The holidays often come with unspoken rules:
say yes to every invitation, buy the perfect gifts, keep the traditions alive, make it look effortless.

But beneath these expectations, many people feel tension or guilt when slowing down. Productivity is often reinforced as proof of personal worth.

It is okay if you don’t want chaos this season.
It is okay if you need more rest, simplicity, or quiet connection.
It is okay if you create holidays that look different than what others expect.

Your well-being matters too.

When human rights are threatened, it is not only those directly affected who feel the impact. Communities, economies, and social systems all suffer when people cannot access basic protections or live without dignity. Mental health consequences, social unrest, and loss of potential affect the collective well-being.

The holidays can hold both beauty and pain — and both deserve space. If you find yourself feeling out of sync with the season’s cheer, know that you’re not alone.

Self-compassion isn’t about making everything easy. It’s about softening the edges of what’s hard, creating room for authenticity, and giving yourself permission to move through the season in ways that truly support your well-being.

When stress, overwhelm, or anxiety show up, one of the simplest tools to calm your nervous system is your breath.

Traveling to Vietnam offered reminders that mental health is deeply cultural. While Western approaches often focus on therapy, medication, and diagnosis, Southeast Asian practices highlight connection, spirituality, and daily habits as essential to emotional well-being.

The darker months can bring real emotional challenges, but they can also offer an invitation to slow down and nurture yourself differently. With light, movement, routine, and support, it’s possible to stay grounded and well — even as the seasons change.

Healing is a lot like tending a garden. The soil needs to be prepared, roots need to take hold, and sometimes the right season has to arrive before a plant can truly flourish. EMDR intensives are like a greenhouse—offering focused time and the right conditions to accelerate growth. But just like plants, people need a strong foundation first.

I work with a lot of religious trauma and religious deconstruction. Oftentimes, I am met with the assumption that I don’t work with people of faith or that I am anti-religious. This couldn’t be more untrue. Throughout my career, I have worked with clients of almost every faith and am deeply aware of the many benefits a healthy spiritual or religious community can provide.

If you've ever searched for ways to heal from trauma, anxiety, or PTSD, you’ve likely come across EMDR therapy. Short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR is a relatively new approach to therapy that’s been helping people reprocess painful memories and move forward with renewed hope. In this blog, we’ll dive into what EMDR therapy is, how it works, and explore the S.A.F.E. approach—a slightly expanded version for this transformative therapy.

Navigating daily tasks can be a daunting challenge for many individuals, especially those with ADHD, Autism, and other forms of neurodivergence. One of the most significant hurdles faced is the struggle with task initiation, often leading to a phenomenon known as task paralysis. In this blog post, we will explore these concepts, including the "last logged experience" and the "dopamine switch," to better understand why starting tasks can be so difficult and how to manage it effectively.