most caring and attentive doctors I’ve ever encountered, and I am fortunate to have him on my team.
That said, apparently, pooping is a big deal after a stroke. A stroke can damage the part of the brain that controls bowel function. More on this later.
Swallow Test + Fall Risk
No food until I pass a swallow test. The objective is straightforward: sip water without choking. A speech-language pathologist supervises. I’m parched and overly confident. I fail spectacularly—choking on the water as it goes down the wrong pipe.
My mom is right there, trying to advocate for me, saying I’m just overeager from hunger and thirst. But my excitement isn’t enough for a pass.
Each denied meal feels like my body reminding me: you’re not in control anymore.
Although the timeline is hazy—it feels like hour, maybe days—before I am allowed to attempt the swallow test again. This time, I pass. No coughing, no choking, no signs of aspiration. I am finally cleared for real food.
My reward? A tray of unidentifiable lukewarm hospital fare: rubbery beige stuff and something that might have once been fruit. It is objectively unappetizing—and I devour it like it’s a five-star meal.
I’m not entirely sure why I’m labeled a “fall-risk.” (It turns out I am temporarily paralyzed on my entire left side, which makes a decent case for it. Funny, the things we remember—and the things we forget.) This means I’m not allowed to get out of bed without assistance from medical staff—including for basic things like using the bathroom. But ever the rebel (or just impatient), I routinely get up on my own. As a result, my bed is alarmed. I pay it no mind, getting up and moving, er, swaying, about as I please, which not only sets off the alarm, but the nurses too.
In my defense, it’s not like I’m doing this alone. I’ve got company—two voices in my head who can’t agree on anything. Pre-Stroke Brain: practical, easily annoyed, and annoyingly responsible. Post-Stroke Brain: impulsive, distractible, and weirdly enthusiastic about bad ideas. This is now my stro-called life.
Pre-Stroke Brain: Wait… we need medical clearance to drink water now?
Post-Stroke Brain: Yeah. Apparently, difficulty swallowing and choking on liquids is a whole thing after a stroke. It’s called dysphagia.
Pre-Stroke Brain: Oh. And everyone’s suddenly invested in our bowel habits?
Post-Stroke Brain: Deeply invested. It’s a group project!
Pre-Stroke Brain: Fantastic.
Post-Stroke Brain: At least we passed the second swallow test. Even if all it earned us was a tray of hospital slop.
Pre-Stroke Brain: You inhaled it though.
Post-Stroke Brain: It was sustenance. We’re wasting away here.
Pre-Stroke Brain: And now we’re on fall risk?
Post-Stroke Brain: Yep.
Pre-Stroke Brain: So you get up on your own.
Post-Stroke Brain: Every chance I get!
Pre-Stroke Brain: Classic. Still trying to outrun your own limitations.
Post-Stroke Brain: Better than giving in to them
The things that horrify pre-stroke brain are the same things post-stroke brain finds funny—or can’t be bothered to care about anymore.
My hospital stay wasn’t heroic, inspiring, or anything close to Grey’s Anatomy. It was fluorescent lights that never dimmed, bed alarms that shrieked if I so much as shifted the wrong way, and trays of rubbery beige food I devoured like it was five-star cuisine because I was that desperate.
It was strangers monitoring my bathroom habits, and my dignity circling the drain faster than the purple dye bleeding from my hair. Survival didn’t look triumphant—it looked awkward, humiliating, and sometimes funny in ways I wish it weren’t. But if I can laugh at hospital slop and bed alarms, I can survive just about anything.
Still no release date—because writing a memoir is a lot like my stro-called life: messy, unpredictable, and never on anyone’s timeline. But when it’s ready, you’ll be the first to know. Stay tuned for more excerpts—stories that prove recovery isn’t always pretty, but it can be pretty hilarious. After all, if I can survive having my bodily functions monitored and charted, you can survive waiting for the book.
“Recovery isn’t always pretty, but it can be pretty hilarious.”
We often think lasting health change requires a big lifestyle overhaul—strict routines, bold resolutions, or a sudden surge of motivation. But in reality, meaningful improvement usually starts with something much smaller: small habits-consistent, doable habits that fit easily into your day.
As a practicing doctor, I’ve seen this firsthand. Many of my patients assume they need to transform their lives to feel better. But time and again, it’s the tiniest daily actions—the small habits that require no special tools and only a few minutes—that lead to the most reliable results. These “micro-habits” are deceptively powerful. They reduce stress, improve sleep, and slowly nudge the body and mind toward resilience.
Let’s explore a few of these low-effort, high-impact habits—along with the science that explains why they work.
Breathing for Calm: One Minute Can Change Your Day
Modern life keeps our nervous systems revved up. From tight deadlines to nonstop notifications, it’s easy to get stuck in a constant low-grade “fight-or-flight” mode. But your body also has a built-in brake: the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you relax and recover.
A simple breathing pattern can help you access that state. Try this small habit: inhale for four seconds, hold for six, and exhale slowly for eight. Just one minute a day. Research shows that slow, controlled breathing lowers heart rate, reduces blood pressure, and activates the vagus nerve—a key pathway for relaxation and stress recovery.
