Written by Disha Modi, Health & Wellness Coach Disha Modi is a national board-certified health & wellness coach, menopause specialist, and clarity catalyst coach with a master's degree in biochemical engineering. She helps individuals create sustainable habits, navigate life transitions, and improve their health through coaching grounded in evidence that bridges science and intentional living. We spend much of our lives trying to get back to normal. After childbirth, surgery, illness, children leaving home, or parents needing more care, we reassure ourselves that once we get through this chapter, life will settle down again. But lately, I've been wondering whether “back to normal” is really the destination we should be looking for. When I reflect on a woman's life, I see a continuous journey of transitions, each inviting us to adjust, grow, and sometimes discover a version of ourselves we haven't met before. Yet we often continue with familiar routines and responsibilities without giving ourselves the space to understand how we've changed. From puberty and independence to relationships, careers, motherhood, and changing family roles, our lives are constantly evolving. Some women experience childbirth, infertility, miscarriage, or significant surgeries. Others navigate different paths. As the years pass, children grow, parents age, relationships evolve, and our priorities may begin to shift. Perhaps instead of continually trying to return to normal, we could recognize that we are always discovering a new normal. The event happens, but the transition continues We are good at recognizing significant life events. We celebrate a baby's arrival, acknowledge surgery, congratulate a child leaving for college, and support families when a parent becomes ill. But while the event may have a date attached to it, the transition often continues long afterward. Consider becoming a mother. While everyone celebrates the newborn, a woman's life is being reorganized. Her body is recovering, sleep is interrupted, relationships are adjusting, and her sense of independence may feel unfamiliar. If she has undergone a cesarean section, she is also recovering from major abdominal surgery. She can feel tremendous love for her baby while simultaneously experiencing exhaustion, uncertainty, or a loss of connection with the person she once knew. These emotions can coexist. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recognizes postpartum care as an ongoing process that addresses physical recovery, emotional well-being, sleep, and the transition into parenthood. It reminds us that caring for the mother deserves attention alongside caring for the baby. A hysterectomy offers another example. We often focus on when a woman can return to work, exercise, or resume intimacy. According to the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), recovery after abdominal hysterectomy may take six to eight weeks, although other types of hysterectomy often have shorter recovery periods. Importantly, a hysterectomy does not automatically cause menopause. When ovaries are preserved, they generally continue producing hormones, although menopause may occur earlier for some women. Removing both ovaries before natural menopause causes immediate surgical menopause. Yet physical recovery tells only part of the story. One woman may experience enormous relief after years of pain, while another may have complicated emotions surrounding fertility, sexuality, or her changing body. Recovery doesn't always mean returning to exactly who we were before. Sometimes an experience changes not only what we can do, but also what we value and want from life. When the new normal creates possibility Not every transition represents something we need to recover from. Sometimes change creates space for new experiences. Consider the empty nest. After years of organizing life around children, the house becomes quieter and a familiar role begins to look different. For some women, this brings freedom and excitement. For others, it creates an unexpected sense of emptiness. Yet within that uncertainty lies an opportunity to rediscover interests that may have taken a back seat. Perhaps you reconnect with your partner, travel, strengthen friendships, explore a career change, or finally pursue something you've been postponing. We can miss the years when our children needed us every day while feeling excited about what lies ahead. Pride, sadness, uncertainty, and anticipation can all coexist. The new normal isn't necessarily less than the old one. Sometimes it simply offers different possibilities. When everyone needs something from you For many women, children becoming more independent coincides with parents needing greater support. This is often described as the sandwich generation. According to a 2026 Pew Research Center analysis, 54% of Americans in their 40s have a parent aged 65 or older while also raising a minor child or financially supporting an adult child. Although this doesn't necessarily mean they provide direct caregiving, it illustrates how family responsibilities can overlap. A daughter or her spouse may gradually become the person managing appointments, coordinating care, or supporting an aging parent. At the same time, her children, career, household, and relationships continue requiring attention. Caring for those we love can be deeply meaningful. The difficulty often arises when our roles change, but the expectations surrounding us remain the same. We continue trying to fulfill every responsibility as we always have, without recognizing that our circumstances have shifted. When change goes unspoken One of the most interesting things about family relationships is that everyone can experience the same transition differently. A woman may feel overwhelmed and wonder why nobody notices how much she is carrying. Her partner may sense that something has changed but feel uncertain about how to help. A teenager may notice that Mom seems distracted, while an aging parent may feel uncomfortable asking for additional support. Everyone is experiencing something real, but they may not understand what the others are going through. Without communication, we begin filling in the gaps with our own interpretations. Exhaustion can be mistaken for disinterest, and emotional distance for a lack of love. Unspoken needs can gradually become resentment. Children may be particularly sensitive to changes in the emotional atmosphere at home. They don't need every adult detail, but explanations appropriate to their age and reassurance can help them understand that the family is adjusting together. Sometimes protecting our relationships doesn't mean pretending nothing is changing. It means helping the people we love understand the change. Finding our new normal together As a health and wellness coach, I encourage people to approach transitions with curiosity rather than fear. We don't need to have everything figured out before inviting others into the conversation. Begin by acknowledging what's changing and explaining how it's affecting you. Make room to understand how your partner, children, or parents are experiencing it too. Sometimes saying, “I'm still figuring out what this chapter looks like for me, but I'd like us to figure it out together,” can create meaningful connection. Practical adjustments matter as well. Much of family life involves invisible responsibilities, such as remembering appointments, managing schedules, and anticipating what needs to happen next. Research published in Archives of Women's Mental Health, involving 322 mothers of young children, found that women carried a disproportionate share of this cognitive household labor. Greater responsibility was associated with poorer measures of maternal wellbeing and relationship functioning. Sharing responsibility therefore means more than simply dividing chores. It can involve taking ownership of tasks, simplifying routines, and recognizing what no longer needs to be done in the same way. Of course, not every woman has a partner, nearby family, or the financial flexibility to redistribute responsibilities. Sometimes adaptation means seeking community support, adjusting expectations, or allowing certain things to wait. The goal isn't to create a perfect arrangement. It's to recognize that as our lives evolve, the way we support one another may need to evolve too. Maybe we're continually discovering a new normal The more I reflect on women's lives, the less convinced I am that there is one version of normal we are supposed to discover and hold onto forever. Some transitions will be challenging, others will feel liberating, and many will contain a little of both. It is natural to feel fearful or uncertain when something familiar changes, but uncertainty doesn't necessarily mean something is going wrong. We can acknowledge what we miss while remaining curious about what lies ahead. We can allow our priorities to evolve without feeling guilty for changing. Most importantly, we can invite the people we love to grow alongside us rather than allowing fear or unspoken expectations to create distance. Discovering a new normal doesn't mean the previous chapter was wrong. Each stage of life brings experiences, relationships, and lessons that become part of who we are. Perhaps the beauty of life isn't in finding one version of normal and holding onto it, but in learning to embrace the many versions of ourselves that emerge along the way. As we embrace those changes, perhaps we can also begin questioning some of the expectations we've inherited about what it means to be a strong woman. Many of us grew up watching women carry enormous responsibilities without complaint. Their resilience deserves recognition, but it also invites us to consider whether strength must always mean enduring quietly. After all, the way we make room for ourselves to change may also shape how generously we allow other women to do the same. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Disha Modi Disha Modi, Health & Wellness Coach Disha Modi is a national board-certified health & wellness coach, menopause specialist, and clarity catalyst coach passionate about helping people create sustainable habits for lasting health and wellbeing. She combines coaching grounded in evidence with practical strategies to help clients improve nutrition, manage stress, navigate life transitions, and live with greater clarity and purpose. After overcoming a health crisis that changed her life, Disha brings both professional expertise and personal experience to her work, empowering others to create meaningful, lasting change. She is the founder of DM Health Coaching and a co-founder of The Terra Sana Experience, where she helps individuals reconnect with themselves and build healthier, more intentional lives.

Jayda Morgan is a mindset coach, stress management consultant and founder of More Than Therapy, an initiative focused on helping men navigate life’s challenges, strengthen their mindset and improve their emotional well-being. Through her years of working closely with men at The Men’s Salon, she has gained a unique perspective on the pressures many men carry, the conversations they struggle to have and the importance of feeling heard and understood. In this exclusive interview, Jayda shares how her experiences inspired More Than Therapy, challenges common misconceptions about masculinity and emotional strength, and explores the role of communication, personal responsibility and mindset in helping men rebuild their lives. Jayda Morgan, Mindset Coach & Founder of More Than Therapy What inspired you to create More Than Therapy, and how did your experience running The Men's Salon shape that decision? My background in beauty therapy began when I left school, and years later, following significant changes in my personal life, I found myself having to rebuild from the ground up. I wanted to create something I genuinely believed in, so in 2019, despite being advised against it, I opened The Men’s Salon, a space dedicated entirely to men’s self-care and wellbeing. I’d also qualified as a stress management consultant before opening the salon, initially because I wanted to understand how to manage the pressures I was experiencing in my own life. What surprised me was how naturally men began opening up during their treatments. Conversations about work, relationships, family and personal challenges became a regular part of appointments. Some clients would even spread out their treatments so they had another opportunity to come back and talk. I realised these men weren’t simply looking for treatments. They valued having someone who would listen, understand and offer a different perspective without judgement. That’s what inspired More Than Therapy. I wanted to create a dedicated space where those conversations could continue and men could receive support beyond the treatment room. During your years working closely with men, what did you discover about the emotional struggles they rarely talk about? One of the biggest things I discovered was how many men feel unheard. It’s not necessarily that they have nobody around them, but that they don’t always feel they can express themselves without being judged, misunderstood or made to feel as though they’re complaining. I’ve spoken to men carrying financial pressures, relationship difficulties, family responsibilities and even experiences of domestic abuse. Many feel they have to keep everything to themselves because they don’t want to burden the people they care about. What struck me most was how often men simply wanted to feel supported, appreciated and cared for. Yet some struggled to express those needs because they felt it wasn’t masculine to do so. I often question what we really mean by masculinity. Being strong, protecting and providing for others shouldn’t mean a man has to live without emotional support himself. I always say, when a man is carrying everyone else, who’s looking after him? Who’s helping him recharge when he’s running on empty? Men deserve the freedom to express how they feel without being made to feel any less of a man for doing so. What led you to combine mindset coaching and talking support with holistic wellbeing treatments such as massage? It began with something I noticed repeatedly at The Men’s Salon. Men who would immediately say they weren’t interested in counselling or talking therapy would often spend their appointments openly discussing things they were going through in their lives. Sometimes, after a treatment, I’d say, “Do you realise we’ve just spent most of that appointment talking through your problems, almost like a therapy session?” They would laugh and realise what I meant. What they often told me was that it felt different. There was no pressure, no clinical setting and no expectation to open up. The conversation simply happened naturally. My stress management training had already introduced me to the connection between physical relaxation and emotional wellbeing, particularly through treatments such as back, neck and shoulder massage. But over time, I realised something even more important. It wasn’t just about massage or relaxation. Men would talk during facials, grooming treatments and even back waxing. What mattered most was that they felt comfortable, safe and able to speak