Natasha Josefowitz

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — When you need to move, whether to smaller quarters, to a new job in a different city or wherever, you may not be able to take all the furniture and the accumulated belongings of a lifetime with you. Downsizing can be a tough challenge. How attached are you […]

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — I just returned from my youngest grandson’s wedding, the one who is not yet 30 and has an M.D. at the end of his name. Yes, I cried. They love each other and have everything in common to live happily forever after. She is lovely, smart, and

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — In the weekly meditation class here at White Sands, our teacher Elizabeth Hamilton talks about an existential crisis, like a fork in the road. Something within us is calling out for attention—old certainties fall away; things we’ve believed in or lived by no longer provide the comfort they

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — My cousin Steve was picking me up to go out for lunch and said, “My son is in the car.” I was puzzled as I knew he did not have a son. He was talking about his dog, Diego. Sadly, Diego died recently. I have written much

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Many of us are overworked, overstressed, overcommitted, overbooked, and often under-appreciated. If you have both a family and a career, you will have two constant companions by your side a good part of your life: guilt and exhaustion. So how are we going to manage our frantic lives?

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Even though I have often written about downsizing, I confess to my inability to actually do it. I feel forever guilty looking around at my “too much stuff.” That is until now. I just read a book by Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up—The Japanese

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Investigative journalism has in the modern day been the heart and soul of any good newspaper, holding powerful people to account to the rest of us. It’s always represented the bravery of publishers. Are they willing to anger advertisers and political bigwigs who might be their friends?

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Health, Community, Purpose—these are the three pillars that will determine how well you age. Reverend Doug Edwards, a minister as well as a psychotherapist and educator, gave a presentation at the community where I live. He discussed the input of these three pillars on the population he

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — I love Siri to the point of anthropomorphizing her. I say, “thank you,” when she has been helpful. Now Alexa has come into my life. While Siri renders aid wherever you take your iPhone, Alexa is a stay-at-home, cloud-based personal assistant. For those of you who don’t

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — Ah the holidays! The smell of pine needles, presents under the tree, singing carols, lighting the menorah, children home from college filling the house with activity and joy … Maybe not—perhaps these are just memories. The reality for too many of our aging population is being alone,