Tiffany Griffiths, Psy.D. & Associates, Inc.

11/10/2025

11/07/2025

Division → disconnection: More than 6 in 10 adults say societal division is a significant source of stress. Those who feel this division are more likely to feel isolated (61% vs. 43%), lose patience with family, cancel plans, and struggle to plan for the future.

Loneliness is common: Half or more report feeling isolated (54%), left out (50%), or lacking companionship (50%) at least some of the time.

Support gap: 69% needed more emotional support this year than they received (up from 65% in 2024).

Mental/physical symptoms track with loneliness: Among highly lonely adults, reports of depressed/sad (65%), anxious/nervous (60%), fatigue (53%), and headaches (48%) are far higher than among those with low loneliness.

Future worry: 75% say they’re more stressed about the country’s future than they used to be.

Meaning and resilience: 92% cite relationships as a key source of meaning; many still feel personal agency—84% believe they can build a good life.

Information climate adds strain (additional item): Stress about misinformation (69%) and the rise of AI (57%) is elevated compared with last year.

Source: American Psychological Association, “Stress in America 2025: A Crisis of Connection” (survey of 3,199 U.S. adults, Aug 4–24, 2025). Methodology by The Harris Poll; UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale included.

Survey suggests that years of societal division may be taking a toll

11/06/2025

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Let’s talk about “food stamps,” which is the old slang. The real program is called SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is not an urban legend. It’s a federal nutrition benefit that helps tens of millions of people in the U.S. buy food in a typical month.

11/02/2025

Sitting in silence sounds peaceful…until you actually try it.

For many people, the first few minutes of stillness are anything but calm. The mind speeds up. Old worries get loud. The body can feel restless or even anxious. This is normal.

When we pause, the nervous system finally has space to show us what we’ve been carrying. The ego (the part of us that survives by staying busy, planning, fixing, scrolling) will try to pull us back into activity. “Let’s get up. Let’s check something. Let’s do anything but this.”

Stay.

This is the doorway.

With gentle, consistent practice, sitting in silence shifts from “uncomfortable” to “regulating.” The breath steadies. The body softens. Stress chemistry lowers. We begin to notice thoughts without being dragged by them. Over time, this kind of practice supports relief from chronic stress, anxiety, low mood, and burnout, and helps restore a clearer, more energized baseline. This isn’t just spiritual language — there’s a ton of evidence that regular mindfulness, particularly mindfulness based stress reduction which has been studied extensively, and meditation can lower physiological stress responses and improve emotional regulation.

If silence feels hard at first, nothing is wrong with you. It’s actually a sign that you’re meeting yourself.

Start small:
• 1–2 minutes of quiet, eyes closed or softly lowered
• Notice the inhale, notice the exhale
• When the mind runs (it will), gently return to the breath — without judgment

This is how regulation is built, one moment at a time.

Keep going. Your system knows how to heal when given space.