Running for Judge: Campaigning on the Trail of Despair, Deliverance, and Overwhelming Success by Tim Fall is a deeply personal look at one man’s experience of living and thriving with anxiety. It is courageous anytime someone shares their story of struggle with the world. It is all the more courageous when an elected official andContinue reading “Book Recommendation: Running for Judge”
Author Archives: Renee Branson
When Altruism is Not Enough: The Economics of Well-Being in the Legal Profession
Tap the cover of this month’s Legal Business World above to access my article and many other great articles on the business of law.
Announcing the First Annual Lawyer Well-Being Week
Today, the National Taskforce on Lawyer Well-Being is announcing the first annual Lawyer Well-Being Week which will be held May 4-8, 2020. This initiative is a joint effort of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, the American Bar Association (ABA) Law Practice Division and its Attorney Well-Being Committee, and the ABA Commission on LawyerContinue reading “Announcing the First Annual Lawyer Well-Being Week”
Happiness Is Not The Goal
I wholeheartedly believe that tending to our well-being and cultivating resilience will lead to a happier life. However, “happiness” is not the goal. Sounds incongruent, doesn’t it? I know. Stick with me. If the measure of our success is only whether or not we feel happy, we are going to feel like failures fairly often.Continue reading “Happiness Is Not The Goal”
Haiti Earthquake 10 Years Later: Lessons of Resilience
Ten years ago, I was out of graduate school and beginning a career in counseling. I was eager to put to use my newly honed skills working with families and children who had experienced trauma. Ten years ago, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit 16 miles west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, devastating the entire island and killingContinue reading “Haiti Earthquake 10 Years Later: Lessons of Resilience”
Why I Support the Sexual Assault Resource Agency
Earlier this year I was honored to be asked to join the board of SARA, the Sexual Assault Resource Agency here in Charlottesville, VA. As a board member, donor, survivor and as someone who has worked with survivors of sexual assault and trauma, I know the positive impact of SARA. SARA partners with the communityContinue reading “Why I Support the Sexual Assault Resource Agency”
Everything Is Not Awesome And I’m Still Optimistic
I used to have a hard time with optimism. That is a hard thing for someone who talks about resilience for a living to admit, but it is true. I would roll my eyes at the Pollyannas of the world. I have worked with survivors of trauma—and I am a survivor of trauma—so I knowContinue reading “Everything Is Not Awesome And I’m Still Optimistic”
No Sleep ‘Till…?
It is hard to come up with a new and enticing way to introduce the importance of sleep. It feels a bit like telling someone to eat more vegetables. There isn’t a whole lot of new ground to cover. Everyone already knows the basics. Sleep, good. Veggies, good. People quickly respond with a “Yeah, yeah.Continue reading “No Sleep ‘Till…?”
How to Disrupt Negative Thoughts
Negative Nelly. Eeore. Danny Downer. We’ve all been that person before. Faced with a challenge, change or, sometimes, just a glum Wednesday, we find ourselves tumbling down a rabbit hole of negative or distorted thought patterns. Unchallenged, over time, those thought patterns can become habit. Telling yourself (or someone else) to snap out of itContinue reading “How to Disrupt Negative Thoughts”
Beyond the Label of Mental Illness
This week is Mental Illness Awareness Week. Too often, the phrase mental illness conjures up the most stereotyped caricatures. The realities are much different. One in five adults will experience a mental illness each year. One in 25 adults will experience a serious mental illness each year. Knowing this, how do we embrace the labelsContinue reading “Beyond the Label of Mental Illness”
Renee Branson 