without judgement. That’s what shaped my approach to More Than Therapy. I wanted to create an environment where conversations feel natural rather than forced, and where men can seek support without feeling labelled or pressured. Why do you think some men find it easier to open up during everyday activities than in traditional support settings? I think for some men, sitting face-to-face with someone whose purpose is to ask about their feelings can feel uncomfortable, especially when those feelings are the very things they’ve spent so long trying to hide. When they’re doing something familiar, whether that’s having a treatment, going for a walk or exercising, there isn’t always that same expectation to talk. They can relax, be themselves and allow conversations to happen naturally. But I also believe it’s about trust and connection. You can be in the right professional setting, but if you don’t feel understood or comfortable with the person you’re speaking to, opening up can still be difficult. Over the years, I’ve had men tell me that within minutes of meeting me, they feel comfortable enough to share things they wouldn’t normally discuss. I don’t believe there’s one setting that works for every man. Some benefit enormously from traditional therapy, while others may find it easier to begin talking in a less formal environment. Ultimately, I believe men need spaces where they feel safe, respected and understood. When that trust is there, the conversation often follows naturally. What misconceptions about strength and masculinity do you believe prevent men from seeking emotional support? I believe one of the biggest misconceptions is that being a strong man means never showing vulnerability. Expressions like “man up” or “be a man” can send the message that men shouldn’t admit when they’re hurting, frightened, struggling or unsure of themselves. But why should expressing emotion make someone less of a man? To me, strength isn’t about suppressing your feelings. It’s about recognising them, learning to manage them and being able to communicate them appropriately. A man should be able to tell his partner, “Your actions hurt me,” without feeling weak. He should be able to grieve someone he’s lost, cry when he needs to or acknowledge when life has become overwhelming. Sometimes strength means allowing yourself to feel what you’re going through, giving yourself time to process it and then finding a way forward. When men are repeatedly told to keep everything inside, those unresolved feelings can build over time and affect their wellbeing, relationships and behaviour. I believe we need to challenge the idea that masculinity means silence. A man can be strong, responsible and resilient while still needing care, understanding and emotional support. When a man is struggling with separation, grief or a major life setback, where do you usually begin helping him rebuild his confidence? The first thing I do is listen. I give him the opportunity to tell me what’s happening in his life, how he’s feeling and what he wants to talk about, without rushing him towards a solution. Before I can help someone move forward, I need to understand where he is emotionally and how his circumstances are affecting him. Once I’ve listened and gained that understanding, we can begin looking at what is within his control and what isn’t. I think that’s an important distinction because when you’re going through something difficult, everything can feel overwhelming, and it can be hard to see a way forward. From there, I help him recognise that his current circumstances don’t have to define his future. What he’s experiencing today doesn’t mean that’s where he’ll always be. It’s not about dismissing what he’s going through or expecting him to suddenly feel better. It’s about helping him gain perspective, recognise the choices available to him and identify his next steps. For me, rebuilding confidence begins with feeling heard, gaining clarity and gradually recognising that you still have the ability to influence the direction of your life. What practical changes can men make to manage everyday stress before it begins affecting their relationships and wellbeing? One of the first things I encourage men to do is recognise what triggers their stress. You can’t always avoid stressful situations, but understanding what affects you gives you a better opportunity to manage how you respond. I believe setting boundaries is essential. Whether it’s with a partner, family member or someone at work, it’s important to recognise when something is affecting your wellbeing and communicate that. Sometimes we interpret someone’s words or actions in a way they never intended. Rather than allowing that frustration to build, having an honest conversation can help both people understand each other better. I also encourage men to make time for themselves. Being in a relationship, having a family or carrying responsibilities shouldn’t mean losing every moment of personal space. Something as simple as going to the gym, taking a walk or spending time doing something you enjoy can give you an opportunity to clear your mind. For me, managing stress isn’t about avoiding everything that makes you uncomfortable. It’s about recognising your triggers, communicating your needs, protecting your boundaries and making time to recharge before everything becomes overwhelming. You believe our past circumstances do not have to determine our future, so what does taking responsibility for change look like in practice? Taking responsibility for change doesn’t mean accepting blame for what’s happened to you. Sometimes life puts us through circumstances we never chose or deserved. It’s about acknowledging what has happened, recognising what you can and cannot change, and deciding what you’re going to do next. If you’ve hit rock bottom, that’s where you begin, one step at a time. You might reconnect with people, rediscover things you once enjoyed or simply start again from where you are, even if you’re doing it alone. Not everyone has someone to lean on. I know from personal experience that rebuilding your life isn’t always easy. But I also know that where you are today doesn’t have to be where you remain. Your mindset plays an important part in that journey. If you keep telling yourself your life is over, you can begin to believe there’s no way forward. But when you start telling yourself, “This has happened to me, but I’m not going to let it define my future,” you begin opening yourself up to the possibility of change. You might not rebuild exactly what you had before. You might create something entirely different, perhaps even better. Your circumstances may shape your experiences, but they don’t have to determine your future. Through More Than Therapy and your community initiatives, what is the one thing you hope more men will come to understand about their emotional wellbeing? If there’s one thing I want men to understand, it’s that communication is everything, and their feelings, needs and wellbeing matter too. Communication is essential in every part of our lives. Our relationships, friendships, families and even the way we understand ourselves depend on our ability to express what we’re thinking and feeling. When a boy is young, we encourage him to communicate so we can understand his needs and help him grow. So at what point do we begin expecting him to stop expressing those needs simply because he’s becoming a man? I believe men should feel able to speak their truth, whether they’re hurting, struggling or simply needing someone to listen. To me, true masculinity includes emotional awareness, self-control and a strong mindset. It’s being able to see situations from different perspectives, manage your emotions and communicate how you feel without hurting others in the process. Through More Than Therapy, I want men to understand that being strong doesn’t mean carrying everything in silence. They deserve care, support and understanding too. We often talk about what we expect from men, but how often do we ask what men need from us? Communication works both ways, and every man deserves to be heard. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jayda Morgan

Written by Michelle Terry, Clinical Psychotherapist Michelle Terry is a clinical psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. Through a solution-focused approach, she helps clients navigate stress, relationship challenges, and major life transitions, working collaboratively to set clear goals and create practical plans for greater well-being. As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, I’ve been collaborating with my son, Drew Terry, to explore the potential impact of AI in a psychotherapy setting. As part of this, Drew wrote an extensive research paper under the guidance of someone holding a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. This paper, which examined the feasibility and limitations of using AI in this space, is set forth below. Introduction and background Mental health is a significant and growing issue throughout the United States and across the world at large. Struggles with one’s mental health can negatively affect physical well-being, work, interpersonal relationships, and an individual’s ability to live their happiest and best life. Fortunately, clinical psychotherapy helps people work through challenges, manage symptoms, and cope in positive ways, which is why it is essential for so many. However, access to mental health care services remains a challenge for a substantial percentage of the population due to several factors, including financial barriers, access to treatment, and limited availability of providers. There are not nearly enough therapists providing quality care for all the people who struggle with their mental health. In a 2025 federal report, it was estimated that there are about 104,000 psychologists and 154,000 mental health counselors.[1] In contrast, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimated that 61.5 million adults in the United States experienced mental illness in 2024, but only 32 million, just a little more than half of them, received some form of mental health treatment. The remaining 29.5 million did not.[2] This gap comes down to cost and availability. Whether it is a lack of therapists in the area or a lack of money, many people are not able to get the help they need. This shortage affects individuals, society, and business practice, since untreated mental illness carries costs far beyond the person experiencing it. However, advances in technology and modern artificial intelligence (AI) could fix many of these problems and provide people with the resources they need. So we ask, “How can AI be designed to provide meaningful support to those in need while preserving the clinical judgement, safety, and human contact that proper psychotherapy requires?” This is not a new question but rather one that people have attempted to dig into for quite some time. There are various studies that examine how we can think about using artificial intelligence in this capacity, dating back many years. In 1966, Joseph Weizenbaum built a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) called ELIZA.[3] ELIZA was programmed to repeat individuals’ words back to them as questions, just like many therapists do. It was not designed to treat mental illness, but it became the starting point for using software to talk with and support different people. Then, in 2017, a chatbot called Woebot was built from scripts written in advance. A study on Woebot showed that these scripts could reduce depression in college students in the span of two weeks, though it did not show a clear advantage for anxiety.[4] Now, modern AI can go beyond reframing words into questions and building a chatbot with only lines written in advance. It can generate questions and deliver personalized responses based on the user. But how do we tailor these systems specifically to treat mental health? The purpose of this paper is to review 10 different applications of AI for clinical therapists. It focuses on how each system was built, which therapeutic techniques it used, and how successful it was. The studies use several approaches to their AI applications, including real sessions between clients and clinicians, counselor role-play, conversations between counselors and clients generated by AI, and other techniques that will be covered in this literature review. 1. ChatCounselor: Training on real counseling conversations Purpose and construction: To build ChatCounselor, researchers collected 260 real examples of therapy recordings lasting an hour from licensed clinicians. The generative pretrained transformer model GPT-4 was then used to turn the transcripts from these therapy recordings into question-and-answer pairs. Their dataset, called Psych8k, contained 8,187 of these pairs, and they used this dataset to fine-tune Vicuna-v1.3-7B, an open model that is built on LLaMA-7B. The researchers also created a Counseling Bench, which is a set of counseling questions scored across seven skills, such as asking for more information, giving helpful suggestions, and understanding the problem. Findings and assessment: ChatCounselor outperformed similarly sized AI models, but it fell just short of ChatGPT. The researchers stated that they thought this happened because the GPT-4 judging system favored longer answers and more suggestions, which ChatCounselor did not provide.[5] Because the study relied mostly on GPT-4 to grade answers and never tested patient outcomes, its results should be read as evidence about response style rather than clinical effectiveness. This paper shows that real counseling recordings can be used for training data. However, clients have to consent to the use of this data, and therapists should review and clean up this example data before using it. 2. XAIA: Converting expert therapist guidance into an AI system Purpose and construction: The Extended Reality Artificial Intelligence Assistant (XAIA), which is presented as a virtual reality avatar, is a GPT-4 counseling system built at Cedars-Sinai. To formulate XAIA, an expert psychotherapist and a psychiatrist repeatedly revised the system prompts so the model would respond in a way informed by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): compassionate and nonjudgmental. The next step consisted of licensed mental health professionals role-playing patients in many different clinical situations. Then, the team reviewed the transcripts of the AI’s responses and made tweaks to fix the mistakes, repeating this process more than 100 times. They also built a safety component called the Appropriateness Classifier, which checked each generated response and required the system to try again when a specific response was deemed unhelpful or potentially dangerous. Findings and assessment: XAIA was originally tested in one supervised session with 14 people who had mild to moderate anxiety or depression. Even though participants mostly found XAIA helpful, the researchers noted some weak responses, including too many questions and the use of CBT techniques with little explanation.