This one-minute breathing routine is easy to anchor to your day. Try it in the morning before coffee, during a break at work, or while waiting at a red light. Over time, it trains your body to downshift more easily from stress, which can lead to better sleep, sharper focus, and fewer physical symptoms like headaches or muscle tension.
We don’t often think of posture as a health issue, but how we sit and stand influences far more than appearance. Slouching restricts breathing, tenses muscles, and can subtly impact mood and alertness. Over time, poor posture can lead to back pain, fatigue, and shallow breathing.
That’s why a simple one-minute posture reset—once or twice a day—can go a long way. Stand or sit tall. Relax your shoulders. Breathe in deeply and gently tuck your chin. It’s not about perfection. It’s about awareness.
Interestingly, posture doesn’t just affect the body—it may also influence the mind. Research suggests that upright posture is associated with more positive emotions and reduced symptoms of depression, while slouched posture can increase self-focus and negative affect.
This small habit will help you reconnect to your body and move through your day with more intention. And as posture improves, many people report feeling more energetic and emotionally grounded.
When it comes to nutrition, many people get overwhelmed by rules and restrictions. But you don’t need a meal plan or a supplement stack to make meaningful changes. Start with one daily swap, just one small habit. Choose water instead of soda. Add a handful of vegetables to lunch. Pick whole grains over refined ones.
These choices may not seem like much on their own—but they build momentum. They reduce blood sugar spikes, improve digestion, and gradually shift your taste preferences. Perhaps even more importantly, they reinforce a powerful message: I’m someone who takes care of my body.
You don’t have to overhaul your diet to be “healthy.” You just have to keep choosing what supports you, one bite at a time.
Gratitude as a Mental Health Tool & Powerful Small Habit
You’ve probably heard that gratitude is good for you—but the real power lies in how easy it is to practice. Before bed, pause and notice one thing that went well today. A kind word from a friend. A meal you enjoyed. A quiet moment.
That’s it. No journal, no timer, no need for perfect phrasing. Just a brief mental note of what brought you comfort or joy.
There’s strong research behind the benefits of gratitude. People who practice it regularly report lower stress and fewer symptoms of depression. Some studies also suggest a link to better sleep. In fact, gratitude has been shown to trigger positive neural activity in the brain and help regulate the emotional centers that influence anxiety and mood.
You don’t have to “feel grateful” all the time. But building this 30-second small habit can help train your brain to notice what’s going right, even during tough times.
Movement Stacking: Small Habits for Exercise That Hide in Plain Sight
If you’re too busy for a workout, try pairing light movement with something you already do—like brushing your teeth. While standing at the sink, do a few calf raises. March in place. Try some gentle squats or heel-to-toe balances.
It might feel silly at first, but two minutes of movement, twice a day, adds up. It improves circulation, strengthens stabilizing muscles, and reminds your body that it was built to move.
From a doctor’s perspective, this kind of “habit stacking” is incredibly effective. It reduces friction—there’s no need to carve out gym time or change clothes—and it turns physical activity into a normal part of your daily rhythm. Over time, small bursts of movement have been linked to improvements in insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular fitness, and musculoskeletal strength—even in people with limited time. While more research is needed on their long-term cognitive effects, incorporating movement into daily routines remains a practical and evidence-supported way to support whole-body health.
Why These Small Habits Stick (Even When Life Gets Messy)
So what makes these small habits so powerful?
First, they’re easy. They don’t require a major time commitment or a change in identity. You don’t need to become “a fitness person” or “someone who meditates.” You just need to breathe for a minute, stand a little taller, or choose an apple instead of chips.
Second, they create positive feedback loops. When your body feels calmer, or your digestion improves, or you sleep a bit better—you’re more likely to stick with the habit. And when habits are consistent, they start to shift your baseline experience of health.
Finally, these practices support multiple body systems at once. Breathing regulates your nervous system. Posture supports your musculoskeletal and respiratory health. Nutrition feeds your gut and immune system. Gratitude strengthens your emotional resilience. Movement improves metabolism and mobility.
From a medical standpoint, these small habits also support key systems: the autonomic nervous system (for stress), the musculoskeletal system (for posture and movement), metabolic and digestive function (through dietary shifts), and the brain (via gratitude and emotional regulation). That’s a lot of benefit for a few minutes of effort.
Final Thoughts on Small Habits
Health isn’t something we flip on with willpower. It’s something we build—through the quiet, repeatable moments we often overlook. The breath before a meeting. The snack you reach for. The way you sit at your desk. These are the places where health is shaped—not in grand gestures, but in small, meaningful shifts.
So if you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed, start tiny. Start now. A minute of calm. A better snack. A deeper breath.
Because sometimes the smallest habits make the biggest difference.
About the Author
Dr. Antti Rintanen is a licensed medical doctor and the founder of The Internet Doctor, a platform dedicated to translating complex health science into practical guidance. His focus includes musculoskeletal health, postural alignment, and long-term wellness strategies.
References
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