The first step is to change your own language. Instead of thinking, “I am anxious,” say (in your head), “I am noticing that I’m having an anxious thought.” By treating yourself as a person who is having a thought rather than identifying yourself as that thought (“I AM anxious.”), you can begin to believe that a thought is just a thought.

Mindfulness seems to be the latest mental health buzzword and for good reason. In a nutshell, it is the purposeful appreciation of the moment we are in, forgetting about the past and not thinking about the future. Simple, right? Maybe not.

But therein lies the rub— a “picture-perfect” wedding???”; being a “perfect mom???” As I soaked in all that “Martha-ness,” I absorbed her curated image of perfection and began putting a lot of pressure on myself.