In my work as a therapist, I've noticed that many people struggle because they set expectations that are almost impossible to meet, not because they lack motivation or because they don't work at it, but because the bar is set extremely high. A lot of the time they put off even setting a goal because they don't think they can do it. For example someone might say they don't have time to start exercising, or tackling a project, or socializing. In their mind, they need to "do it right" or "not at...

Anxiety can show up in children in ways that aren’t always easy to recognize, especially in younger children. It’s a natural emotional response to new, difficult, or stressful situations that children face, and most of the time it’s not a cause for concern. For example - a child may be feeling scared and anxious about their first day of school, but those feelings go away throughout the day as they meet their new teacher, see some old friends, and start to learn the new routine. Anxiety...

I’ve been noticing a lot lately that so many of us have the idea that we’re supposed to be perfect before we deserve good things. We’re supposed to be more regulated, less anxious, more confident, more assertive, less negative, bounce back from hard things in a minute, and so on. It seems like these messages sneak in slowly and quietly through conversations with well-meaning friends and family members, movies, books, advertisements, and what I think might be the biggest culprit – social...