Tag: mental-health
-
Sometimes Adult Children Stop Trying to Be Understood by Their Parents
One of the more disorienting parts of adulthood is realizing that maturity gives you perspective you simply did not have as a child. Many people grow up believing their family dynamics were normal because, for them, those dynamics were normal. Children adapt to the emotional environments they are raised in. They learn what gets approval,…
-
The Exhaustion of Being the Emotional Manager
One of the most common relationship dynamics I see is not necessarily a lack of love or effort. More often, it is an imbalance in emotional and mental labor that develops so gradually that couples do not fully recognize it until resentment, exhaustion, or disconnection have already started building underneath the surface. In many relationships,…
-
We Talk About Closure Like It’s Something You Can Find
There’s something about the way we talk about closure that makes it sound like a place you eventually get to. Like if you think about it enough, or process it the right way, or give it enough time, there will be a moment where it all settles. Where it makes sense. Where it stops pulling…
-
When the Work Still Matters, But Something Else Doesn’t Fit
Stepping away from work that feels meaningful is not as straightforward as people think. There’s this assumption that if you leave something you cared deeply about, there must be a clear reason, something obvious, something easy to point to. But that’s rarely how it unfolds from the inside. More often, the work still matters. The…
-
When Caring Starts to Hurt: Systems, Burnout, and Staying Whole in Helping Work
There’s a conversation that happens quietly in helping professions. It happens in hallways after hard meetings. In texts between colleagues late at night. In that moment when you sit in your car after work a little longer than usual because you are not ready to bring the day inside your house yet. It usually starts…
-
Continuing Bonds: How Love Persists After Loss
One of the most common worries I hear from grieving people is this quiet, uneasy question: Am I supposed to still feel this connected? Many people carry an unspoken belief that healing requires letting go. That at some point, love should loosen, the connection should fade, and grief should become something smaller and more distant.…
-
When the Season of Joy Feels Harder Than Expected
This time of year arrives with a familiar script. Lights appear. Calendars fill. Traditions return, often without asking whether we are ready for them. For many people, this season is meant to feel warm and meaningful. And yet, for many others, it feels complicated, heavy, or quietly exhausting. That does not mean something is wrong.…
-
Worden’s Tasks of Mourning:
A framework for understanding the work of grief Many people worry about whether they are “grieving correctly.” They wonder if they are stuck, behind, or doing something wrong because the pain hasn’t eased the way they expected. John Worden’s Tasks of Mourning offers a helpful reframe. Instead of seeing grief as a set of stages…
-
Gratitude During Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving approaches, many people focus on being thankful. We hear it in conversations, around the table, and throughout the season. There is another idea that reaches deeper: gratitude. While the two sound similar, understanding the difference can support emotional wellbeing during a time of year that can feel both meaningful and heavy. Thankfulness vs.…
Amanda Brindle, LCSW 