[6] I think XAIA represents how an AI therapist can be shaped through therapist examples, written rules, transcript review, and repeated role play. It also features an integrated safety checker, which is essential for the safety of individuals using the system. XAIA is a good example of a safe, simple, and economical approach to building an AI support system. 3. Cactus and Camel: Expanding training data with CBT structure Purpose and construction: Instead of using real therapy sessions and transcripts, which can involve privacy issues, the researchers who created Cactus used AI to generate conversations with multiple exchanges. The team first designed different client profiles, negative thought patterns, reasons for seeking counseling, and cooperative and resistant attitudes. The AI counselor was then directed to choose from CBT techniques and guide the AI client through a structured conversation. These generated sessions were evaluated and then filtered, leaving 31,577 conversations of high quality. These examples were finally used to train Camel, which is a model that selects a CBT technique and creates a plan before its response. Findings and assessment: Camel performed better than multiple comparison models on different counseling measures. However, the psychologists who reviewed the outputs still concluded that the system did not fully meet professional counseling standards.[7] This study shows that large amounts of real examples may not be needed to build and train an AI. I do think, however, that synthetic conversations, like those used to build Cactus, would not be a substitute for real clinical knowledge. These conversations can only be useful when the therapeutic structure comes from qualified psychotherapists who carefully review them before they are used. 4. Therabot: Training material written by clinicians and clinical testing Purpose and construction: Developed at Dartmouth, Therabot is a chatbot for adults with significant depression, anxiety, or elevated risk of eating disorders. To build Therabot, mental health clinicians wrote therapy dialogues that were based on principles from the third wave of CBT. This system ran on two fine-tuned models, Falcon-7B and LLaMA-2-70B. It also incorporated a crisis classification model that screened every message, allowing human clinicians to step in and edit the response when safety concerns arose. Therabot took longer to develop than other models, as its development began in 2019 and required over 100,000 cumulative hours of work. Findings and assessment: Therabot was tested in a randomized trial of 210 adults, in which participants either received unlimited Therabot access for four weeks or were assigned to a waiting list and were not granted access to Therabot until the study concluded. After the study, users reported average reductions of 51% for depression, 31% for anxiety, and 19% for eating disorders.[8] Even though the adults using the chatbot had significantly better outcomes than those who did not have access to it, they were still not compared against people using regular therapy. Therefore, the study does not show how impactful Therabot is in comparison to other forms of therapy. However, the study does help show that combining examples authored by clinicians and safety procedures can be a useful way to build an AI chatbot. 5. PsyDT: Building a digital twin of one counselor Purpose and construction: This study covers PsyDT, which is a “digital twin” of one licensed therapist. To create this persona, 12 volunteers, each with their own topic, completed counseling sessions conducted through text with one qualified counselor. The counselor then reviewed the transcripts, and GPT-4 performed security checks and cleaned up the data. In total, these volunteers produced 12 sessions of data as a starting point, which cost the researchers about $1,650. GPT-4 was then used to extract the counselor’s language style and therapeutic techniques, using these patterns to turn existing counseling cases into synthetic conversations. This expanded dataset was used to fine-tune Qwen2-7B-Instruct, creating PsyDTLLM. Findings and assessment: The fine-tuned model scored better than the comparison models, such as GPT-4, on the study’s expert evaluations of style, strategies, response quality, and safety.[9] I think this paper shows that a transcript can serve a bigger purpose than being used for just a set of examples. Transcripts can be used to identify the therapist’s style and technique, which, at times, is more important than random examples. 6. KokoroChat: Sessions using role play and quality ratings Purpose and construction: KokoroChat is a Japanese dataset that was made by 480 counselors and counselor trainees who played both sides of counseling sessions lasting an hour. In four years, from 2020 to 2024, they gathered 6,589 full conversations and over 600,000 messages in total. After each one of these mock sessions, the participant playing the client rated the counselor on 20 different factors, including whether the client felt heard and respected and whether the counselor showed empathy, asked useful questions, and helped create insight. Then, they used these criteria to select the 2,601 conversations with the highest scores and fine-tuned a model using these examples. Findings and assessment: When five professional counselors reviewed the smaller model trained on 2,601 conversations against the bigger model trained on 6,471 conversations, without knowing which model produced the responses, the smaller model performed as well as or better than the bigger model on several measures.[10] I think this grading helps support the idea that the quality of examples and data used to train a model is more important than having the largest dataset. KokoroChat also helps show how data can be obtained even if real client sessions cannot be used. 7. MI-TAGS: Technique-focused training and digital patient evaluation Purpose and construction: Researchers at Reichman University trained several versions of the same AI model, LLaMA-2, at two different sizes, with 7 billion and 13 billion parameters. One of the AI models was trained on 6,000 examples of motivational interviewing, which is one specific therapeutic technique. This resulted in the formation of MI-TAGS, a high-quality dataset made from 242 real sessions. Another was trained on 6,000 examples of general therapy conversation, and one more was trained on 20,000 of the same conversations. To grade these various AI models, they built a digital patient that had a full conversation with the AI therapist and then filled out two clinical questionnaires. Findings and assessment: Using this AI patient, researchers determined that the model trained on the 6,000 examples of motivational interviewing performed better than the models trained on general therapy conversations at both model sizes.[11] This does not prove that less data is always better, but it does show that a set of examples of high quality focused on one therapeutic technique can be more effective in building a model. This means that when building a model, researchers should not just focus on getting more examples, but instead they should work towards building these examples around one technique or strategy. 8. Script strategy aligned generation (SSAG): Using a smaller expert framework Purpose and construction: Instead of using examples from real sessions or sessions using role play, SSAG took a different approach. The researchers started by creating motivational interviewing and CBT dialogue scripts that included topics, questions, reflections, advice, and a branching conversation flow. To limit the amount of material the therapists had to write and to keep the system efficient, SSAG reduced this material to just the main topics, important questions, and optional advice. To use SSAG, individuals speak to it, and then it decides whether the situation calls for a question, a reflection, or advice. It then generates a response using the selected strategy and the available expert dialogue scripts. Findings and assessment: To test this system, researchers involved 43 participants in a laboratory study comparing SSAG to basic large language models (LLMs) not aligned with the expert scripts. Overall, SSAG outperformed the generic LLM on empathy, relevance, and adherence to therapeutic principles. In a later study, researchers also found that a smaller SSAG framework, containing less than 40% of the expert material, performed similarly to the full model.[12] This additional study again shows that having a large number of examples is not the most important factor when building an AI therapist. SSAG’s method of grouping the types of responses also proved that it can be very useful for some models because it helps ensure that a system will respond with the right type of feedback for the patient’s needs. 9. PsyDial: Preserving real dialogue while protecting privacy Purpose and construction: To build PsyDial, the researchers started by obtaining complete dialogues between clients and counselors. Since these dialogues can contain private information, they implemented their own process with four steps called Retrieve, Mask, Reconstruct, and Refine (RMRR). This process involved retrieving the content from the sessions, masking sensitive details and names, reconstructing the information to exclude protected information, and finally refining it into a set of dialogues that could be used safely. The researchers’ process produced 2,382 different dialogues, averaging 37.8 speaking turns between the client and therapist, which they used to fine-tune the model Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct. Findings and assessment: To test PsyDial, the researchers compared it to several other baseline models and examples. The responses from the models were scored on eight counseling skills, including active listening, empathy, and cognitive restructuring. The final PsyDial model outperformed all the other models that were tested and also outperformed the original counselor responses that they used to train the model.[13] PsyDial demonstrates another approach to using real but sensitive material through its RMRR process. Even though they had to reconstruct their client dialogues, their model was still effective. However, it is important to consider that the researchers relied on their own scoring rubric, with scoring partly conducted with the help of AI. This is not the same as outperforming clinicians in practice, but it does highlight the real potential these systems have in the therapy sector. 10. MusPsy: Modeling therapy across multiple sessions Purpose and construction: The first step in building MusPsy was not obtaining a large set of therapy examples and dialogues. Instead, the researchers collected real client profiles and counseling goals from published psychological case reports in books and academic journals. These contained information about the client’s background, the client’s changing state, and, most importantly, the counselor’s goals through different stages of treatment. The researchers then used this information to create counseling conversations spanning multiple sessions with an AI model through four stages: collecting the profiles and goals, generating short “seed” conversations to set the flow of each session, expanding those seeds into complete sessions, and generating a memory record for each session so the model could carry information forward. Through this process, the researchers produced a dataset that covers 1,400 clients, averaging about six sessions per client and 28 speaking turns per session. They then fine-tuned Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct on this dataset using low-rank adaptation (LoRA), training it to do three jobs at once: extracting a memory summary from each session, planning the goal for the next session, and generating the actual counseling conversation. Findings and assessment: To test the model they built, the researchers used established psychological measures that included the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Working Alliance Inventory. These measures were not administered to real patients. Instead, a second AI played the role of the client across six simulated sessions and rated its own emotional state after each one. They also relied on grading from two human psychology experts, along with an AI grader, though these experts were rating the quality of the dataset’s written dialogues rather than any patient outcome. During the grading, the MusPsy model proved superior to other models when it came to improvement across multiple sessions.[14] MusPsy emphasizes the importance of progress across multiple sessions. This matters because real therapy is not about how accurate or effective one response is, but is instead a process that takes months or years until the patient has been treated. However, MusPsy should be looked at with caution because it is still a preprint, and the conversations were generated from case report material rather than actual therapy transcripts. Year First author Title Study type Sample details 2023 Liu [5] ChatCounselor: A Large Language Model for Mental Health Support Hypothetical Trained on 260 real counseling recordings, comprising 8,187 instruction examples, evaluated on a benchmark of 229 questions judged by GPT-4, no live human trial. 2024 Spiegel [6] Feasibility of Combining Spatial Computing and AI for Mental Health Support in Anxiety and Depression (XAIA) Empirical 14 participants in a feasibility study with a single group, no control group. 2024 Lee [7] Cactus: Towards Psychological Counseling Conversations Using Cognitive Behavioral Theory Hypothetical No real participants, 31,577 conversations between clients and counselors generated entirely by AI and reviewed by psychologists. 2025 Heinz [8] Randomized Trial of a Generative AI Chatbot for Mental Health Treatment (Therabot) Empirical 210 adults randomized to Therabot (n = 106) or a waiting list control group (n = 104), intervention lasting four weeks, with follow-up at eight weeks. 2025 Xie [9] PsyDT: Using LLMs to Construct the Digital Twin of Psychological Counselor with Personalized Counseling Style Hypothetical One licensed counselor, 12 real sessions across 12 topics, evaluated by psychology postgraduates and a practicing psychotherapist. 2025 Qi [10] KokoroChat: A Japanese Psychological Counseling Dialogue Dataset Collected via Role-Playing by Trained Counselors Hypothetical 480 counselors and trainees produced 6,589 dialogues through role-play, blind evaluation by five professional counselors. 2025 Yosef [11] The Impact of Fine-Tuning LLMs on the Quality of Automated Therapy Assessed by Digital Patients (MI-TAGS) Hypothetical 242 real motivational interviewing sessions (MI-TAGS), evaluated via simulated “digital patients” validated against human clinicians. 