Emily Kitazawa

Emily found her love of reading and writing at a young age, learning to enjoy these activities thanks to being taught them by her mom—Goodnight Moon will forever be a favorite. As a young adult, Emily graduated with her English degree, specializing in Creative Writing and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), from the University of Central Florida. She later earned her master’s degree in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University. Emily loves reading fiction, especially modern Japanese, historical, crime, and philosophical fiction. Her personal writing is inspired by observations of people and nature.

Feelings and Emotions: Psychologically They’re Different

How are feelings and emotions psychologically different? How do experts explain this difference? Neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett wrote the book How Emotions Are Made after years of psychological research. Feelings and emotions are two distinct concepts, according to Barrett, and understanding the difference could help you feel better, mentally and physically. Keep reading for Barrett’s explanation of why feelings and emotions are psychologically different.

2 Ways to Promote Independence in Early Childhood

Why is promoting independence in early childhood important? What are some effective ways to promote independence? Author Alfie Kohn created his unconditional parenting technique to teach parents how unconditional acceptance leads to more emotionally stable children. While this technique is more demanding than traditional parenting, Kohn says your investment will promote independence in early childhood. Read on to learn Kohn’s two ways to promote independence in early childhood.

Martin Seligman’s Learned Optimism: Overview

What is Martin Seligman’s Learned Optimism book about? What are the most important takeaways from the book? Martin Seligman wrote Learned Optimism after extensively studying what causes people to feel powerless in life. The book primarily teaches readers why pessimism can lead to mental health problems and how to escape a pessimistic mindset. Read on for a brief overview of Martin Seligman’s book Learned Optimism, including the key takeaways.

Rewarding Good Behavior: Is It Helping or Harming Kids?

Should you reward children’s good behavior while punishing bad behavior? Does rewarding good behavior help or harm kids in the long run? Author Alfie Kohn cautions that it’s easy for parents to forget about long-term goals when busy or overwhelmed, instead shifting their focus to whether or not a child is being “good” or “bad” at any given moment. Kohn says creating a system of rewards and punishments leads to potentially harmful outcomes in children. Read on to learn Kohn’s advice about rewarding good behavior, including his examples of rewards for children.

The Interoceptive Sense: A Little-Known Yet Powerful Tool

What is the interoceptive sense, according to psychology? Why is your interoceptive sense important? How can you strengthen it? The interoceptive sense is a powerful tool for understanding and coping with your own and others’ emotions, according to neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett. Barrett believes this little-known sense impacts your mental wellbeing more than most people realize. Read on for Barrett’s definition of the interoceptive sense, including why it’s important to strengthen it.

Emotional Granularity: How It Affects Your Whole Life

What is emotional granularity? Why do psychologists say it’s so important? How can you improve your emotional granularity? Neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett says that emotional granularity is your ability to understand and differentiate specific emotions. People with high emotional granularity are able to better regulate and cope with stress and other negative emotions, according to Barrett. Read on for a more detailed definition of emotional granularity, plus how to improve it, according to Barrett.

First-Time Parents: The Most Important Thing to Know

What is most important for first-time parents to know? What advice can you learn from research in parenting? As a first-time parent, you might feel overwhelmed by the amount of parenting advice available to you. However, author Alfie Kohn’s Unconditional Parenting book takes a simple approach to effective parenting: showing your children unconditional support, acceptance, and understanding. If you’re a first-time parent looking for proven advice, keep reading to learn Kohn’s unconditional parenting technique.

Can Emotional Stress Make You Sick? Absolutely

Why can emotional stress make you sick? What’s the connection between emotion and illness? What are the long-term effects of emotional stress? Most people recognize that having emotional stress is an unpleasant experience, however, not everyone realizes that it can actually make you sick. The author of How Emotions Are Made, Lisa Feldman Barrett, explains how emotional stress can make you sick, according to psychology and neuroscience. Read on for Barrett’s explanation of why emotional stress can make you sick.

6 Hormones That Make You Happy: Keys to Wellbeing

What are the hormones that make you happy? How do these hormones affect your wellbeing? Hormones that make you happy, or neurochemicals, dictate your overall sense of wellbeing, including how motivated you feel to complete your goals and which good (or bad) habits you adopt in daily life. The Art of Impossible author, Steven Kotler, says generating all six types of hormones that make you happy is the key to living a more fulfilling life. Read on to learn the different types of hormones that make you happy and their impact on wellbeing, according to Kotler.

Poor Parenting Skills: Here’s What Not to Do

Which parenting skills are potentially harmful to children? How does mainstream advice teach poor parenting skills? In Alfie Kohn’s book, Unconditional Parenting, he argues that mainstream parenting advice has several potentially damaging effects, even leading to poor self-esteem and depression in children. Kohn’s technique of unconditional parenting aims to make children feel more loved and accepted by their parents. Read on to find out why society may have taught you poor parenting skills and learn Kohn’s solution.