What Panic Taught Me About My Parenting
A few summers ago, my daughter went camping on an island with friends. Normally, she lets me know when she’s traveling and when she arrives—a quick text, a photo from the road, or what our family calls “destination calling.” When my kids first started venturing around New York City on their own, I asked them […]
Why Accepting Influence Is So Important
Healthy relationships aren’t built on one partner leading and the other following. They thrive when partners are equals, each with valuable thoughts, feelings, and needs. Gottman research has shown that relationships flourish when partners accept influence from one another, meaning they are open to their partner’s opinions and perspectives. What Accepting Influence Really Means At […]
Relationship Burnout
We have all heard about feeling burnt out at work, but what about in your relationship? Workplace burnout usually signals it’s time to move on and find a new job, but does the same apply to your relationship? When the connection that once felt effortless now feels distant or draining, you might be experiencing something […]
10 Communication Exercises for Couples to Have Better Relationships
Brief Overview Communication is the heartbeat of any relationship, yet is often elusive amidst life’s hustle. By recognizing barriers—like different communication styles and the impact of Mental health—couples can begin to transform misunderstandings with empathy. Exercises such as active listening and expressing needs clearly foster deeper connections. Structuring safe spaces for dialogue and exploring interactive […]
Can Awe Awaken the Environmental Activist in Us?
There’s nothing better for me than being immersed in nature. Whether I’m staring up into redwood trees, coming across a profusion of wildflowers, listening to ocean waves, or being mesmerized by a star-jeweled summer sky, I can’t help but feel awe, that wonder and sense of being part of something grander than myself. I’m not […]
Why Coping Skills Therapy May Not Produce Durable Recovery
Whether depression, anxiety, psychosis, trauma reaction, or some other Mental health difficulty, the common refrain I hear (from family, friends, YouTube followers, potential individuals for therapy) is, “Aaron, I am doing…” and then a laundry list of coping skills: walking, box breathing, tai chi, petting their schnauzer. They are putting out fires. Some Mental health […]
How Climate Cafes Are Helping People Process Their…
It’s a warm, sunny weekday evening in July in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia. Inside the Creekside Community Recreation Centre—which overlooks the Vancouver skyline—a group of more than 20 people have gathered for one of Climate Cafe Vancouver’s events, coming together to create art that reflects their emotions about climate change and the climate […]
Could Curiosity Be the Best Medicine for Chronic Illness?
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” ~Henry Ford We’ve all been there: happily ticking off life’s checkboxes, certain we’ve cracked the code, until—bam!—life decides otherwise. Divorce papers, layoffs, grief, or unexpected illness—life’s curveballs don’t discriminate. For me, it was a sudden mystery illness at sixteen. What should have been a […]
How to Help Your Kids Regulate Their Emotions
Today, Marc Brackett is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional intelligence. But he remembers what it was like to be a kid who struggled with his emotions. “I would sometimes just sit in a room and cry and catastrophize, like I’m never going to figure this out,” he recalls. He would think, […]
The Unexpected Way Jiu-Jitsu Brought Me Back to Myself
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are.” ~Maya Angelou There was a time in my life when everything felt heavy, like I was constantly carrying around a weight that no one else could see. […]