A new book recommends ways to create the best possible environment for emotional healing

One of my favourite ways to provide support is thinking about how you can create an environment to help someone get better. What does that mean? There is a lot of research about the role that your physical environment plays in your mental, spiritual, and physical health. It’s everything from the space you live in, the clutter around you, the food in your fridge, the people that you spend time with, and the plans in your calendar.

Ask yourself, How can I create an environment that makes change and getting better easier? There are a million ways you can do this, but I want to start with an example from my life.

When our first daughter was born, I had a very complicated delivery and lost a lot of blood. By the time I was finally discharged and sent home, I was not only physically destroyed, but mentally dealing with severe postpartum depression.

It was so bad that I couldn’t be left alone with our baby for the first four months of her life. I couldn’t breastfeed because of the medications I was on. And I was so depleted, I spent most of the day sleeping or sitting like a zombie on the couch....

Read more