2025 Sun [12] Script-Strategy Aligned Generation: Aligning LLMs with Expert-Crafted Dialogue Scripts and Therapeutic Strategies for Psychotherapy Empirical 43 participants in a laboratory study, a separate field study of the lighter version with a smaller, unspecified sample size. 2025 Qiu [13] PsyDial: A Large-scale Long-term Conversational Dataset for Mental Health Support Hypothetical 2,382 dialogues reconstructed from real sessions between clients and counselors, averaging 37.8 turns, a test set of 101 dialogues from counseling books, rated by licensed counselors and GPT-4o. 2025 Wang [14] Psychological Counseling Cannot Be Achieved Overnight: Automated Psychological Counseling Through Multi-Session Conversations (MusPsy) Hypothetical 1,400 client profiles from published case reports, averaging 6.17 sessions and 28.55 turns per session, tested on 100 simulated clients, with additional evaluation by two human psychology experts. Conclusion The emergence of modern AI has introduced many capabilities to therapy that raise new questions. AI counseling, though, is not a new phenomenon. It is a concept that has evolved from ELIZA in the 1960s to systems today that can hold personalized conversations, choose a therapeutic strategy, and keep track of what happened in earlier sessions. Newer AI agents and expert systems can increasingly take on tasks once handled only by a human therapist. These studies show that a useful system requires more than a general language model: its clinical knowledge, examples, decision process, evaluation, and safety boundaries must be deliberately designed. These sources all cover various aspects of how AI therapy can be developed. These include real counseling sessions, human role play, scripts written by experts, focused technique data, and synthetic conversations controlled by a therapy framework. Models such as Therabot also go a step further and add safety systems, which could be reassuring to those who fear these systems. Although these sources all developed models of high quality, the success and results of these models should be assessed carefully. Most of the studies focused only on the quality of the AI’s responses. They did not really focus on outcomes for real patients, who are the intended users of these systems. Furthermore, therapy conducted with an AI will always carry some risk. Moore et al. found that language models can respond to users in crisis in ways that would be unacceptable from a human provider, which shows that risk is not just a theoretical concern.[15] These systems do not have the same capabilities as humans, and so they should not be treated as such. Another issue relevant to these studies and the future of AI in therapy is the regulation of its use. Illinois passed the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, which limits AI to specified support functions under a licensed professional’s responsibility and prohibits its direct therapeutic communication with clients.[16] Nevada passed Assembly Bill 406, which restricts the marketing and use of AI in mental and behavioral health care.[17] Utah passed House Bill 452, which requires mental health chatbots to disclose that they are AI and places restrictions on their use of personal information.[18] These early laws reflect concerns about AI therapists and attempts to regulate their use. However, I do think that the incorporation of AI into the field can be beneficial for many and should not be completely avoided. The studies in this paper detail how rapidly psychological support using AI is evolving. Individuals all over the world are exploring different ways to integrate psychological knowledge into AI. My belief is that therapists will continue to have their place, and I don't think that the emergence of AI systems will impact that. However, I do believe that AI can be used to provide various forms of therapy and make a positive impact on people's lives, just like therapists can. For this to happen, these systems have to be developed with extreme caution and attention to detail. But if built and used properly, AI in therapy has significant potential to expand access to support for people who currently receive none. It can reduce barriers to proper care and provide people with the extra support they need to live a life of enjoyment. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for live therapy, we can begin to see whether it can be used to expand access to therapeutic models and strategies and teach coping mechanisms and self-care skills, thus helping more individuals in need. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Michelle Terry Michelle Terry, Clinical Psychotherapist Michelle Terry is a clinical psychotherapist working in private practice in New York City. She helps clients navigate everyday stress, complex relationships, and major life transitions. Her work also addresses the challenges of balancing school, work, and personal life. Using a solution-focused approach, Michelle collaborates with clients to establish clear goals and develop practical plans to achieve them. She is dedicated to helping each client build a happier, more fulfilling life while supporting their emotional, social, and physical well-being. References: [1] Health Resources and Services Administration. (2025). State of the U.S. health care workforce, 2025. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [2] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2025). Highlights for the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [3] Weizenbaum, J. (1966). ELIZA—A computer program for the study of natural language communication between man and machine. Communications of the ACM, 9(1), 36–45. [4] Fitzpatrick, K. K., Darcy, A., & Vierhile, M. (2017). Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mental Health, 4(2), e19. [5] Liu, J. M., Li, D., Cao, H., Ren, T., Liao, Z., & Wu, J. (2023). ChatCounselor: A large language model for mental health support [Preprint]. arXiv. [6]Spiegel, B. M. R., Liran, O., Clark, A., Samaan, J. S., Khalil, C., Chernoff, R., Reddy, K., & Mehra, M. (2024). Feasibility of combining spatial computing and AI for mental health support in anxiety and depression. npj Digital Medicine, 7, Article 22. [7] Lee, S., Kim, S., Kim, M., Kang, D., Yang, D., Kim, H., Kang, M., Jung, D., Kim, M. H., Lee, S., Chung, K.-M., Yu, Y., Lee, D., & Yeo, J. (2024). Cactus: Towards psychological counseling conversations using cognitive behavioral theory. Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: EMNLP 2024, 14245–14274. [8] Heinz, M. V., Mackin, D. M., Trudeau, B. M., Bhattacharya, S., Wang, Y., Banta, H. A., Jewett, A. D., Salzhauer, A. J., Griffin, T. Z., & Jacobson, N. C. (2025). Randomized trial of a generative AI chatbot for mental health treatment. NEJM AI, 2(4). [9] Xie, H., Chen, Y., Xing, X., Lin, J., & Xu, X. (2025). PsyDT: Using LLMs to construct the digital twin of a psychological counselor with a personalized counseling style for psychological counseling. Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, 1081–1115. [10] Qi, Z., Kaneko, T., Takamizo, K., Ukiyo, M., & Inaba, M. (2025). KokoroChat: A Japanese psychological counseling dialogue dataset collected via role-playing by trained counselors. Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, 12424–12443. [11] Yosef, S., Zisquit, M., Cohen, B., Brunstein Klomek, A., Bar, K., & Friedman, D. (2025). The impact of fine-tuning LLMs on the quality of automated therapy assessed by digital patients. npj Mental Health Research, 4, Article 43. [12] Sun, X., de Wit, J., Li, Z., Pei, J., El Ali, A., & Bosch, J. A. (2025). Script-strategy aligned generation: Aligning LLMs with expert-crafted dialogue scripts and therapeutic strategies for psychotherapy. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 9(7), Article CSCW474. [13] Qiu, H., & Lan, Z. (2025). PsyDial: A large-scale long-term conversational dataset for mental health support. Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, 21624–21655. [14] Wang, J., Wang, B., Fu, X., Sun, Y., Zhao, Y., & Qin, B. (2025). Psychological counseling cannot be achieved overnight: Automated psychological counseling through multi-session conversations [Preprint]. arXiv. [15] Moore, J., Grabb, D., Agnew, W., Klyman, K., Chancellor, S., Ong, D. C., & Haber, N. (2025). Expressing stigma and inappropriate responses prevents LLMs from safely replacing mental health providers. Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 599–627. [16] Illinois General Assembly. (2025). Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act (HB 1806, Public Act 104-0054). [17] Nevada Legislature. (2025). Assembly Bill 406 (2025 Nev. Stat. ch. 434). [18] Utah State Legislature. (2025). House Bill 452, Mental health chatbot regulation (Utah Code § 13-72).

Written by Pablo Colella, Cultural Audience Psychology Consultant Pablo Colella is a Cultural Audience Psychology Consultant, founder of Disconnected Bodies, and host of the Disconnected Bodies Podcast. He specialises in behavioural research, cultural strategy and programme evaluation, helping organisations better understand audiences, participation and the psychology behind cultural engagement. Everyone nods. Everyone says the right things. When it’s over, people leave, repeating the same line like a well-rehearsed chorus, “It was great to have our voices heard.” Yet being heard does not necessarily mean having influence. Too often, the decisions that matter remain unchanged, leaving communities to question whether their participation made any real difference. We’ve become very good at looking like we’re listening. But looking like we’re listening and actually redistributing power are not the same thing. I call this Consultation Theatre. It describes participatory processes that create the appearance of shared decision making while leaving the underlying distribution of power largely unchanged. Consultation Theatre isn’t a criticism of consultation itself. It’s a description of what happens when participation becomes disconnected from influence. This isn’t usually because organisations are dishonest. It’s because the machine is already moving. Funding deadlines. Budgets locked. Political commitments made. Procurement rules. Risk registers. Programme outlines written before the first community member ever walks through the door. By the time consultation begins, many of the important decisions have already been made. Communities are often invited to shape the details, but rarely the direction. That’s because consultation has never really been about conversation. At its heart, it is about power. Specifically, who has it, who doesn’t, and whether organisations are genuinely prepared to share it. Participation without influence is not participation. It’s attendance. The problem is temporal. We ask communities to influence decisions after the moment of influence has already passed. By the time many consultation processes begin, the space for meaningful influence has already narrowed. That is why trust erodes. Behaviour is shaped by reinforcement. When people repeatedly experience that their contribution changes nothing, they don’t simply become less enthusiastic. They become less likely to participate at all. Participation itself becomes associated with futility. I’ve watched it play out hundreds of times. Communities turn up. They contribute time, ideas, and emotion. Then months pass. Nothing visible changes. The next invitation arrives, and fewer people show up. Not because they don’t care. Because they’ve learned that their participation rarely changes outcomes. Most consultation doesn’t fail because people aren’t listened to. It fails because organisations overestimate how much they’re willing, or able, to change as a result of what they hear. This is how Consultation Theatre sustains itself. Not through bad intentions, but through processes that reward participation while rarely measuring whether participation influenced anything at all. If trust is behavioural, then measuring attendance alone tells us very little. Instead, we keep measuring the wrong thing. We count how many people attended the session. How satisfied they were on the feedback form. How inclusive the process felt. What we rarely ask, because it’s harder and more uncomfortable, is this, "Which decisions changed because communities participated?" Imagine every consultation report had one honest section titled “Decisions changed.” Venue moved. Programme redesigned. Budget reallocated. New partner added. Timeline adjusted. Consultation would stop being evidence extraction and start becoming real learning. I’d argue that citizen participation is fundamentally about the redistribution of power. Somewhere along the way, many of us replaced that conversation with one about engagement activities. Workshops. Focus groups. Surveys. Codesign stickers on the slides. Many consultation processes are commissioned because participation is expected within funding and governance frameworks. Over time, the process itself can become the objective, rather than the organisational learning it was intended to produce. Again, not cynical. Systemic. We’ve diluted the word coproduction until it could mean almost anything. Sometimes real power sharing. Sometimes polite feedback on decisions already taken. We use the same language for very different distributions of influence. Communities aren’t one thing. There isn’t “the community.” There are communities, often with conflicting priorities, different histories, and different levels of trust. Listening isn’t enough. Choices still have to be made. Power still has to sit somewhere. The most meaningful consultation begins before the important decisions have been made. It begins with a simpler, harder question, "What are we genuinely prepared to change?" Not “What do you think?” after the budget is fixed and the venue is booked. But “Where are we willing to share real influence?” That shift, from consultation as performance to consultation as a practice that recognises power, is what separates genuine participation from Consultation Theatre. After observing this pattern repeatedly across organisations, it eventually became one of the themes informing my own Strategic Maturity Index™. Mature organisations don’t consult more often. They create governance structures capable of absorbing community influence before strategic decisions become fixed. The biggest damage isn’t poor consultation. The biggest damage is the loss of trust. It’s behavioural reinforcement. Nobody in the sector really talks about that. The organisations that understand this won’t just run better workshops. They’ll rebuild trust. They’ll reduce participatory fatigue. They’ll create the conditions in which communities keep showing up because they’ve learned that their voices can actually matter. They’ll be the ones willing to move the moment of influence upstream, inviting communities into decisions before the important choices have already been made. The rest will continue with performative participation. Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Pablo Colella Pablo Colella, Cultural Audience Psychology Consultant Pablo Colella is a Cultural Audience Psychology Consultant, founder of Disconnected Bodies, and host of the Disconnected Bodies Podcast. For more than twenty years, he has worked with museums, heritage organisations, local authorities and cultural leaders across the UK, helping them better understand audiences through behavioural research, programme evaluation and place-based cultural strategy. He is the developer of Sandbox™, a behavioural audience intelligence methodology, and the author of independent research exploring cultural strategy, participation and public value. Through his writing, Pablo challenges conventional thinking about audience engagement and explores how behavioural psychology can help shape the future of culture.

