Doomscrolling and Anxiety: Why Your Phone Keeps Your Body Stressed (And How to Stop) If you’ve ever picked up your phone “for a second” and looked up 45 minutes later feeling more tense, more irritable, and somehow also more numb…welcome. You’re not the only one. Doomscrolling is one of those habits people love to shame themselves for. “I’m addicted.” “I have no discipline.” “What is wrong with me?” But most of the time, doomscrolling is not a character flaw. It’s a nervous system pattern....
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Night Anxiety: Why It Hits Hard at Bedtime (And a Printable Tool to Help) Nights can be the hardest. All day you can “handle it.” You answer texts. You make dinner. You show up for everyone. You keep moving. And then the house gets quiet, the lights go off, your head hits the pillow…and your brain decides it’s time for a full meeting. You replay conversations.You worry about tomorrow.You remember something from five years ago that suddenly feels urgent.You start checking your body: Why is my...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, This week, I was with a client who announced they wanted to make a cake. With play doh, of course. So we started rolling and patting and stacking little layers like it was the most important bakery in town. I asked, “Who are we celebrating?” They paused. Looked down at the cake. Then said they weren’t sure. So I asked a different question. “What if we celebrate YOU?” And without missing a beat they said, “I don’t like to celebrate myself.” Whew. That landed. Because a lot of us...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, One of the strangest moments in therapy (and also one of the most common) is when someone becomes really good at talking about their feelings…but still can’t actually feel them. They can tell me the whole story. They can name the pattern. They can even say the “right” emotion words. “I’m sad.”“I’m angry.”“I’m overwhelmed.” And yet their body is still locked up like a vault. No tears. No warmth. No tight chest. No flutter of joy. No weight of grief. Just…distance. It’s not fake....
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
A nervous-system-safe way to begin...without the shame spiral. Hello Reader, If you’ve been staring at the thing you need to do… thinking about it all day… feeling the pressure build… and still not moving? You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. And you’re definitely not “bad at life.” A lot of what we call procrastination is actually your nervous system trying to protect you. Because for an anxious brain (and an ADHD brain), starting isn’t just starting. Starting can feel like: – stepping into...
2 months ago • 2 min read
There’s a good chance that what you’re calling “overreacting” is actually your nervous system asking for help. Most of us were never taught how our nervous systems work. We were taught to be polite, productive, and resilient. We learned to push through discomfort, override our bodies, and label our reactions as too much or not enough. So when anxiety spikes, when we shut down, when we snap at the people we love, we assume something is wrong with us. But your nervous system isn’t broken. It’s...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, Reader!! I’m excited to finally share something that’s been growing quietly behind the scenes. So much mental health content feels overwhelming, clinical, or disconnected from real life. This space is different. It’s written in plain language and rooted in the belief that healing doesn’t happen through perfection, but through understanding, safety, and small, intentional steps. Why "The Barefoot Therapist"? The name actually came from one of my clients, who once referred to me as their...
3 months ago • 1 min read