Sonya Collins

Feeling overwhelmed? Get to know your limits

It’s 9 p.m., and you’re still at work.  You couldn’t relax at home with unfinished work on your desk. And if you don’t get this done, your boss will be upset. At least that’s what you think.

It isn’t the work that leaves you unable to relax. It’s that you see that work as a threat. Stress is not a reaction to an event but rather to how you interpret the event, says psychologist Allan Cohen, Psy.D. You think, “If I don’t work late every night, I will get fired,” or “My boss won’t like me,” or “My co-workers won’t respect me.” Continue reading →

Not hitting it off with your co-workers? You might need to take a step back.

Whether it’s a co-worker who bulldozes us during staff meetings or shoots down every new idea, or several colleagues who make up a clique outsiders just can’t break into, we’ve all had co-workers we simply don’t like. They can turn a job you may otherwise enjoy into your own daily personal hell.

Some perspective is in order. While your co-worker’s behavior may feel like a personal affront you did nothing to deserve, he or she may feel affronted, too, says Andy Selig, Sc. D., a management and organizational psychologist who often mediates tense workplace relations. “Most of the time, all the protagonists involved feel like victims,” he says. Continue reading →

The low-down on controversial ingredients and recent changes to sunscreen labels

Stocking up on sunscreen? We all know we’re supposed to wear it every day, rain or shine, to lower our risk of skin cancer and help prevent premature signs of aging.

But picking one can be confusing. There are different types, and different ingredients, and sunscreen labels are changing.

As if that weren’t enough, you may have also heard warnings from some groups that some sunscreen ingredients are dangerous.

So what are you to make of that? What about the risk of skin cancer? And what’s in the bottle, anyway? Here are answers. Continue reading →

Does stretching help or hurt, and what’s the best way to do it?

The benefits of a regular exercise routine are undisputed, but how to start that routine — literally what to do first — is far less clear. Should you stretch before you exercise?

From Zumba instructors and dance teachers to team coaches and personal trainers, chances are you’ve gotten a lot of conflicting advice about stretching. And frankly, a lot of that advice probably just stretched the truth.

Do any of these sound familiar?

• You have to hold a stretch to get the benefit.
• Don’t bounce in the stretch — you’ll tear your muscle.
• Stretching is a must for a good warm-up.
• If you don’t stretch before a workout, you’ll hurt yourself.

Well, they’re all wrong. But before exploring how and when to stretch, we must answer a bigger question. Continue reading →