Written by Dr. Jackie "JP" Phillips, Business Strategist Dr. Jackie "JP" Phillips is an entrepreneur, strategic project leader, founder and CEO of The Unheard Empire. She writes about leadership, entrepreneurship, ownership, innovation, and the discipline required to build opportunities where others see barriers. Welcome to The Discipline to Build! Last month, I wrote about the discipline it takes to keep building when nobody believes in what you see yet: the foundations nobody applauds, the difference between feedback and validation, and the reps you put in long before recognition arrives. But eventually, something shifts. People start to buy into the vision. Opportunities come your way. The business grows. Then the expectations grow too. More people are connected to what you're building, and every decision carries more weight. Suddenly, the thing you fought so hard for becomes heavy. Nobody warned me about that part. I can still feel that weight when I think about it. Over my career, I've returned to this place more than once. The difference is that I came back a little wiser each time. We spend a lot of time encouraging people to chase their dreams. We talk about starting, believing, taking the leap, betting on yourself, and refusing to quit. We spend far less time talking about what happens when the dream becomes a responsibility. Starting requires courage. Continuing requires discipline. Carrying what you've built requires endurance. When the dream becomes a responsibility In the beginning, an idea is exciting because it belongs mostly to you. You can imagine what it could become without carrying the full weight of what it will require. Then it becomes real. Clients expect results. Everyone expects communication. Your team needs decisions, direction, and consistency. Bills still arrive, and deadlines don't care whether you're tired or motivated. Your name becomes attached to outcomes that affect people beyond you. Every yes or no creates a responsibility. Every opportunity creates an expectation. Every person you invite to the table gives you another reason to make sure the table doesn't collapse. I've built across corporate environments, project management, technology, energy, media, workforce development, entrepreneurship, government contracting, community initiatives, and business strategy. Those experiences taught me that growth doesn't remove pressure. It changes the kind of pressure you carry, how you carry it, and why. At one stage, you're fighting to get into the room. At the next, you're responsible for what happens in the room. Those are very different responsibilities. Sweet baby Jesus, are they different! The weight is not always a warning When something gets difficult, it's tempting to assume we made the wrong decision. Sometimes that's true. Builders have to be honest enough to recognize when a strategy is failing, when a commitment no longer makes sense, or when the data points in a different direction. But not every heavy season is a signal to quit. Sometimes it's heavy because you're growing. Sometimes it's heavy because more people depend on what you've built, or because your decisions carry bigger consequences. Sometimes it's heavy because the idea you once carried privately has become real, and you realize it's so much bigger than you. Don't confuse the weight of responsibility with the absence of purpose. So the better question isn't "Is this hard?" (Heck yes, it's hard!) The better question is, "Why is this hard, and what is this weight trying to teach me?" In my opinion, this is where stewardship shines: when it's hard, when the stakes are high, and when no one is watching. Motivation was never going to be enough Motivation is powerful, but it's inconsistent. There will be mornings when nothing inspires you. There will be projects you once loved that become a grind. There will be decisions where neither option feels good, but you still have to choose. There will be seasons when the only reward is knowing you honored your commitment and made it happen. That's why I've learned to respect discipline more than motivation. Motivation asks, "Do I feel like doing this today?" Discipline asks, "What does the vision require of me today?" That question doesn't always lead to doing more. Sometimes the disciplined choice is to stop, and that can be the hardest move of all. Sometimes it's to change the plan or ask for help. Sometimes it's to finally have the uncomfortable conversation you've been avoiding. Sometimes it's simply to do the next necessary thing, even when nobody is cheering. Discipline does not mean destroying yourself This may be one of the most important lessons I've learned as a builder: endurance is not the same as exhaustion. (Ask me how I know.) There is nothing admirable about building something successful while destroying the person responsible for sustaining it. Early on, discipline looks like doing more. You learn more, work harder, and take on more. You solve the problems and become the person everyone depends on. But eventually, discipline has to evolve. At first, discipline taught me how to do more. Later, in a long lesson, it had to teach me what to stop doing. Real discipline can mean: Protecting your capacity. Building systems instead of solving the same problem over and over. Delegating something you're capable of doing, because capability doesn't automatically mean ownership. Developing other leaders instead of becoming the answer to every question. Saying no to a good opportunity because it distracts from the right one. (That one was a gut punch for me.) Resting before your body or mind forces you to. (I learned that one the hard way, and it was no fun.) Building should require something from you. It should not require everything from you. Strength is also knowing what not to carry Builders can get attached to being needed, and that's dangerous to your higher self. We become the people who solve problems. People know we'll figure it out. We know how to step in, fix it, carry it, and keep moving. That ability can be a strength. It can also become a trap and a cycle. If everything depends on you, you may have created activity, but you haven't yet created something sustainable. The strongest leader isn't necessarily the one carrying the most. The strongest leader understands what belongs in their hands and what doesn't. That takes a different kind of courage. It means trusting people, documenting processes, teaching what you know, and letting others make decisions. It means accepting that someone else may do the work differently than you would. Sometimes it means admitting that something you've been carrying no longer belongs in the future you're building. The build challenge Last month, I challenged you to revisit something you stopped building because the response wasn't what you expected. This month, look at what you're already carrying. Write down the responsibilities connected to the future you're building. Then sort each one into one of four categories: Carry it. This belongs to me in this season. Delegate it. It matters, but I don't have to personally own it. Systemize it. It needs a process so it doesn't take the same energy every time. Release it. It no longer serves the vision I'm building. Then look at the list again. Discipline isn't proving how much weight you can carry. It's knowing what deserves your strength. Keep building, but build differently At The Unheard Empire, our guiding principle remains the same: We don't complain. We create. In the first article, creating meant refusing to wait for someone else to build the opportunity. Last month, it meant continuing the work before recognition arrived. This month, it means becoming disciplined enough to protect the builder while strengthening what's being built. Because the goal was never to become the person who can carry everything. The goal is to build something strong enough that one person doesn't have to carry it all. Which raises the next question: If your vision only works when you're personally holding every piece together, have you really built something that can grow? Next month, we'll talk about systems, delegation, leadership, and one of the hardest transitions a builder has to make: You cannot scale what only you can carry. Until then, keep building. Keep creating. Protect your capacity. Remember: strength isn't measured only by what you're willing to carry, but also by what you're disciplined enough to put down. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Jackie "JP" Phillips Dr. Jackie "JP" Phillips, Business Strategist Dr. Jackie "JP" Phillips is an entrepreneur, strategic business leader, and project management executive. She is the founder and CEO of The Unheard Empire, a multi-company organization committed to expanding opportunity through business ownership, workforce development, media, energy, agriculture, investments, logistics, and sports management. She brings more than two decades of entrepreneurial experience and an accomplished career leading enterprise initiatives across multiple industries. She has built a reputation for transforming complex ideas into practical, scalable solutions.

Written by Michelle Terry, Clinical Psychotherapist Michelle Terry is a clinical psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. Through a solution-focused approach, she helps clients navigate stress, relationship challenges, and major life transitions, working collaboratively to set clear goals and create practical plans for greater well-being. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly making its way into almost every industry. Some people believe it is incredibly helpful, while others are much more cautious about its role. People sit on all sides of this debate, and there is a very real tension that exists around where AI belongs and where it simply does not. As a passionate professional who absolutely loves what I do, I often wish that there were more hours in the day so I could see more clients and help more people live their best lives. There is nothing that makes me happier than watching my clients set themselves up for success and then take everything they have learned in the psychotherapeutic space and put it to work in their real lives. As my two young adult children, ages 18 and 21, watched me build my practice and listened to me talk about how passionate I am about what I do, they became increasingly interested in the work. My son, Drew, a budding entrepreneur and business enthusiast, kept pitching me ideas about how AI could potentially help expand my practice and give me more workable hours during the day. We debated this for a very long time until we had one conversation that excited both of us. You see, in my view, AI could not replace me or a qualified therapist or clinician. The relationship between a therapist and client, the human connection, the clinical judgment, and the understanding of a person sitting in front of you cannot simply be replicated by a chatbot. But what if there was another possibility? What if we could create an AI chat tool trained specifically on my techniques, therapeutic models, strategies, and communication style? My practice is built around a unique set of metaphors and tools that my clients can easily grab onto and bring with them into their everyday lives. What if we could create a “MyMichelle” platform that someone could access to receive concrete, supportive coping mechanisms and strategies that are based on those models? So, we decided to partner and see if it was actually possible. As part of the project, Drew, under the guidance of someone holding a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, set out to explore this question in two parts. The first was an extensive research paper investigating the potential role of AI in clinical psychotherapy. The research examined the legality, limitations, ethical considerations, and feasibility of using AI in this space. The second part of the project was to explore whether AI could instead serve as a supportive and educational tool. Drew worked to build a model that could function somewhat like ChatGPT, allowing someone to interact with “MyMichelle” and receive concrete tools based on my therapeutic models, practice style, and approach. The goal was never to replace a therapist, but to create a supportive platform that could be used between sessions or potentially provide access to my therapeutic style and tools to people who may not otherwise have access to therapy. The model has been developed using hundreds of hours of interviews, mock sessions, data from my therapeutic frameworks, and other material designed to capture the way I work and communicate. It is still in beta form, but it works surprisingly well. There are obviously important legal and privacy considerations as well as clinical safeguards that would need to be implemented before something like this could be used in practice, but as an experimental tool, it is extremely promising. It has been an incredible experience to partner with my son on this project and to watch firsthand how growing up with a psychotherapist as a mother has influenced his interests and his thinking. Even more exciting has been watching him find a way to combine his entrepreneurial interests with something he genuinely cares about. I am deeply proud of the work we have done together and excited to see where this project takes us. Perhaps the question is not simply “AI or no AI?” Maybe the better question is: How can we use AI responsibly in the field of psychotherapy without losing the human connection that makes therapy work? That is the question we set out to explore. Please continue reading Part 2 of this series, which details the research. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Michelle Terry Michelle Terry, Clinical Psychotherapist Michelle Terry is a clinical psychotherapist working in private practice in New York City. She helps clients navigate everyday stress, complex relationships, and major life transitions. Her work also addresses the challenges of balancing school, work, and personal life. Using a solution-focused approach, Michelle collaborates with clients to establish clear goals and develop practical plans to achieve them. She is dedicated to helping each client build a happier, more fulfilling life while supporting their emotional, social, and physical well-being.

Written by Dr. Jackie Cawley, CEO of Delean Institute for Growth and Wellness Dr. Jackie Cawley is an osteopathic family physician, health care executive, and leadership mentor with over 30 years of experience. As the CEO and founder of the Delean Institute for Growth and Wellness, she is dedicated to helping others achieve optimal wellness through personal development and transformational growth. We spend a great deal of time trying to become better leaders. We read books, attend conferences, learn new strategies, improve our communication skills, and work on becoming more productive. But there is one leadership skill that can influence all the others: knowing yourself. Self-awareness may sound simple. After all, who knows you better than you? Yet true self-awareness goes much deeper than knowing your likes, dislikes, strengths, or personality type. It requires us to look honestly at who we are, how we behave, how we respond under pressure, and, perhaps most importantly, how other people experience us. That last part can be uncomfortable, and it can also be where some of our greatest growth begins. Self-awareness is more than self-reflection Self-awareness is the ability to understand yourself at a deeper level. It includes your values, passions, strengths, and opportunities for growth. It also includes your emotions, patterns of behavior, and vision for your future. It means recognizing that your actions affect the people around you. When we understand what is happening inside us, we have a greater opportunity to choose how we respond rather than simply reacting. This matters in every area of life. At work, self-awareness can influence how we communicate, handle conflict, receive feedback, make decisions, and lead others. At home, it can shape our relationships and the way we respond to the people we love. A recent review of research compiled by Wifi Talents suggests that 95 percent of working adults believe they are self-aware. However, only 10 to 15 percent of people meet the criteria for deep self-awareness. So perhaps the better question isn't, “Am I self-aware?” It is, “How well do I really know myself, and am I willing to discover what I don't know?” There are 2 sides to self-awareness One of the most important distinctions in self-awareness is the difference between internal and external self-awareness. Internal self-awareness is how well you understand yourself, including your core values, what motivates you, your strengths, and areas where you struggle. It is truly understanding your patterns of behavior and how they keep showing up in your life. Understanding these aspects of yourself can help you become more intentional about the way you live and lead. Stronger internal awareness has been shown to result in higher levels of team engagement, positive peer feedback, better relationship satisfaction, and enhanced workplace performance. It has also been associated with a greater sense of happiness and a greater sense of personal and social control. But there is a potential trap. We can become so focused on understanding ourselves through our own lens that we forget our lens may not tell the whole story. Our fears, insecurities, past experiences, and assumptions can influence how we interpret our behavior. That is where external self-awareness becomes essential. It is the mirror we do not always want to study. It is understanding how other people experience you, which requires feedback, and that can at times be uncomfortable. We may believe we are a good listener, only to discover that others feel interrupted. We may think we are giving our team freedom, while they experience us as being unavailable. We may believe we are being direct, while someone else experiences us as dismissive. None of these observations necessarily mean that our intentions were bad. They simply remind us that intent and impact are not always the same thing. Seeking honest feedback gives us another perspective. Managers, peers, colleagues, friends, family members, and the people we lead can provide valuable information about the way we show up. The key is being willing to listen. As people gain more authority and responsibility, receiving honest feedback can become even harder. People may hesitate to challenge someone in a position of power, particularly when they fear how that person might respond. That creates an important leadership question: Do the people around you feel safe enough to tell you the truth? The goal is not perfection, it's alignment Self-awareness isn't about becoming perfectly self-aware, it's an ongoing practice. Over time, our circumstances, roles, and relationships change. The person you were five years ago may not be the person you are today, and that means self-awareness needs to evolve with you. The most effective approach is to balance internal reflection with external feedback to build a path toward becoming genuinely “aware,” someone who understands themselves while remaining open to constructive input from others. This is where self-awareness becomes transformational. You notice the gap between who you believe you are, who you want to be, and how others experience you. That gap isn't something to fear. It is an opportunity. There is another part of self-awareness that we don't always like to discuss: our shadow side. Your shadow includes the parts of yourself you would rather hide from others, and sometimes from yourself. For example, you become defensive when challenged, need to control situations, or avoid difficult conversations. Perhaps you always seek approval, become impatient when you're stressed, or withdraw when you feel overwhelmed. These behaviors don't make you a bad person, they make you human. The goal isn't to judge these parts of ourselves, it is to bring them to light so we can understand them. When we can acknowledge the parts of ourselves that are uncomfortable, we have more freedom to decide what we want to do with them. Awareness creates choice. Below are 5 simple ways to help you strengthen your self-awareness: 1. Make time for reflection Carve time out for yourself on a regular basis. You can write in a journal, meditate, or take a walk without your phone. The goal is to give yourself quiet space to notice what you are thinking and feeling and to reflect on your performance and behavior over the past several days to a week. Consider how you could have done things differently for better outcomes, or what worked well that you should continue to practice. You don't need a complicated system. Just find a practice that works for you and make it part of your weekly routine. 2. Ask for feedback Choose people you trust and ask them what they see with regard to your behaviors, actions, or communication. Make sure to be specific when asking for feedback. For example, ask them to provide their perspective on your communication style and whether there is anything you could do differently to become a better listener, rather than asking, “How am I doing?” Keep an open mindset and resist the urge to defend yourself. The goal is to learn how others see you and to use that data to help you adjust your style and further develop your communication skills. Related: 5 Ways To Get Honest Feedback Even When Your Team's Holding Back 3. Ask “what?” instead of “why?” Focus on the “what” you can work on instead of the “why.” This small shift can change the quality of your reflection. “Why” questions can pull us toward assumptions, fear, or self-criticism. When you use a “why” question, you open yourself to your biases. Your brain will subconsciously try to make sense of the matter using your individual narrative or filters. Applying a “why” approach allows you to search for causes and motives, which can reinforce those internal biases. Asking “what” questions can open the door to possibilities and action. Asking “what” helps you build factual knowledge and can be more empowering. Instead of asking, “Why did that meeting go badly?” try, “What could I have done differently?” Routinely reflect on what you felt in a certain situation, what the environment or conditions were like, and what impact your actions or behaviors had on others. This will help you enhance your level of self-awareness and provide you with more data to act on in the future. 4. Consider your impact Name what you are feeling, especially in times of stress. Notice how your body responds when that emotion is triggered and where you feel it in your body. Be curious and consider how your emotions may be affecting the people around you as well as yourself. Your emotions are real, and they don't exist in isolation. Learning to recognize their impact gives you another opportunity to choose your response and pause before reacting. Related: 5 Behaviors That Sabotage Your Leadership Conversations 5. Get comfortable being uncomfortable Growth often begins at the edge of our comfort zone. When someone gives you feedback that surprises you, pause before dismissing it. You don't have to agree with every piece of feedback, however, you can become curious about it. There may be something valuable hiding inside the discomfort. Embracing a growth or learning mindset can make all the difference in helping you lean into areas of discomfort to grow and develop both personally and professionally. Use your reflection time to ponder one or more of the following prompts: What are my values, and am I living in alignment with them? What emotions have been showing up for me? What are my greatest strengths? Where do I have opportunities to grow? How do other people experience me? How do I respond when someone gives me constructive feedback? What behaviors might limit my effectiveness? What have I learned about myself this week? What do I want my life and leadership to look like moving forward? These questions aren't meant to produce perfect answers, they are meant to start a conversation with yourself. We often look outward for the next strategy, the next course, the next mentor, or the next leadership tool, but transformational growth begins by looking inward. Self-awareness helps us understand our values and motivations. External feedback helps us see what we may not be able to see on our own, and together, they create a fuller picture. When we are willing to see that picture, even the parts we don't particularly like, we gain something powerful: choice. We can choose what to keep, what to change, and how we want to respond. We can choose how we want to lead, and most importantly, we can choose to become more aligned with the person we want to be. Self-awareness isn't a destination, it is a lifelong practice of becoming. Related: Growth Mindset, The Key To Success In Business Let’s work together to achieve your development goals Are you ready to strengthen your level of self-awareness? I coach and guide people in building their self-awareness using my Power Up framework. For more information, check out my website and book a discovery call by clicking on this link: Dr. Jackie Cawley | Executive & Leadership Consultant Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Jackie Cawley Dr. Jackie Cawley, CEO of Delean Institute for Growth and Wellness Dr. Jackie Cawley is a healer, teacher, and thought leader in wellness, personal growth, and leadership development. She has a passion for helping others achieve their full potential and be empowered to pursue their personal and professional goals. Dr. Cawley is the founder and CEO of The Delean Institute for Growth and Wellness, author of Power Up, and creator of the Power Up Framework for transformative growth and empowerment. Her mission is to help others achieve wellness through personal growth.

