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How to Stop Making Assumptions in Relationships
Not long ago, I sent someone a message and did not receive a response. At first, I did not think much about it. They were probably busy. But as more time passed, my mind began filling in the silence. Maybe they were upset with me. Maybe I had said something wrong. Maybe they were avoiding the conversation. Before long, I had created an entire story without having all the facts. When the person finally responded, the explanation was simple. They had been overwhelmed, distracted, and dealing with something that had nothing to do with me. Nothing was wrong between us. But for a little while, my assumptions made it feel…
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How Early Childhood Trauma and Attachment Shape a Child’s Brain and Relationships
Many people think trauma only happens when a child gets older. But that is not true. Trauma can start very early in life. It can even begin before birth. When we talk about attachment, we are talking about the bond between a child and their caregiver. This bond is called a dyad. It means two people working together, usually a parent and child. This relationship helps shape how a child feels about safety, love, and trust. Trauma Can Start Before Birth Research shows that stress during pregnancy can affect a baby. When a pregnant person is under a lot of stress, the body releases stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones…
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It’s Not Just “Baby Blues”: Understanding Mental Health After Birth
Having a baby is often expected to feel joyful.But many new parents feel something very different.They feel overwhelmed, anxious, sad, or not like themselves.And they start wondering: “Is this normal?” The truth is this:Mental health changes after birth are very common.But not all of them are just the “baby blues.” Some parents experience postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or postpartum OCD. These are part of a group called perinatal mental health conditions or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).They are real. And they are treatable. What Are the Baby Blues? The baby blues are mild mood changes after childbirth.They usually start within a few days after birth. Common symptoms of baby…
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Why Autism in Women and Girls Is Still Being Missed
Part 3 of the Say It Louder Series In Part 1, we talked about how women are often told their symptoms are “just anxiety.” In Part 2, we discussed how hormonal imbalances can impact mental health and why those symptoms are often overlooked. In Part 3, we explored chronic pain and how many women are left feeling dismissed when their physical symptoms are misunderstood. And now we need to talk about something many women are only discovering much later in life: They may be autistic—and no one recognized it. More women and girls are being diagnosed with autism later in life because many do not fit outdated stereotypes. They may…
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How to Navigate Life Transitions When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan
Why Life Transitions Are More Common Than We Realize Have you ever noticed how much of life is spent in transition? We move from one season to another, one role to the next, one chapter closing while another is just beginning. Some transitions are expected—graduating, starting a new job, getting married, becoming a parent, or watching children grow up and leave home. Others arrive uninvited—a job loss, a diagnosis, the end of a relationship, grief, disappointment, or a dream that didn’t unfold the way we thought it would. The truth is, life transitions happen more often than we realize. And if we’re being honest, most of us don’t particularly like…
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Why Chronic Pain in Women Is Often Misunderstood
Part 3 of the Say It Louder Series In Part 1, we talked about how women are often told their symptoms are “just anxiety” while deeper health concerns are overlooked. In Part 2, we explored how hormonal imbalances can significantly affect women’s mental health—and how many women are left struggling because no one is connecting the dots. And now we need to talk about another issue affecting millions of women: Chronic Pain. Because far too many women are living with daily pain while being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told it’s all in their head. And that has to change. When Chronic Pain in Women Becomes “Normal” Many women live with symptoms…
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Why Communication Feels Harder Than Ever: 6 Tips to Help You
We’re More Connected Than Ever, Yet Many People Feel More Misunderstood There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: communication feels harder than it used to. Not because we have fewer ways to connect. If anything, we are more connected than ever before. We can send a text instantly, react with an emoji in seconds, jump on a video call across the world, or type out our thoughts at any hour of the day. Yet somehow, many people feel more misunderstood, more disconnected, and more emotionally exhausted in conversations than ever before. I see it in relationships. I see it in workplaces. I see it in friendships, families, and…
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Demystifying the Couch: What Actually Happens in Therapy?
Starting therapy can bring up many emotions. Some people feel hopeful. Others feel nervous or unsure. Even though people talk more openly about mental health today, many still wonder what therapy is really like. A lot of people avoid making their first appointment because they don’t know what to expect. The good news is that therapy is not mysterious or scary. It is simply a supportive conversation meant to help you better understand yourself and your life. Let’s break down what happens in therapy and all you need to know about it. What Actually Happens in Therapy? 1. Therapy Is a Conversation Movies often show therapy as a person lying…
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Hormones and Mental Health in Women: What You Need to Know
Part 2 of the Say It Louder Series In Part 1 of this series, we talked about something many women know all too well: being told their symptoms are “just anxiety” while deeper physical concerns go unexplored. We talked about how women are often treated in pieces instead of as whole people—and how that can leave many feeling dismissed, confused, and exhausted. But let’s go deeper. Because one of the biggest missing conversations in women’s healthcare is hormones. And no—I’m not talking about the oversimplified version of “women are emotional because hormones fluctuate.” I’m talking about the very real ways hormones can impact mood, anxiety, sleep, focus, energy, and overall…
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Always Busy and Burned Out? How to Start Living Intentionally
When “Busy” Starts to Feel Like Too Much Not long ago, I found myself sitting in my car in the carport for a few extra minutes before walking inside. It had been a full day—meetings, conversations, responsibilities—the kind of day where nothing was necessarily wrong, but everything felt like a lot. I remember thinking, I did a lot today… but I’m not even sure what I did. Maybe you’ve had days like that, too. The calendar was full. You showed up where you needed to. You handled what came your way. You checked the boxes. And yet, there’s this quiet feeling underneath it all. A sense that you were busy,…
