In a place like Boulder, Colorado, the value of sunlight can be something we take for granted. It quietly fills our days, marks the passage of seasons, and warms our skin even on the coldest winter days, yet its impact on our mental health runs far deeper than many realize. Beyond simply “brightening your day,” sunlight plays a powerful biological and emotional role in how we feel, think, sleep, and connect with others…

Trauma is often thought of as something that lives in memory of flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, or painful emotions. But for many people, trauma shows up first and most persistently in the body. Chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, digestive problems, or emotional numbness may all be signs of trauma in the body, even when the original experience feels distant or unclear. 

In my office, I often have the privilege of sitting with a very specific kind of person. Someone whose heart is as big as their to-do list, and who I’ve come to care for deeply. On the outside, they look competent and thoughtful. They are the reliable one, the friend people call in a crisis, and the coworker who quietly holds everything together. On the inside, this person feels as though they are constantly on…

As a professional athlete, I was steeped in a belief system that improvement came from pushing harder. Grinding more, sweating more, and sacrificing more. I believed that more is more better — and better is what we strive for. It’s a simple formula: a “Just Do It” mentality which actually means, “Just Be Better than you are right now…”  

For some people, patterns of unwellness persist even when they use their best coping skills, do all the self-care, and process deep trauma. That’s because some brains and bodies are simply built a bit differently. We now understand that mental health is not only shaped by our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, but also by factors like genetics, nutrition, systemic inflammation, hormones, sleep, gut health, and chronic stress.

When these systems are out of balance, compassionate, holistic medication support can make a meaningful difference.

Solitude can be defined as the active choice to seek time alone. It is the time we spend with our thoughts and our body outside of the direct influence of others. While we might think about spiritual revelation and deep contemplation when we think about solitude, we don’t have to be seeking enlightenment to engage in this personal practice.

Solitude is useful for anyone who needs time and space to calm from strong negative emotions, like anxiety, stress, and anger, or from an intense emotional experience. This solo time provides space to to process your experience, find your response, reset and restore.

You sit down next to your partner at the end of a long day, hoping for some connection. Instead of turning toward you, they reach for their phone. A familiar tightness rises in your chest. You shut down, bristle, or suddenly feel invisible.

On the surface, it’s a fleeting, ordinary moment. But the emotional charge that it creates feels disproportionate and is often a sign of something much older.

This is the terrain of attachment wounds - those tender places shaped by early relational experiences that continue to influence how we show up with the people we love most. Understanding these wounds is the first step in loosening their grip on our emotions.

Do you ever notice conflicting feelings inside you, like a part of you wants something while another part holds back? Parts work is a therapeutic approach based on the idea that we are made up of many different aspects of self, each holding specific emotions, beliefs, or roles that have formed through our life experiences. These parts often show up in response to past events, and in therapy, we learn howto relate to them with curiosity rather than judgment.

Collage is an art form that offers an external reflection of these internal parts. It is a process that doesn't ask us to create something from scratch, but instead invites us to gather parts that are already in existence.

Many people who struggle with OCD symptoms do not know where to turn for help, and common therapeutic practices like talk therapy can sometimes cause symptoms like hyperfixation to worsen. My hope for the last part of this series is for people with OCD symptoms to find and connect with therapists who can provide quality, affirming treatment. These therapists will most often be trained in Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), mindfulness, and somatic practices, and they specialize in helping clients break free from persistent thought patterns and compulsive behaviors.

Grief is most commonly associated with tangible events such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the loss of a job. But what about the grief that comes from the quiet, daily absences? The conversation that never happened, the celebration no one showed up for, the hug that never came? These are the invisible bruises we carry, often without realizing their weight.

Unrecognized grief slips under the radar. It isn't socially validated or publicly mourned, but it's completely real.

True emotional healing involves undoing the mechanisms that keep us stuck in the patterns of negative self belief. This process often uncovers deeply buried emotions held in the body such as sadness, anger, and/or grief. It is not simply a matter of recognizing our negative beliefs; it requires a deliberate and compassionate journey toward transformation.

These emotions become embedded in both psychological patterns and physical sensations, and requires a healing approach that addressses the whole person, mind and body.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is substantially misdiagnosed, leading to improper treatment, worsening of symptoms, and suicidality. Many providers are not trained on the intricacies of OCD and therefore usually misdiagnose clients with another type of anxiety disorder, depression, or psychosis. Too many clients spend years feeling even more distant or disgusted by themselves because they do not know why their obsessions and compulsions won’t leave, even with consistent therapy.

It’s important for both providers and clients to understand how OCD can present itself so they can catch it in its tracks and start OCD-specific treatment like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP).

At its heart, somatic therapy acknowledges that our physical and emotional experiences are deeply intertwined. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the mind-body connection as a key to therapeutic healing. By paying attention to how emotions manifest in the body, from tension in the shoulders to that fluttery feeling in the gut, we can unlock pathways to profound relief and self-awareness.

Somatic therapy is a type of psychotherapy that believes your body has its own language, and one that we need to listen to. Traditional talk therapy often focuses on your thoughts and feelings, but somatic therapy asks, "What’s your body trying to say?"

Managing symptoms is an essential part of therapy, but the deeper, transformative work involves identifying and healing the wound at its source. In psychology, there is frequent discussion about the “root cause” of distress. In this article, we explore where negative beliefs about ourselves and our symptoms might originate.

Healing emotional wounds requires understanding their origins and addressing the unmet needs that shaped negative beliefs about ourselves. By meeting these wounds with compassion and using evidence-based therapeutic approaches, it’s possible to create lasting change.

OCD is not just the need to be tidy or clean, worrying about germs or needing to do something the same amount of times, every time. For many people with OCD, their bodies and brains feel like a war zone. Like they can never escape from the worst parts of them and are terrified of people finding out who they really are. 

In reality, these thoughts and feelings are not defining characteristics of the individual - they are OCD.

All families have their quirks, but sometimes those quirks run deeper than awkward traditions or embarrassing stories.

Many of us grow up in homes where emotional immaturity plays a role, shaping how we handle emotions, relationships, and even our sense of self. These effects aren’t always obvious to see as they tend to be subtle and ingrained in everyday interactions, all while leaving a lasting imprint.

Music isn’t just about your tastes; it’s about who you really are under the surface. What if the songs you hold close are not just reflections of your tastes but windows into your identity, values, and even your hidden desires?

The record pull works because it engages our memories, emotions, and identities all at once. It doesn’t just tell us what to think; it makes us feel.  We’re not passive listeners; we’re participants in a dialogue, using music to explore our inner landscapes and those of others.

Perimenopause is one of life’s most profound transitions, yet it often arrives unannounced, leaving us to make sense of the changes it brings on our own. Between the hot flashes, mood swings, and shifts in identity, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

But here’s the truth: perimenopause is not only physical symptoms; it is an emotional journey that deserves attention, care, and support.