Written by Pratiqk Jaani, Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur & Creator of the Dhrasti Method Pratiqk Jaani is the creator of the Dhrasti Method, a transformational framework that helps people understand how conditioning shapes perception, emotions, and behaviour. Through speaking, coaching, and immersive experiences, he guides individuals toward greater clarity, emotional freedom, and authentic living. Achievement can improve your circumstances while leaving an old condition for self-worth intact. Dhrasti asks what becomes possible when that condition is seen through direct experience. Even when we reach our goals, receive recognition, or achieve the success we once desired, the feeling of not being good enough can remain. This article explores how deeply rooted patterns of thought and conditioning can shape our sense of worth, often causing us to seek external validation without finding lasting fulfillment. Through the Dhrasti Method, Pratiqk Jaani invites readers to look beyond achievement and discover the possibility of greater self-awareness, emotional freedom, and a more authentic relationship with themselves. When success feels insufficient Imagine enjoying a success without immediately wondering whether you can repeat it. You receive the good news, share it with someone you love, and allow the day to be enough. Tomorrow’s responsibility can wait until tomorrow. Now consider another experience. The promotion arrives, the business reaches its target, or somebody finally recognises your work. There is relief. Then a question appears, "How will I keep this?" Before long, the achievement has become the minimum standard you must maintain. The goal was real, and reaching it may have improved your life. Yet the feeling you hoped it would settle has returned. This is one of the questions at the heart of my work with the Dhrasti Method. When success does not bring the sense of enough we expected, what were we asking it to confirm about us? Making worth conditional A person may learn to feel valued when they perform well, help others, or keep everything under control. Over time, a preference can become a private rule, “I matter when I am useful.” “I am safe when I am the best.” “I deserve to rest when everything is finished.” These rules do not always announce themselves as beliefs. They may sound like common sense or responsibility. You may feel proud of being the person who always delivers while finding it difficult to receive help or leave a task incomplete. Dhrasti uses the term conditioned identity for these learned accounts of who we are and what we must do to remain acceptable. An identity built around achievement can make success feel necessary for more than its practical benefits. It becomes evidence that we are allowed to feel good about ourselves. The trouble is that evidence expires. Another target appears, someone performs better, or an ordinary mistake calls the whole account into question. There may be no lasting arrival while worth remains dependent on the next result. When feedback feels personal Imagine a business owner presenting a proposal. A client asks whether the delivery date is realistic. It is a reasonable question. The owner hears something larger, “They do not believe I am capable.” They promise a shorter timeline before checking the team’s capacity. Later, the team works late to protect a commitment that was made in seconds. The owner wanted to demonstrate competence and has created a situation that makes competent delivery harder. This is an illustrative situation, not a diagnosis of every ambitious person. Deadlines, financial pressures, and other people’s conduct can create genuine difficulties. Looking at conditioning helps us examine the part our interpretation plays alongside those facts. For this owner, the useful discovery would be the moment a question about a schedule became a question about personal worth. That is where a practical conversation became a demand to defend the self. Noticing the 4 layers The owner’s response can be explored through Dhrasti’s four layers. The mental layer carries the meaning, “My competence is being doubted.” The internal state may feel compressed and urgent. Emotion may include embarrassment or fear. The body and action layer may show up as tense shoulders, quicker speech and an immediate promise. Here, vibration is Dhrasti’s word for the felt quality of the internal state. It describes what can be noticed rather than a technical measurement. The layers overlap and influence one another, the purpose is to recognise a complete experience. Stress can have physical expressions, including changes in breathing and muscle tension. That is why telling yourself to be confident may not describe everything happening in the moment. A useful enquiry includes what you feel and what you are about to do. None of these observations makes the reaction shameful. They make it visible. Once the owner notices the urgency to prove competence, there is a chance to check the schedule before promising it. Experiencing yourself beyond performance It can be tempting to answer “I am not good enough” with a stronger declaration of the opposite. Sometimes encouraging language is helpful. Dhrasti also invites you to explore the status of the original judgement. Bring to mind a small, recent moment when an outcome affected how you saw yourself. Notice the sentence that appeared. Perhaps it was, “I should have done better.” Feel the accompanying state and emotion, and notice any urge to explain, withdraw or prove yourself again. As you recognise those parts of the experience, ask what is able to notice them. In Dhrasti, the real me refers to that observing awareness. The enquiry allows the judgement to be experienced as something present rather than accepted as the whole of who you are. There is a difference between agreeing intellectually that a result does not define you and noticing, in a difficult moment, that the result and your response can be held in a wider view. Direct experience is central to the Method because the next situation asks more of us than remembering an explanation. This perspective also leaves room for responsibility. You can acknowledge a mistake, repair its consequences and learn a skill without treating the mistake as a complete description of your being. What changes in daily life For the business owner, a different response could sound simple, “Let me confirm the delivery plan with the team before I commit.” It may carry less internal drama because the answer no longer has to establish personal worth. In another situation, you may be able to accept praise without immediately discounting it, hear useful criticism without abandoning confidence in everything you do, or rest while some tasks remain unfinished. You may still feel discomfort. The change is in how fully it determines your next response. Dhrasti’s understand, experience and create progression connects this recognition with everyday participation. Familiar reactions may return. Meeting them with awareness and practising a different response can gradually make another way of relating to yourself more familiar. Ambition can remain. You can build, contribute and pursue something demanding because it matters to you. The question is whether every outcome must also decide whether you are worthy of belonging in your own life. The next time you reach a goal, notice what follows the celebration. If a new demand arrives almost immediately, pause long enough to hear its condition. What must happen now before you are allowed to feel enough? That condition may tell you more about the work ahead than the next target ever could. Continue your enquiry For more background, read my Brainz interview on perception or explore the Dhrasti Method. Begin by noticing one familiar response in your own day and asking what it seems to say about who you are. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Pratiqk Jaani Pratiqk Jaani, Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur & Creator of the Dhrasti Method Pratiqk Jaani is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and creator of the Dhrasti Method. His work explores how human conditioning shapes perception and influences emotional experiences, relationships, performance, and wellbeing. Drawing from years of personal inquiry, business leadership, and transformational work, he helps individuals and organisations develop greater self-awareness and clarity. Through talks, workshops, coaching, and immersive retreats, Pratiqk empowers people to see beyond limiting patterns and experience life with greater freedom and purpose.

