Relationships

The Art of Condolence

When an acquaintance has lost a loved one, it can be difficult to know what to say or do. Here’s some guidance on offering sympathy with grace.

By Jon Spayde

Community Coworkers

Illustration of riding hood, wolf, and lumberjack

How to Avoid Drama

Are your relationships defined by tired role-play? Here’s how to break out of character.

By Anneli Rufus

Attitude/Mindset Coworkers

Buddy System: Naddir Eldeeb’s Success Story

How a determined friend helped one man lose 225 pounds and reclaim his sense of self.

By Naddir Eldeeb

Friends Success Stories

The Surprising Emotional Benefits of Talking to Strangers

Recent research finds that for adults, there may be significant emotional benefits in talking to strangers.

By Experience Life Staff

Community Relationships

A white dog smelling a chamomile flower with the focus on the flower

How to Cope With Losing a Pet

When a beloved animal companion dies, runs away, or is lost, the grief can be overwhelming. Psychologist Sandra Barker on how to cope.

By Jon Spayde

Pets Relationships

Family Values à la Française

Food writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl on why perhaps it’s time we stopped obsessing about how the French eat, and started emulating the way they live.

By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl

Family/Parenting/Kids Food Culture

a young girl mimics the adult action of rubbing her forehead while holding reading glasses while sitting in front of a laptop

Expert Strategies to Help Your Child Cope With Stress

So much for a carefree childhood. Today, even little kids are susceptible to adult-size stresses. Here's where the stress comes from, and what you can do about it.

By Helen Cordes

Family/Parenting/Kids Stress

Peace Through Personality: How to Use the Enneagram to Manage Conflict

The Enneagram can help us understand why each of us deals with conflict differently — and how we can find common ground.

By Curt Micka

Emotional Intelligence Family/Parenting/Kids

Proof Positive: Genetically, Many Friends Are Like Family

Research duo Nicholas Christakis and John Fowler recently discovered that the friends we choose tend be as genetically similar as our fourth cousins.

By Katie Dohman

Friends

Navigating Social Anxiety

Tricks and tips from professional performers.

By Anneli Rufus

Community Depression & Anxiety

Your Brain in Love

The science behind lust, attraction, and attachment — and the enduring mysteries that data can’t explain.

By Terri Trespicio

Dating/Marriage

a couple sits on opposite sides of a couch reading

Discover Your Relationship Type — Are You a Buyer, Renter, or Freeloader?

When it comes to relationships, are you and your partner looking to stay put or still shopping around?

By Willard Harley

Dating/Marriage Healthy Communication

people sitting apart from each other on couch

A Better Breakup: How to End Things with Clarity and Care

Senior editor Courtney Helgoe offers a little background on "conscious uncoupling."

By Courtney Helgoe

Dating/Marriage Relationships

Equine Therapy: How Horses Can Help Heal

Explore how equine-assisted therapy (hippotherapy) helps people build confidence, quiet anxiety, and find calm through powerful connection with horses.

By Terri Trespicio

Functional/Integrative Medicine Mental Health

Rethinking Pet Food

What you need to know about feeding your pets a healthy, balanced diet.

By Catherine Guthrie

Pets

Giving Gardens

Giving gardens, a growing phenomenon, provide wellness for corporate employees, food for those in need — with far-reaching ripple effects.

By Casie Leigh Lukes

Community Inclusive Wellness

Dikembe Mutombo: The Giver

Former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo talks about reaching out to connect with your community — and transforming the world.

By Maggie Fazeli Fard

Family/Parenting/Kids

“Goodbye, Velo.”: Losing a Beloved Pet

Jamie Martin on the unexpected depth of grief she's facing at the loss of her family's German Shepard.

By Jamie Martin

Pets Relationships

How to Stay Close to Friends When One of You Has Children

When people have children, it can be tough to stay connected to those who don’t. With effort and patience, though, relationships can survive the transition.

By Karen Olson

Friends Pregnancy & Postnatal