It's midnight. You're exhausted. The day is done, the house is quiet, there is nothing left that needs doing and your brain has decided that right now is the ideal time to: Replay a conversation from three days ago. Mentally draft an email you'll actually write tomorrow. Run through everything that could go wrong next week. Catalogue the things you forgot to do today. Solve a problem that doesn't need solving until Thursday. You're not choosing this. It's not useful. And the

You've Googled the symptom seventeen times. You've asked the same question to three different people. You've run through every possible outcome so many times you could recite them in your sleep. And you still don't feel better. This isn't a willpower problem. It isn't overthinking in the way people casually mean when they say that. It's something more specific — a genuine difficulty tolerating uncertainty — and it's one of the most common drivers of anxiety that rarely gets n

There is a thought you have regularly that you know, on some level, isn't entirely accurate — and yet it runs your life anyway. I'm not good enough. Something bad is about to happen. I'm a burden. I'll never get past this. People can see through me. You've argued with it. You've tried to replace it with something more positive. You've reminded yourself of evidence to the contrary. And still, when it shows up — which it does, reliably, often at the worst moments — it lands wit

You've always been this way. Thorough. Detail-oriented. The person who catches what everyone else misses, who would rather redo something than submit work that's less than excellent. These qualities have served you well — academically, professionally, in the eyes of people who rely on you. So when someone suggests your perfectionism might be a problem, the reaction is usually resistance: This is just who I am. Without it, I'd be mediocre. Here's the question worth sitting wit

If you've ever had cancer — or are currently in treatment — you probably know this feeling without needing a name for it. The scan is scheduled. Somewhere in the days or weeks before it, something shifts: sleep gets harder, every twinge becomes evidence, and a low hum of dread settles in that you can't reason your way out of. This is scanxiety — the intense anxiety cancer patients and survivors feel in anticipation of follow-up scans, imaging, or results. For many, it's the h

You're exhausted in a way sleep doesn't fix. You've lost motivation for things that used to matter. You're going through the motions at work, at home, in your relationships. Is this burnout? Is it depression? It matters — because while they can look strikingly similar, they have different origins and different treatment paths. Treating one when you actually have the other can delay recovery. What Is Burnout? Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion caus

Mindfulness has a marketing problem. Somewhere between the clinical research and the wellness industry, it got repackaged into something that sounds nothing like what it actually is — and everything like something a certain kind of person would roll their eyes at. Candles. Apps. The instruction to "just breathe." The implication that if you're still anxious, you're not doing it right. If that version of mindfulness hasn't worked for you, that's not evidence that you can't do

You know you need to rest. You've known it for a while. You're tired in a way that a good night's sleep — on the rare occasion you actually get one — doesn't fully fix. Your body is sending signals you've learned to override. People in your life have noticed. You've noticed. And yet. The moment you actually stop, something happens. The to-do list surfaces. The guilt arrives. A low hum of anxiety fills the space that productivity used to occupy. Your mind, with nothing externa

When people first hear that acceptance is a core part of therapy, the reaction is often the same. Acceptance? You want me to just accept this? It sounds like resignation. Like being told to make peace with something that doesn't deserve peace. Like giving up on getting better, on things changing, on the life you wanted. For people who have survived difficult things — trauma, illness, loss, burnout — the suggestion to "accept" it can feel like a profound misunderstanding of wh

Your mind is a storyteller. It takes raw experience — events, sensations, interactions — and constructs meaning from them almost instantaneously. Most of the time, this is useful. But sometimes, particularly under stress, after trauma, or when anxiety is running high, the stories aren't accurate. They're distorted in predictable ways that amplify distress and quietly shape your decisions without your full awareness. These patterns are called cognitive distortions . They're no

You've built a life that leaves very little room for stillness. Your calendar is full. Your to-do list is long. The moment one task ends, another begins. You're productive, reliable, and always moving. On some level, you know that the busyness isn't entirely optional. Some of it is genuine responsibility. But if you're honest, some of it is something else. When the busyness stops — when the house is quiet, when there's nothing left on the list, when you finally have a moment

From the outside, everything looks fine. You're productive. You meet your deadlines. You show up for people. You're reliable, capable, often the person others lean on. By most external measures, you are doing well. But on the inside, there is a near-constant hum of worry that doesn't switch off. A mind that is always scanning for what could go wrong. A feeling that you are one mistake away from everything falling apart. A deep exhaustion from working so hard to maintain an ap

There is a particular kind of wound that doesn't fit neatly into the categories we usually use to describe psychological suffering. It isn't simply fear, grief, or anxiety. It is something closer to a fracture in the moral foundation of a person — the sense that something happened that should not have, that you were part of it, and that you can never fully make it right. This is moral injury. It is one of the most underrecognized forms of psychological distress affecting peop

The Rise of Corporate Therapy Platforms Over the past few years, large online therapy companies have made mental health care more visible and accessible. Platforms like BetterHelp and Talkspace have connected thousands of people with therapists at the click of a button. For some, this level of convenience has opened a door to getting help for the first time. However, not all online therapy experiences are created equal. While the idea of quick matching and text-based support

A Life Built on Resilience and Growth Before I became a psychologist, I was a gymnast and a cellist. Sports and music taught me discipline, focus, and how to thrive under pressure—but also how to cope with setbacks and losses. I learned early that strength isn’t about never falling; it’s about getting back up, learning, and moving forward. That mindset has carried me through every chapter of my life, including some of the hardest ones. From Performance to Purpose I pursued p

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in the same patterns, even when they're clearly not working? Maybe you keep having the same argument with your partner, or you avoid challenges because "what if I fail?" You're definitely not alone. Most of us get trapped in rigid ways of thinking and acting—and it's exhausting. The good news? There's a way out, and it's called psychological flexibility. What Is Psychological Flexibility? Think of psychological flexibility like being a bambo

If you’ve been navigating anxiety, trauma, stress, loss, or burnout—and traditional approaches haven’t fully resonated—you’re not alone....