Written by Michelle Scolaro, Therapist & Transformational Coach Michelle Scolaro is a licensed mental health counselor, transformational coach, and retreat leader with over 20 years of experience helping high-achieving women move out of burnout and into lasting personal transformation. She is the founder of Created Life Consulting, LLC, and creator of Thrive In Paradise Retreats. For many workers, the fear is no longer simply, “What if I lose my job?” It is, “What happens if I lose my job and cannot find another one?” That second question changes the psychological weight of workplace uncertainty and can keep people operating in survival mode. In my work with clients, I have been hearing this with increasing frequency. People describe layoffs at their companies, sometimes affecting colleagues they never expected to see let go, while also hearing how difficult it has become for those same colleagues to find comparable work. Others have tested the market themselves and discovered that sending out applications does not necessarily lead to interviews, much less offers. Even people who have not personally received a warning begin wondering whether they could be next. That kind of uncertainty does not stay neatly contained at work. It can follow people home, interfere with sleep, heighten anxiety, alter how they interpret feedback, and change how safe they feel taking even ordinary professional risks. Over time, job insecurity can become its own source of chronic stress, regardless of whether a layoff ever comes. The fear is not only about losing a paycheck Job loss has obvious financial consequences, but employment represents much more than income. For many people, a job provides health insurance, retirement contributions, predictability, identity, professional community, and a sense of forward movement. It may support a mortgage, childcare, college tuition, aging parents, or the everyday expenses of a household. When that security feels threatened, the mind is not simply processing a career problem. It may be processing a threat to stability itself. The American Psychological Association’s 2025 Work in America survey found that more than half of U.S. workers said job insecurity had a significant impact on their stress at work. Workers affected by organizational and policy changes were particularly likely to describe stress, tension, uncertainty, emotional exhaustion, and reduced motivation. Federal Reserve research tells a similar story from another angle. In its 2025 survey of household economic well-being, 42% of adults said finding or keeping a job was at least a minor concern, up from 37% the previous year. At the same time, surveys from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed workers becoming increasingly pessimistic about their ability to find another job if their current employment ended. That distinction matters. Fear becomes much more powerful when people no longer believe they have an easy exit. A labor market can look stable and still feel unsafe It is important not to overstate what is happening. National data do not show layoffs exploding across the entire U.S. economy. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for July 2026 showed layoffs and discharges remaining relatively steady, and weekly unemployment claims have also remained comparatively low. But that does not mean workers are imagining the difficulty. The other side of the labor market is hiring, and that is where the experience has become more complicated. In December 2025, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the perceived probability of finding a new job within three months after losing one had fallen to 43.1%, the lowest level recorded since that survey series began. That measure improved somewhat in early 2026 but remained weak, reaching 44% in February. Federal Reserve data published in 2026 also showed a small increase in layoffs during 2025, fewer voluntary quits, fewer job changes, and growing concern about finding or keeping employment. Long-term unemployment has remained a concern as well. So two things can be true at once: most workers are not being laid off today, and many workers are becoming less confident that they could recover quickly if they were. Psychologically, that creates a very different workplace. Uncertainty can put the nervous system into survival mode Human beings generally cope better with a difficult reality than with prolonged uncertainty. When something has happened, we can begin responding to it. When something might happen, the mind keeps scanning. Is that meeting on my calendar significant? Why did my supervisor ask for those numbers? Why is leadership suddenly talking about efficiency? Why was that position not replaced? Why am I being asked to document everything I do? Was that constructive feedback normal, or is someone beginning to build a case against me? Once someone becomes afraid for their job, ordinary workplace experiences can take on new meaning. A delayed email response may feel threatening. Feedback that would once have been useful can feel ominous. A quiet week can become evidence that there is not enough work. A busy week can create the opposite fear: expectations have become impossible, and failure is inevitable. This is not necessarily irrational. Sometimes people are accurately noticing changes in their organizations. The problem is that prolonged uncertainty can keep the nervous system activated even when there is no immediate threat to respond to. A 2024 longitudinal study of workers found that fear of losing one’s job predicted an increased risk of poorer mental and general health over time. Other longitudinal research following working-age adults found that persistent exposure to job insecurity was associated with worse future mental health for both women and men. The body does not need a termination letter before stress begins. Job insecurity can create a performance trap One of the crueler aspects of job insecurity is the feedback loop it can create. A person becomes afraid of losing their job, so they try harder to protect it. They work later, say yes more often, check email constantly, avoid taking time off, and become hyperaware of how they are perceived. They may stop asking questions because they do not want to appear incompetent. They may hesitate to challenge unrealistic expectations because they do not want to seem difficult. They may take on more work because becoming indispensable feels safer than setting limits. For a while, this may look like increased commitment. Eventually, it can become exhaustion. Anxiety can interfere with concentration, working memory, sleep, decision-making, confidence, and emotional regulation. Someone who once performed easily may start second-guessing decisions or making mistakes because so much mental energy is being used to monitor for danger. That can then reinforce the original fear. A person notices that they are struggling to focus and thinks, “Now my performance really is slipping. What if they notice?” Fear of being fired affects performance, and changes in performance become further evidence that being fired is possible. The worker becomes trapped in an internal cycle in which trying desperately to protect the job can make it increasingly difficult to function well in it. Layoffs affect the people who remain too We often talk about layoffs as something that happens to the people whose positions are eliminated. Psychologically, their effects extend much further. The colleagues who remain have just received information about the security of their own employment. They may lose trusted coworkers, inherit additional responsibilities, or wonder why one person was chosen and another was spared. The rules that previously made work feel predictable may no longer seem reliable. The American Psychological Association (APA) has highlighted this effect in workplaces undergoing major reductions, noting that layoffs can lower morale and trust among remaining employees while increasing stress and affecting well-being. Researchers sometimes refer to aspects of this experience as “survivor” reactions following downsizing. The emotional response can also be complicated by guilt. Someone may feel relieved to still have a job and ashamed of that relief at the same time. They may feel grateful for employment while resenting the additional workload. They may be told to remain positive while watching former colleagues struggle to secure new positions. None of those emotions disappear simply because someone survived the latest round of cuts. The difficulty finding another job changes the equation There was a period when many professionals felt reasonably confident that if a workplace became intolerable, they could leave. They might not know exactly where they would go, but mobility itself created a sense of agency. That confidence matters psychologically. When people believe they have options, they are more likely to speak up, negotiate, set boundaries, challenge unrealistic expectations, or leave environments that are damaging their well-being. When they believe there may be nowhere else to go, their relationship with the current job changes. They tolerate more. They may stay in roles that are making them sick because unemployment feels worse. They may avoid using benefits or taking legitimate time off. They may accept increased responsibilities without corresponding compensation because they do not want to attract negative attention. They may stop looking elsewhere because repeated rejection has become demoralizing. The result is not simply job insecurity. It is a diminished sense of choice. And when people feel trapped, stress intensifies. What workers can do when the fear is real Telling someone who is worried about losing their livelihood to “stop worrying” is neither realistic nor helpful. The goal is not to pretend uncertainty does not exist. The goal is to prevent uncertainty from taking over every part of life. One useful place to begin is separating what you know from what you fear. What concrete information do you have about your organization, your role, or your performance? What are you predicting? Both deserve attention, but they are not the same thing. Anxiety tends to collapse possibility into certainty, and naming the difference can reduce some of its power. Creating practical options can also restore a sense of agency. Updating a résumé, reconnecting with professional contacts, understanding household finances, building savings where possible, or learning what opportunities actually exist in the market will not guarantee security. But taking measured action can feel very different from endlessly imagining catastrophe. It is equally important to pay attention to what fear is doing to your behavior at work. Are you answering messages at all hours because it is truly expected, or because you are afraid not to? Are you accepting unreasonable demands because they are necessary, or because saying no suddenly feels dangerous? Are you interpreting every piece of constructive feedback as evidence that you are about to be fired? Those questions can help distinguish responsible preparation from living in a constant state of defense. Support matters too. If job insecurity is affecting sleep, mood, relationships, concentration, or your ability to function, talking with a mental health professional can help. The external uncertainty may be real, but you do not have to allow it to become the organizing principle of your internal life. Employers cannot treat uncertainty as an individual resilience problem Organizations also have a responsibility here. When leaders know employees are anxious about layoffs, restructuring, automation, or the future of the company, silence is not neutral. In the absence of information, people create explanations, and anxious minds rarely create reassuring ones. Not every leader can promise job security. Sometimes layoffs are genuinely possible. Sometimes decisions have not yet been made. But leaders can communicate clearly about what is known, what is not known, what timelines employees can expect, and what support will be available if changes occur. They can also resist the temptation to demand more from a workforce already operating under fear. After downsizing, remaining employees often inherit responsibilities from people who are gone. Calling that “efficiency” does not change what the nervous system experiences as overload. Transparency, realistic expectations, respectful communication, and psychological safety cannot eliminate economic uncertainty. They can keep uncertainty from becoming unnecessarily damaging. A job should not determine whether you feel safe in your own life Job insecurity is not new. Economic cycles change, industries restructure, technologies replace some forms of work and create others, and companies make decisions employees cannot control. What feels particularly consequential right now is the combination of uncertainty inside the workplace and diminished confidence outside of it. Workers may fear losing the position they have while simultaneously doubting whether another position will be available if they do. That combination can keep people psychologically braced for something that has not happened yet. We need to take that seriously. Job insecurity is not simply a career concern when it begins interfering with sleep, relationships, concentration, mood, self-worth, and a person’s ability to feel safe. At that point, it has become a mental health concern as well. If you are finding that job uncertainty is keeping you anxious, hypervigilant, or unable to disengage from work, you do not have to manage that fear alone. At Created Life Consulting, I support people navigating anxiety, burnout, workplace stress, and the loss of self-trust that can happen when life feels uncertain. Individualized support cannot guarantee what happens at work. But it can help you stay grounded in yourself while you navigate what comes next. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Michelle Scolaro Michelle Scolaro, Therapist & Transformational Coach Michelle Scolaro is a therapist, transformational coach, and retreat leader with over 20 years of experience helping high-achieving women move through burnout and disconnection. Her work centers on self-care as a necessity and self-trust as the foundation for a fully expressed life. Her own experience of burnout and recovery shapes her work, deepening her commitment to helping women reconnect with themselves and create meaningful, lasting change. She blends clinical expertise with intuitive coaching to create meaningful, lasting change. Michelle is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a Master’s degree in Psychology. Her work has been featured in Viazara Retreats Magazine and on podcasts, including Time To Elevate.

Written by Amalie Ramsey, Fitness and Transformation Strategist Amalie Ramsey builds warriors, not followers. As CEO of Iron Grip Performance and founder of Legacy Transformation Academy, she empowers women to reclaim strength, ignite confidence, and forge unstoppable vitality through strategic fitness, science-driven nutrition, and cognitive mastery. Before you trust the promise of better recovery, fat loss, or easier aging, here is how to separate real medicine from hype, hope, and unanswered questions. Peptides are everywhere right now. For women over 40, that can get confusing fast because the word is being used in many different ways. It could mean a prescription medicine, a wellness trend, or something with almost no human studies behind it. The word itself does not tell you what you are being offered, whether it is right for you, or whether it is safe. "The quality of your life is the quality of your decisions." – Tony Robbins. What exactly is a peptide? A peptide is a short chain of amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks your body already uses to make proteins. Certain peptides act like messengers in the body. They can help send signals to cells and may affect processes such as hormone regulation, repair, inflammation, appetite, and recovery. Peptides work in the body, and medicine has used them in powerful ways. The problem is that the word “peptide” now covers a very wide range of substances. Some are prescription medications with clinical trial data, prescribing information, and medical supervision. Some are experimental compounds that have shown promise in animals but have been studied in humans only to a limited extent. Others are sold through wellness clinics, compounding pharmacies, and online vendors, where the safety profile may not be clear. Related article: The Longevity Boom and the Balance Between Promise and Caution Which peptide, exactly? When a woman asks me whether she should take peptides, I ask her which one. A few weeks ago, two conversations at my gym showed me how quickly the word can become confusing. The first was with a woman whose partner had been speaking with someone at a wellness clinic about a weight-loss protocol they offer. The conversation kept circling around the word "peptides" without naming a specific one. She was uneasy, and she could not tell whether she was being protected from the details or whether the person offering them did not have those details. A few days later, a man mentioned the Wolverine stack. It refers to two injectable compounds often promoted for healing and joint recovery. The name comes from the character Wolverine from X-Men, known for rapid healing and tissue regeneration. That is one reason why the marketing is so seductive. What counts as real medicine Some peptides are actual medicine. Semaglutide, sold under brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy, belongs in a different category from gym peptides and research compounds. Wegovy is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for chronic weight management in specific patients, including people with obesity or those who are overweight with at least one weight related condition. It is also approved to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events in certain adults with cardiovascular disease and either obesity or overweight. It mimics a hormone your body already produces, one involved in appetite and fullness, and is available as either a once weekly injection or a once daily tablet. Tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound for weight management, is also in the prescription medication category. It acts on two hormonal pathways instead of one and is approved for chronic weight management in specific patients. It is also approved for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Naming the category helps you recognize which type of peptide you are dealing with. These are medications that have been studied in clinical trials, come with prescribing information listing risks, warnings, side effects, and eligibility criteria, and require a qualified medical professional to monitor a patient's response. Still, none of that makes them casual tools or even makes them right for everyone. What it means is that there's a name on the prescription, a known regulatory pathway for the medicine, and a person responsible for your care. That is what accountability looks like, and it is the standard most compounds sold through wellness clinics and gym circles can’t meet. Related article: Ozempic, Wegovy and Weight Loss Injections – The Nutrition Conversation We Are Missing More hype than proof The compounds most often discussed in gym and wellness circles are in a different category. BPC 157 and TB 500 are often sold together as the “Wolverine” stack. They are marketed for healing, joint and tendon repair, and reduced inflammation. The appeal is understandable. If your body hurts, your recovery is slow, or you're tired of feeling limited, of course that sounds appealing. Asking questions about it is fair. But treating it as a proven solution before strong human evidence is available is where women can be misled. For BPC 157, most of the research is still based on animal and preclinical studies. Human evidence for the uses it is commonly promoted for remains limited. The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine has said there is no high quality clinical evidence in humans supporting BPC 157. The FDA has also raised concerns about immune reactions, impurities, and limited safety information. In July 2026, the FDA proposed that neither BPC 157 free base nor BPC 157 acetate be added to the 503A Bulks List. The Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee later voted to recommend including them, but that recommendation is not binding. The FDA has not made a final decision. BPC 157 remains unapproved, and there still isn't enough clinical safety information to provide a clear picture. For TB-500, there is even less to go on. