The holidays have a way of amplifying everything—family dynamics, expectations, traditions, and yes…financial stress. When money is tight, the season can feel less magical and more overwhelming. Everywhere you look, there are messages telling you to spend, upgrade, host, and give. When your budget is stretched, those messages can feel suffocating. But here’s something the…
The holiday season, with its lights, gatherings, and traditions, often brings joy—but for those experiencing loss, it can also amplify grief. Whether you’re grieving a loved one, a lost relationship, or a version of life you expected, the holidays highlight absence. The empty chair, the tradition that no longer feels the same, or the scent…
Thanksgiving is often presented as a feel-good holiday filled with gratitude, comfort food, and time with the people who matter most. But in reality, many people head into the day carrying stress, emotional fatigue, or unresolved tension with family members. When expectations are high, and the pressure to have a “perfect holiday” hovers over the…
Medically Reviewed by Teralyn Sell, PhD, LPC Thanksgiving is more than a holiday—it’s an invitation to connect, reflect, and share gratitude with those we care about. But while the dinner table offers a beautiful moment of togetherness, it also has the potential to surface old tensions, communication patterns, and emotional wounds. When we approach Thanksgiving…
What Is Nutritional Psychiatry? A Simple Explanation for Mental Health Clients Nutritional psychiatry is an emerging field that examines how the foods we eat directly influence our mental and emotional well-being. Rather than treating the brain as a separate entity, nutritional psychiatry recognizes that the brain relies on nutrients, biochemical processes, and whole-body health to…
For decades, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been treated like the “Bible” of psychiatry and psychology. Yet beneath its authoritative veneer lies a complex web of politics, profit, and pharma influence. Behind the Curtain: Dollars Over Diagnosis According to a 2024 BMJ-published study, 60% of the U.S. physicians involved in…
We live in a culture that loves labels. We label our food, our careers, our personality types, and, increasingly, our emotions. Sadness becomes depression. Worry becomes anxiety disorder. Grief gets squeezed into prolonged grief disorder. And while labels can sometimes bring comfort, validation, or access to services, they can also create an unintended consequence: turning…
When we talk about ADHD, the conversation almost always starts and ends with symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity. From there, the mental health world tends to rush straight into diagnostic labels and medication management. But maybe we’ve been looking at ADHD all wrong. Maybe ADHD isn’t simply a “disorder” to be medicated away—it could be a…
Could Low Vitamin D Be Causing Your Fall Fatigue, Stress, or Low Mood? As the days get shorter and sunlight becomes scarce, many people notice changes in mood, energy, and stress levels. Feeling more tired or irritable this fall might be more than just seasonal blues—low vitamin D could be to blame. Why Vitamin D…
When people think about couples therapy, they often imagine sitting together in a therapist’s office: soft lighting, neutral décor, and the classic therapist’s couch. There’s a long-standing, outdated notion that the therapist’s job is to “catch” a liar, hold someone accountable, or even operate like a school principal taking someone to the principal’s office. In…
