Researchers are learning more about how traumatic events may physically change our brains and how anxiety therapy can help. Neurologists have revealed changes to a brain mechanism used for learning …
How to Be Kind Without Compromising Your Boundaries
As mental health awareness, “therapy speak,” and self-care advocacy rises, so do conversations on boundaries. It isn’t uncommon to scroll social media and see colorful infographics providing step-by-step instructions on …
How to Overcome Social Anxiety Disorder
We all experience anxiety in social situations, whether it’s the flutter of nerves you feel before giving a presentation or your heart rate increasing when meeting someone new. “Nervousness and …
Overcoming Resentment in Relationships
It’s normal to feel resentment, which involves feelings of anger or bitterness, over a slight injustice or a major incident. Continuing to hold onto these feelings, however, can have negative …
Yes, You Can Heal Your Mother Wound
For most of us, the mother is the first person we meet in the world. The mother feeds, clothes, and bathes us. The mother cares for us, guides us, protects …
What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?
Revenge bedtime procrastination refers to a phenomenon in which people put off going to bed to engage in activities that they don’t have time for during the day. It is …
How Often Do Couples Express Compassion to Each Other?
Imagine you’re coming home from work at the end of a long day. You feel tired and distracted, and you might be looking forward to an evening of relaxing on …
Introversion vs. Social Anxiety: What’s the Difference?
While some qualities overlap, these are two very different things The terms “introversion” and “social anxiety” get thrown around a lot these days, and you might think they’re interchangeable—they both …
Emotional Contagion: Can Emotions Really Be Infectious?
Why we mimic people’s emotions and how to regulate it You’ve likely heard the expression, “smiling is contagious,” and instantly smiled back when someone flashed a grin at you. Or …
What It Means to Feel ‘Angsty’ and How to Cope
The term ‘angst’ denotes anxiety and emotional turmoil. Someone who is feeling angsty may feel, display, or express worry, dread, apprehension, restlessness, or insecurity, says Heather Hagen, LMFT, Executive Director …
The Painful Effects of Attachment Trauma
Bonding to a parent or caregiver is a critical part of a baby’s emotional development. In fact, the absence of love and of a strong attachment to a parent can …
Parenthood and the Problem of Objectivity
Does a mother’s love obscure her objectivity? One would think that it must, almost by definition. Primal by nature, love for one’s children is far from the language of science. …
How Arousal Impacts Physiological Synchrony in Relationships
A team of researchers led by a member of the Colorado School of Public Health faculty at the Anschutz Medical Campus examined what type of social interaction is required for …
How To Help Your Anxious Partner — And Yourself
Living with anxiety can be tough — your thoughts might race, you might dread tasks others find simple (like driving to work) and your worries might feel inescapable. But loving …
When a Dating Dare Leads to Months of Soul Searching
It had been a glorious first date, but for her there was a big problem: They were both of Asian descent. At 2 a.m., two blocks from Chinatown, Sarah ended …
In Search of Secure Attachment
Escaping the trap of push-and-pull relationships. Attachment styles are formed in childhood, when the early relationship between child and parent begins to take shape. Researchers have found that attachment patterns …
The Secret of Happy Relationships
Happy couples are those who are deeply intimate with each other. This means that they feel emotionally close, connected and valued. They respect and trust each other because they mutually …
Coping With an Insecure Attachment Style
There is a substantial amount of research indicating that attachment patterns are set in early childhood and persist throughout our lives. An individual is either “secure” or has one of …
Why Aren’t We Curious About the Things We Want to Be Curious About?
You’ve been clickbaited by your own brain. You can learn anything on the internet, so why do I so often learn things I don’t want to know? When I’m surfing …
What Is Solution-Focused Therapy?
Solution-focused therapy, also called solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), is a type of therapy that places far more importance on discussing solutions than problems (Berg, n.d.). Of course, you must discuss …
Anxiety Therapy Los Gatos: Ditching Toxic Positivity
No matter how I curate my social feeds, it seems that never a day goes by without seeing “good vibes only” somewhere on my phone, expressed by one or more …
Anxiety Therapy Los Gatos: We Have Always Been Distracted
Worried that technology is ‘breaking your brain’? Fears about attention spans and focus are as old as writing itself If you suspect that 21st-century technology has broken your brain, it …
Anxiety Therapy Los Gatos: How to Channel Your Mind’s Inner Chatter
How to Channel Your Mind’s Inner Chatter As naturally as we breathe, we “decouple” from the here and now, our brains transporting us to past events, imagined scenarios, and other …