Problem: Article: Being mindful of your reality and your sensations has been found to be efficacious in helping individuals to foster self-acceptance.  Some forms of mindfulness training involving self-compassion require learning from a professional, but others can be practiced in the comfort of your own home. Some of the benefits of mindful self-compassion include:  Learning to be less self-critical. Learning to cope with problematic emotions. Learning to motivate yourself with encouragement rather than criticizing yourself. Give yourself 10-20 quiet minutes each evening or morning to meditate. Once you set an alarm, you can let your mind go, knowing that you won't be late for work or anything else because your alarm will keep you to your schedule. Make sure your alarm is set on a quiet and pleasant sound to ease you out of your mindfulness session. Find your most comfortable chair and then sit down in it. Keep a straight posture and close your eyes to minimize outside distractions. Also place your chair in the quietest part of your house to reduce distractions. Pay attention to the way you breathe but keep it natural, do not adjust it unless you feel that you need to for comfort. Feel every aspect of your breath going in through your nose/mouth, down into your lungs, and energizing your whole body.  Feel the old breath coming up and out and sending some of your physical and mental tension away with it. Do your best to avoid slumping, but you might let your body relax a little. Keep track of the number of breaths you have taken up to four, and then start over. Only think about your breath and your body. If you find yourself thinking about something else, accept that your attention wandered but do not judge yourself. Just gently bring your mind back to focus on your breathing. Practice mindfulness meditation each day and gradually you will notice that you become more alert and accepting of yourself and your surroundings as you get better at just being without evaluating. It can take a lot of practice to get this down, so do not give up! Know that it may take a while.
Summary: Learn the benefits of mindfulness. Set aside time and set an alarm. Sit upright in a chair. Observe your breathing. Count your breaths. Be consistent.

Problem: Article: When you do decide to speak to your parent, you will want to ensure that you do so discreetly.  Don’t talk to them in a crowd or in front of people who are not aware of the situation.  Instead, set aside some time to speak to them away from noise and people.  You might say “Hey mom, can we talk some time tonight about something?  Maybe we could go for a walk in the park?” Either have this conversation on the phone or invite an adult you trust if you feel that you will be in physical danger. Hate typically comes from a place of deep anger or hurt, but you must control these feelings during your conversation.  Before you begin the talk, meditate, pray or take some deep breaths until you feel as calm as possible.  Speak to them honestly and not with wrath or bitterness. Once the time comes, begin the conversation in as nonthreatening a way as possible.  Do not yell, scream or curse at them.  Be very honest and open and get out all of your true feelings about them. Say “I have been thinking about this for a while.  As parent and child, our relationship should not be this way.  But because of things that have happened, and things that you have done specifically, I hate you.” Resist the urge to try to defend yourself once your parent begins speaking from their perspective; remember that this is a conversation, not a trial.  Do not repeat yourself over and over, either.  This discredits and cheapens your words. For instance, if your parent says “Well, you are an ungrateful child”, don’t try to reason them out of this.  Say instead “I hear you and will think more about that but it doesn’t change my feelings.” Though you should not be defensive, you should listen to your parent.  This is both a time for you to get out your feelings and for them to do so, too.  Situations or circumstances may exist in their life that you did not know about which may diminish the hate you feel.  Allow them to speak without interruption.  Avoid preparing a response in your head while they are speaking. Remember that what they say might provide you with the clarity that you need to move forward. If you feel threatened by your parent or would simply like some support during this talk, invite a trusted adult relative to be present.  Make sure this is a person who is not completely against your parent because your parent may feel ganged up on.  Tell this person to either remain silent or to mediate when necessary.  The presence of an adult can prevent violence from escalating. They can also help provide mutual advice that will end the conversation in a positive way. Ask your other parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle. Perhaps you feel that you express yourself best on paper or that your parent won’t listen to you in person.  Write a letter to your parent expressing how you feel and leave it for them in a place that they will find but others will not.  You might begin by saying “I have been wanting to discuss this with you for a while and I’m finding it difficult to do in person, which is why I’m writing this letter to you now.” Consider typing the letter so that you can make edits easily.
Summary: Talk to them privately. Don’t speak in anger. Tell them how you feel. Don’t be defensive. Listen. Enlist the help of others. Write a letter.

Problem: Article: Although you might not be aware of it, your body is making mucus all the time, sometimes as much as a quart per day. Even when you are feeling perfectly fine, cells in your nose and mouth called “goblet cells” are combining water, proteins, and polysaccharides into mucus, forming its characteristic sticky texture.  There is a very important reason for this: because mucus is sticky, it is able to trap irritating or dangerous particles before they reach your lungs.  Without mucus, the particles of dust and dirt that you may see when you blow your nose would end up inside your body. When you are sick, your body produces more mucus to ward off the invader, be it a virus or bacteria.  This is why you often only notice mucus when you are sick. Under normal circumstances, you are able to swallow mucus at the same pace that your body produces it, but under adverse circumstances, mucus is being produced faster and in greater quantities, leading the excess to clog your nose. When mucus mixes with saliva and white blood cells, it becomes phlegm. Mucus production can also be stimulated by food, environmental factors, allergens, cigarette smoke, chemicals, and perfumes. When this increased production happens, your sinuses can get blocked, leading to the buildup of bacteria and possibly a sinus infection. Many people believe that the color of your mucus reveals the kind of affliction you are dealing with. While there is some usefulness in these guides, doctors do not really use them to make diagnoses or prescribe treatments.  Generally, healthy mucus should be clear. If your mucus is cloudy or white, you may have a cold. Yellow or green mucus may signal a bacterial infection. If you’re trying to figure out whether you have a cold or a sinus infection, a better gauge is how long your symptoms last. With a cold, you will usually have a runny nose followed by a stuffy nose, each lasting for two or three days. Sinus infections can linger for a week or more.
Summary:
Thank mucus for keeping your lungs clear. Notice your body’s response. Don’t put too much faith in color.