Pathways to Happiness with Nena Lavonne

Welcome to the the Pathways to Happiness Podcast! In this episode, we discuss what it means to be "unbalanced" in life, how and why that can happen, and the steps to make to make meaningful and significant changes in order to find true balance. The Pathways to Happiness with Nena Lavonne Podcast is available on multiple platforms. Please subscribe here to our YouTube channel where we cover all topics having to do with self-growth and emotional well-being such as anxiety reli...

Cognitive Distortions - Should Statements - How the "shoulds" are keeping you in a cycle of guilt, shame, anxiety, inadequacy, and depression, and how to reframe this toxic thought pattern PSYCHOLOGY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: In today's episode, we talk about "should statements" - they are the seemingly harmless things we tell ourselves in our mind that are connected to what we think we SHOULD be doing or MUST do, that we are not. This self-pressure not only does NOT motivate us, but instea...

Are We Lying to Ourselves? The Psychology of Self-Deceit : Why are we so afraid to be honest with ourselves? Are you hiding your truths from yourself? Today's episode dives deep into the reasons why we do this, how to know if we are lying to ourselves, the harm that it causes to ourselves, our relationships, and our authenticity, and how to learn to face our fears and true reality. Even when we believe we are telling ourselves a "noble lie", we have good intentions, or we are completely unawa...

TRUE SELF-AWARENESS & SELF DISCOVERY: HOW TO KNOW YOURSELF MORE DEEPLY AND CREATE YOUR BEST LIFE: In today's episode, we discuss the value of knowing and understanding ourselves fully, and how it can help us to design a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. We'll talk about different fun and effective approaches to getting to know ourselves better and strategies for digging beneath the surface and getting to know what truly drives our thoughts and behaviors. When we can truly understand...

HOW TO SPOT AND DEAL WITH NEGATIVE PEOPLE AND ENERGY VAMPIRES / PSYCHOLOGY AND SELF HELP: A psychic vampire (or energy vampire) is a term for those who drain the emotional energy from us and leave us feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. This video explains how to identify and respond to this toxic behavior can help you preserve your energy & protect yourself from a great deal of emotional distress. How can we identify energy vampires?These are the people who suck out all our positive energy...

Are you thriving...or just surviving life as best you can? This motivational podcast talks about how to escape the cycle of constantly living survival mode and just barely getting by in our life and how to get inspired by life again and truly begin to thrive and enjoy ourselves. We will talk about how to recognize the signs of survival mode, as well as reasons why we may have gotten there. If you feel like you are just kind of stuck, like you are going through the motions, but not really gett...

HOW TO STOP HOLDING A GRUDGE AND LET GO OF ANGER & RESENTMENT: Are you feeling bitter, holding grudges, or trapped in a loop of negative emotions when replaying the actions or words of other people in your mind over and over? Do you dream of getting even, getting revenge, or feel like your emotions are getting the best of you? Are you simply finding it impossible to forgive someone and move on? Today's episode is all about overcoming feeling resentful, and healing the hurt of this complex...

MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY - USING MUSIC THERAPY TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH, WELLNESS, SELF-AWARENESS & TO HELP US THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES - In today's episode, we discuss the psychological benefits of using our favorite music as a form of self therapy, and how to use music to improve our mood, self--understanding, life satisfaction, and overall mental health. Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals and to aid in heali...

Today's episode discusses the psychology behind why we tend to romanticize the past so much and long for the way things were, and offers strategies for how we can finally let go and move forward in our lives. It talks about "rosy retrospection" , which is a psychological phenomenon in which we tend to judge the past disproportionately more positively than the present, and how we can begin to separate our glamorized version of memories from reality. When we romanticize someone or somethi...

This episode discusses a cognitive distortion in psychology called "splitting", which is often referred to as "black and white thinking" or "all or nothing thinking". We can think of it as the failure in our thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism that can lead to anxiety, depression, and extreme negative emotions. Black and white thinking can also harm our relati...