There is a sentence people say when life is hard that can keep you going for a very long time. Once we get through this… Once they stop drinking. When the divorce is final. Maybe once the money situation gets better. Once the kids are okay. The diagnosis is figured out. This person is finally
What Happens When the Thing You Blamed Finally Changes? Read More »
I wasn’t stressed. I would have told you that with my whole chest. Actually… Maybe not my whole chest. I was probably monitoring that. But seriously. I wasn’t stressed. I was doing all the things. Drinking the water. Doing the yoga. Taking deep breaths. Trying to get enough sleep. Resting when I needed to rest.
I Was Aggressively Relaxing Read More »
If I could make absolutely sure my kids understood one thing, it wouldn’t be some profound life lesson. It would be this: It is okay to be you. You are enough. Just be you. Don’t wear it because it’s the brand everyone else is wearing. Or pretend to like it because the boy does. And
It’s Okay to Be You Read More »
Acceptance? Absolutely not. That was pretty much my relationship with acceptance for a long time. Accept it? You mean just sit here and be okay with it? Be okay with what happened? With what they did? With not knowing? Just be okay with feeling like this? No, thank you. I had things to fix. Problems
Acceptance Isn’t Giving Up Read More »
I used to think I was really good at keeping the peace. And honestly? I was. I could feel tension in a room before anyone said a word. Changing the subject at just the right moment? I knew how to do that. I knew when to make a joke. When things felt tense, I knew
Whose Peace Are You Keeping? Read More »
I spent years trying to be prepared. The problem was… My definition of prepared wasn’t the same as everyone else’s. When people talked about being prepared, they meant things like packing a jacket. Saving a little money. Remembering an umbrella. Those things might have crossed my mind…If I’d had the bandwidth. To me, being prepared
I Thought Those Were Personality Traits (They Were Actually Survival Skills) Read More »
What I learned from addiction recovery that changed the way I understand healing forever. There are words that feel like they belong to other people. For the longest time… Recovery was one of them. Recovery was for people collecting sobriety chips. For people brave enough to stand up in a church basement and say, “Hi,
Recovery Isn’t Just for Addiction Read More »
Why anxiety fills in the blanks. Your brain is an incredible storyteller. Seriously. Give it one missing piece of information… and it’ll happily write the other six chapters. Sometimes those stories are harmless. Sometimes they’re even helpful. But if you have anxiety… your brain has a habit of turning every unfinished sentence into a disaster
Your Brain Loves a Good Story (Especially a Scary One) Read More »
When your brain is trying to remember everything, it’s almost impossible to think clearly. Have you ever noticed that your brain seems to get the busiest at the absolute worst times? You’re trying to fall asleep… and suddenly you remember you need to schedule a dentist appointment. Then your brain reminds you that you’re almost
The Brain Dump Method: How to Get Thoughts Out of Your Head Read More »
Why anxiety mistakes possibilities for probabilities—and how to stop believing every scary story your brain tells. Your boss sends you a message. “Can we talk tomorrow?” Your brain: “Well… it’s been a good run.” You text a friend. No reply. “They must be mad at me.” Your kid doesn’t answer the phone. “They’re dead in
Why Your Brain Always Jumps to the Worst-Case Scenario Read More »
