Body Love Isn’t Required for Eating Disorder Recovery

As an eating disorder therapist, I know that many individuals in eating disorder recovery feel like they have to work to ‘love the appearance of their body.’ This is far from the truth for a variety of reasons. Feeling like you have to work to ‘love your body’ is a lot of pressure that can […]

Why Anger and Recovery From Chronic Pain Are So Incompatible

As a life-long survivor of severe bipolar disorder, I’ve learned to navigate the shoals of mental illness with some degree of dexterity. I protect my Mental health the way I’d guard a fragile child or animal: vociferously, and with constant attention. I try never to look the other way, lest depression or mania sneak up […]

Why the Breath Is More Powerful Than Willpower in Addiction Recovery

Want more posts like this in your life? Join the Tiny Buddha list for daily or weekly insights. “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” ~Amit Ray I don’t remember the moment I decided I wanted to live again. I just remember the breath that […]

The Mental Illness Recovery Paradox

Most people think the hardest part of a Mental health crisis is the illness itself. In my case that would entail the acute experience of psychotic depression. And it is often true that acute mental ill health is extraordinarily disorienting and frightening. I wouldn’t wish my previous symptoms of psychotic depression on anyone and they […]

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 […]

Infidelity in Relationships and Recovery in Couples Therapy

Infidelity is probably one of the most painful and destabilizing events that can occur in a romantic relationship. It breaks trust, can lead to psychological trauma, emotional suffering, or even the onset of mental illness, and often raises questions about the future of the relationship. As a couples therapist, I’ve noticed that the meaning of […]

Where Race and Caste Collide in Trauma Recovery

In the United States, the language of race is always close to the surface—coded in ZIP codes, school districts, traffic stops, and sentencing disparities. But caste walks in differently. It is quieter, more camouflaged, wrapped in euphemisms like “merit,” “culture,” “upbringing,” or “respectability.” It is dressed up in family WhatsApp threads and diaspora fundraisers. It […]