Thoughts From a Therapist
Anxiety, Depression & Stress
Topics related to helping Anxiety, Depression and Stress
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How Parenting Made Me More Controlling
Control can be an adaptation to anxiety, responsibility, and parenthood – and eventually the thing that perpetuates it. A therapist on letting go of…
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Understanding Anxiety Is Only the Beginning | The Gap Between Insight and Action
Understanding anxiety is only the beginning. Learn how insight, physiology, habits, and values work together to reduce anxiety by turning awareness into meaningful action.
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Guilt for Being Who We Are
Why do we feel guilty for simply being ourselves? Explore how empathy, early social experiences, and internalized “shoulds” can lead us to carry responsibility…
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The Anxiety of Efficiency
A reflection on the paradox of rushing in order to relax, and how efficiency can sometimes reproduce the very anxiety we are trying to…
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Treading Water / the Addiction to Doing
Some people believe that if they stop kicking, they will drown. They are exhausted, and they also trust the effort more than the water.…
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Anxiety, Codependence, and What It Actually Means to Try in a Relationship
Anxiety and codependence often shape how we try in relationships. This piece explores the difference between effort that builds connection and effort that quietly…
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The Necessity of Adversity
Expanding Our Capacity to Navigate Everyday Stress When we think about stress tolerance, it is easy to imagine it as something we either possess…
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Social Anxiety and the Burden of Control | From Managing Perception to Living in Congruence
Social anxiety is often described as fear of judgment. That description is accurate, but incomplete. At a deeper level, social anxiety is more precisely…
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When Intimacy Feels Unsafe: Understanding Fear Responses in Trusting Relationships
We flinch from the very thing we long for. This is one of the most painful paradoxes in human relationships. In moments where trust…
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State Shifting: Breaking the Feedback Loop of Rumination
Rumination isn’t just mental—it’s physiological. Learn how cold water and other state-shifting techniques can disrupt the feedback loop and restore clarity.
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The Practice of Differentiation: Becoming the Observer of Ourselves
Differentiation is the ability to observe our inner life without being consumed by it. In this post, we explore how becoming the witness to…
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The Snake in the Room: A Mindful Approach to Understanding Anxiety
Not all anxiety is the same. This post explores three distinct forms of anxiety—trauma, adaptive fear, and cognitive worry—through the metaphor of a snake…
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Anxiety as a Signal of Misalignment
Existential anxiety signals misalignment between our lives and core values. Rather than aiming to eliminate it, we should interpret anxiety as a message indicating…
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Teenagers and Anxiety
This post discusses anxiety in teenagers, characterizing it as psychological fear tied to self-concept and future uncertainties. Solutions include mindfulness, fostering intimate communication, and…
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Solutions and Causes of Anxiety
The post outlines various causes of anxiety, categorized into health, biological, relational, cognitive, and environmental factors. It emphasizes anxiety’s role in survival and stresses…
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Concrete vs Abstract responsibility for teenagers
Many teenagers struggle with responsibility due to the shift from concrete to abstract tasks, leading to feelings of irrelevance. This disconnect affects their self-esteem…
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Addiction, Self-determination, Flow, Mindfulness, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, and Human Bonding
Addiction, Self-determination, Flow, Mindfulness, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, and Human Bonding What are the components of addiction? why is addiction less desirable? and what aptitudes…
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What are triggers?
What are triggers? Learn how cues activate automatic protective responses, why reactions can feel disproportionate, and how therapy creates more choice.
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The Evolution of CBT = Mindfulness – moving from changing projections to eliminating projections
I am suggesting that CBT will evolve into mindfulness as mindfulness reduces the unwanted affects of both positive and negative projections where as CBT…
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