When you grew up in an environment where connection meant danger, your nervous system learned to associate other people with threat. Maybe reaching out for comfort got you dismissed. Or criticized. Or hurt. Maybe the adults in your life were unpredictable, so you learned it was safer to handle things alone.

Trying to live a selfless life is a fast track to physical and emotional illness — and often to strained or broken relationships. Living a selfless life leads to emotional isolation and loneliness, the kind research equates to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That level of loneliness breaks people down.

Struggling to speak up or feel like your voice doesn't matter? Discover why your voice is essential and how to reclaim it, even amidst self-doubt.

Fasting isn’t just about giving something up—it’s about creating space to notice what’s been there all along...