In 2020, I started spending my New Year's thinking about a word or intention going into the year. I found this helpful and more attainable (and fun) than resolutions. In 2020, it was RISK; oh boy, little did I know what was to come. 2021 was BALANCE as I recovered and grieved from 2020. 2022 was a JOY; I traveled more, enjoyed my free time, and felt more present. 2023 I honestly forgot to do this . 2024's word of the year is ACTION. Now that life has settled in, I want to focus on some things. From using the Peloton that sits in my corner getting dusty, to taking a big trip with my kids ..read more

**This is a preview of our upcoming webinar: Coping Under Stress: Your Body's Response & 3 DBT Skills to Help Regulate on May 3rd at 1pm PT which will also go into how stress affects the body** Stress affects us all. The World Health Organization defines stress as "a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation." One way or another, we've all been there. There are many different ways to relieve stress, including using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills. One of the modules in DBT is called Distress Tolerance and it is full of skills to deal with distress, which is ..read more

Journaling is widely touted as being beneficial for mental health. It can reduce anxiety, release emotions, and help you regulate. Plus it can be cool to look back on your old journals and gain some insight into your past. But if you're new to journaling, how do you start? Start small. You don't have to write a novel every day. Start with a sentence or a paragraph. Try one of the 'One Line A Day' journals that give you space for a paragraph every day for five years (oof). This is the one I use. Or just write less in an empty journal. Build it into a routine. Try fitting journaling into an exi ..read more

The new Marvel Studios television show She-Hulk introduces Bruce Banner's cousin. Jen Walters is an elite lawyer...and a Hulk. That means she turns into a big, green bodybuilder when she's emotional. The show follows her as she tries to practice law in her new state of flux. When Jen first gets her powers, Bruce (the original Hulk) takes it upon himself to educate her in the ways of Mindfulness to help her control her transformations. To do so, he teaches her Dialectical Behavior Therapy, known colloquially as DBT. The evidence-based therapy centers on the concept of dialectics, that two thin ..read more

Social media can be a beautiful tool for community building. It can also be a detriment to our mental health. That's the dialectic of it. No matter how you use social media, it's important to set some boundaries. Follow only accounts that nourish you. It can be easy to follow accounts that don't serve us. Maybe they once did but things have changed and we simply haven't unfollowed and just keep scrolling past content we don't want to see. It can help a lot to actually go through the accounts you follow and unfollow those whom you don't vibe with anymore. That keeps that content out of your vi ..read more

There are many of us who take psychiatric medications to help regulate our emotions. That's totally okay. It's even a Dialectical Behavior Therapy skill! The Emotion Regulation skill ABC PLEASE is all about ways to alter your routine in order to reduce your vulnerability to emotions. Getting balanced exercise, balanced eating, balanced sleep are all included in the acronym. The (second) A originally stood for "avoid mood-altering drugs." It's still a great idea to avoid unprescribed substances that might affect your mood. However, the skill has grown to mean something more in recent decades ..read more

As a parent, we have this instinctual desire to keep our children in a bubble of protection. We want to shelter them from all of the pain and hurt in the world, and the fact that we cannot is one the most difficult things I have experienced as a parent. Having my daughter navigate seeing dysregulated caregivers has been complicated but also has helped me heal a lot of my childhood trauma of seeing dysregulation but not being guided through it. For the last couple of years, my husband has struggled with his mental health, and while we have done an excellent job of sheltering our daughter from t ..read more

Creating a relaxing environment before bedtime can help children, especially those prone to anxiety, or ADHD, wind down at the end of the day. As part of a neurodivergent family, I recognize how essential routines are and how much we struggle to create and maintain them. These are suggestions of things my family finds helpful. Sometimes we succeed, and sometimes we don’t. Be kind to yourself as a parent and know you’re doing your best. My child loves water, so baths at night are a great way to help her wind down. The warm water is soothing and helps calm her nervous system, preparing her for s ..read more

Have you ever struggled to remember a traumatic event? Have you felt like you've blacked out parts of your life? That may be your brain trying to protect you from your trauma. It's not uncommon among folks who seek Dialectical Behavior Therapy for treatment. What we call trauma is an emotional response to a distressing event. It varies greatly between individuals. What is traumatic to you may not be to another person. If an experience you had is upsetting to revisit, research indicates your brain may "hide" the memory away to protect you from reliving it. A 2015 study with rodents showed that ..read more

What does it mean to be a cheerleader? Does it mean offering support? Does it mean speaking words of encouragement? Does it mean extending compassion? In many ways, being your own cheerleader entails all of these things and more. But cheering yourself on when you feel like you’re struggling can be tricky. Like any new skill, it takes time and practice to learn how to self-correct destructive thoughts, but there are lots of ways to start. Don’t Force It Turning your inner critic into an inner cheerleader doesn’t happen overnight. It’s okay if you still find yourself feeling down even after you ..read more