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found no clinical studies or human exposure data for the forms it reviewed, and not enough evidence to determine whether they are effective for wound healing. The same regulatory back-and-forth occurred here, the FDA proposed that neither TB-500 free base nor TB-500 acetate be added to the 503A Bulks List, and the advisory committee later voted to recommend their inclusion. Potential safety risks in humans are still unknown. Anti-doping agencies prohibit both BPC-157 and TB-500 in sport. Belgian Blue cattle were bred over generations to carry a myostatin mutation that switches off the body's natural limit on muscle growth. The result looks extraordinary. Research reports approximately 20 to 25% more muscle mass. However, the breed also has documented health and husbandry challenges, including difficult births, lameness, respiratory disease, and heat stress. More muscle is not automatically the same as more strength. Strength also depends on nervous system coordination, skill, and training. Appearance alone does not tell us what a body can do. Related article: Are Gyms Missing the Mark When It Comes to Women’s Health? Peptides sold for optimization Another group of compounds is marketed less for healing and more for optimization: muscle gain, fat loss, better sleep, better body composition, and faster recovery. CJC-1295 and ipamorelin are two names that come up often. Both are promoted as tools that encourage the body to release more of its own growth hormone. The appeal is not hard to see. Who wouldn't want better recovery, better sleep, more muscle, and an easier path to changing body composition? In its review of these substances for compounding, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raised serious concerns. For CJC-1295, those concerns included limited clinical data, questions about immune response and impurities, and serious adverse effects linked with use, including increased heart rate and vasodilatory reactions. For ipamorelin, the FDA noted limited human safety data and similar immune concerns. It also noted two deaths among ipamorelin-treated patients in a study involving intravenous ipamorelin after bowel surgery. The FDA stated that it was unclear whether ipamorelin caused the deaths. Those are not small concerns, especially when the compound is being promoted for body composition or recovery. When a compound is offered to you for body composition without this context, you are not being given informed consent. If no one explains the risks, the evidence, and who is responsible for monitoring you, a confident answer should not be enough. The question beneath the question I ask the question that has nothing to do with peptides at all, “What results are you actually trying to achieve?” Almost no one wants a peptide. They want the results they were told it could give them. When I ask, the real answer usually sounds like some version of this: My joints ache now in a way they never used to. I train the way I always have, and my body has stopped responding. I can't sleep. I can't recover. My hunger feels harder to manage than it used to. My body is changing, and it no longer feels like it is working with me. When a woman has come to believe her body has turned against her, the promise of anything offering relief becomes very hard to resist. If the problem feels beyond her control, she may start looking for the answer outside herself, in a vial, a protocol, or the word of a friend of a friend who just started taking it themselves. But a belief about her body is still just a belief. It's the meaning we attach to it, rehearsed so often that it begins to feel like fact. But the good news is that you can change that story. That is the foundation of the work I do. I have seen this shift happen, not through a vial, but through the body itself. When a body is trained, fed, and allowed to recover, it starts giving new proof. It shows that it can still respond. It can still adapt. It can still get stronger. That proof changes the way a woman sees herself. What I can attest to What’s in a vial, whether a dose is correct, whether a label matches its contents, and whether a protocol is right for your specific health history are medical questions, and they belong with a qualified medical professional. My expertise is in the foundations that many women hope a peptide will fix, strength, recovery, nutrition, and the feeling that their bodies have become unfamiliar. Depending on their cause, aching joints and stalled recovery can often improve with appropriately programmed resistance training, sensible load management, adequate protein intake, and sufficient recovery. That sense of unfamiliarity can also begin to change through the same work. Every session, every rep, and every bit of recovery is proof that your body can still respond. It answers the demand you place on it. It shows you that it still functions, adapts, strengthens, and responds. Sleep, metabolism, inflammation, and body composition are deeply connected. Low energy, poor sleep, and a metabolism that feels like it is working against you often trace back to a few basic problems, recovery treated as optional, nutrition used to punish the body rather than fuel it, and years of guessing rather than understanding what your body actually needs. That is where DNA-informed nutrition earns its place. It can add another layer of useful information to a woman’s health history, current nutrition, preferences, laboratory results, and real-world response. A foundation is harder to sell than a vial. That is why so many women are sold the shortcut first. But the foundation is still where the real work begins. 3 questions to consider If you are still curious, there is nothing wrong with that. Consider asking these three questions before you say yes: Is this approved for the use being described to you? If not, what is its actual regulatory status? What does the evidence in humans show, setting aside animal studies, anecdotes, testimonials, and the opinion of the person who benefits if you say yes? Who will monitor your health while you are taking it, and what specifically will they be watching for? The right professional will answer questions carefully, clearly, and directly. Where the real work starts Medicine has its place. For the right woman, under the right supervision, it can change the course of her life. Some healing compounds may earn their place in time as well, once the human evidence catches up with the claims being made. I'm not against medicine. I'm for every woman having enough evidence, enough context, and real medical guidance before she says yes. You are allowed to want what they are selling, the energy, the easier recovery, the return of feeling like your body is on your side. All of it is worth wanting. Much of what they are selling still has to be built through training, nutrition, recovery, and a new relationship with your body. That kind of change holds because it is earned, practiced, and repeated. It begins with the story you have been telling yourself about your body. That story can change. Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes and reflects regulatory information available at the time of writing. It is not medical advice. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Amalie Ramsey Amalie Ramsey, Fitness and Transformation Strategist Strength is non-negotiable. Amalie Ramsey, CEO of Iron Grip Performance and founder of Legacy Transformation Academy, ignites women’s power through elite training, precision nutrition, and unbreakable mindset mastery. Her strategy delivers real results, empowering women to push beyond limits, break through barriers, and live with purpose. Born to Thrive, Built to Conquer.

Written by Makiya Everett, Founder & Marketing Consultant of Vonyia Business Solutions Makiya Everett is the founder and marketing consultant at Vonyia Business Solutions, a business and marketing consulting firm. The firm helps entrepreneurs build strong brands, create effective strategies, and grow scalable, sustainable businesses. A polished logo, a great website, and a steady social media presence can make a business seem established. But the real issue is whether the business is ready to grow. The core difference between a brand that looks successful and a business that actually succeeds is what happens behind the scenes: clear offers, purposeful marketing, reliable systems, and an experience that keeps customers coming back. The danger of confusing visibility with viability I get why entrepreneurs care about how their businesses look. I started out making websites and digital content myself. Visuals matter. They shape first impressions, show your personality, and help potential clients decide if they want to know more. As Vonyia Business Solutions evolved from creative services into a business and marketing consulting firm, I learned an important lesson: a beautiful brand can attract attention without giving that attention anywhere meaningful to go. A website may bring people in, but a confusing offer, unclear next step, or inconsistent communication after an inquiry can keep an interested visitor from becoming a customer. I've also had to apply this lesson to my own business. There were periods when I focused heavily on what I was creating and how I was presenting it, yet still wondered why my growth didn't match my effort. The answer wasn't always more content or another design update. Sometimes I needed to clarify the offer, strengthen my processes, or become more intentional about what I wanted each marketing activity to accomplish. 1. Start with the offer, not the aesthetic Before investing in another rebrand, ask a practical question: Can someone unfamiliar with your company quickly understand what you do, who you serve, and how to work with you? Your offer should make the value of your service easy to recognize. That means describing the problem you solve, the outcome you're working toward, and what a prospective customer should do next. For a coach, that might mean explaining the difference between a single strategy session and an ongoing program. For a service provider, it could mean clarifying whether customers should request a quote, schedule a consultation, or book directly. Good design should make those decisions easier, not disguise missing information with polished visuals. 2. Treat your website as part of your customer experience A website should do more than look impressive in a screenshot. It should help a real person navigate your business with confidence. Think through the entire journey: How does a visitor find your site? Can they understand your services on a phone? Does the booking button lead to the right destination? Will they receive clear next steps after submitting an inquiry? I encourage business owners to walk through their websites as though they're visiting for the first time. Test the mobile layout. Open the contact form. Click the appointment link. Read the policies. If one of those steps creates uncertainty, improving it can be more valuable than changing the homepage again. 3. Build systems before you chase more traffic More visibility can create more inquiries, but it also creates more responsibility. If client details are scattered across messages, proposals are recreated from scratch, and no one is responsible for following up, growing an audience may only amplify those weaknesses. Strong systems don't have to be complicated. A consistent inquiry process, a clear service agreement, defined project milestones, and a straightforward client handoff can make a meaningful difference. When tasks are documented and responsibilities are clear, business owners can spend less time reinventing the process and more time serving customers. This is especially important for entrepreneurs who are building while balancing other responsibilities. Structure is not about making a small business unnecessarily corporate. It's about creating room for the business to operate without requiring the founder to personally remember every detail. 4. Measure what happens after people notice you It's exciting when a post gets attention or a website receives more visitors. But visibility is a starting point, not the final result. Pay attention to the next actions: Are people requesting consultations? Which conversations turn into paying projects? Do customers understand your process? Are they recommending you to others? For example, a speaking engagement might introduce a business owner to your expertise, while a later promotional offer gives that person a reason to book. Looking only at the final booking would miss the relationship building that came first. Understanding how those touchpoints work together helps you invest in marketing that serves a purpose. Business owners don't need to become data analysts working full time. They do need a simple way to connect their marketing efforts to qualified inquiries, conversions, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Those measures reveal far more about business health than follower counts alone. 5. Give business growth a foundation it can stand on At Vonyia, I approach business development through a simple philosophy: Strategize. Optimize. Scale. First, get clear about the direction, audience, and offers. Next, improve the systems and customer journey that support those goals. Then pursue growth in a way the business is prepared to handle. That order matters. Scaling a confusing process usually produces a bigger confusing process. Scaling a clear, repeatable experience creates a better opportunity for sustainable growth. The goal isn't to choose between beauty and business strength. You can have both. Invest in visual branding that communicates your value, then support it with a strategy that makes it easier for the right people to find you, trust you, and work with you. What should you strengthen first? Before your next marketing campaign or redesign, take an honest look at the foundation. Is your offer clear? Is the next step obvious? Can your systems handle new inquiries? Do you know whether your marketing efforts are creating business opportunities? A strong business isn't built by aesthetics alone. It's built when what customers see is supported by what the business can consistently deliver. That is the difference between looking ready for growth and being ready for it. If you're ready to strengthen the strategy behind your brand, explore Vonyia Business Solutions and consider starting with a business and marketing consultation. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more info! Read more from Makiya Everett Makiya Everett, Founder & Marketing Consultant of Vonyia Business Solutions Makiya Everett is the founder and marketing consultant at Vonyia Business Solutions, a business and marketing consulting firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build businesses with clarity, strategy, and purpose. With expertise in business strategy, branding, marketing, and digital growth, she helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into strong brands and sustainable businesses. Makiya is passionate about making business strategy feel practical and achievable, especially for entrepreneurs navigating growth. Through Vonyia, her mission is to help business owners strategize, optimize, and scale with confidence.

Written by Renee Devereaux, Regeneration Specialist Renee's work addresses what lies beneath the surface of "personal abandonment," creating an "addiction" to a coping mechanism that keeps the person from the fulfillment they seek. Each person's journey is different. Her role is to meet you where you are and guide you to what needs resolution. In A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis wrote, “To this day I do not know what they mean when they call dead bodies beautiful. The ugliest man alive is an angel of beauty compared with the loveliest of the dead.” His words invite us to consider whether beauty lies not only in physical appearance but also in the vitality, emotions, and presence that make us feel alive. Renee Devereaux explores how suppressing emotions and leaving unresolved pain unaddressed can affect our relationships, our well-being, and the way we respond to others. Through this reflection, she encourages readers to look beyond appearances, acknowledge their inner struggles, and recognise the importance of healing and personal responsibility. Isn’t it time that we realize that it’s the energy of 'life', whether it’s “life” in another or the way we 'feel', that we perceive as beauty? “Life” has actually been measured by weight. As soon as a person is declared “deceased,” the body weight changes. Hardly perceptible and close to the weight of a hummingbird, as the soul vacates, the weight changes. The Life Force or Essence that kept your heart beating all those years has left. Was it treasured? Respected? Loved? Based on my experience working with so many, to that question I will reply with a resounding NO! Every one of them, men and women, regardless of age, had learned to suppress all signs of vitality and 'life'! This may sound like a generalization but, truthfully, every client I ever worked with had successfully been able to suppress their emotions. Society has made us believe that “feeling” is for sissies and that we must learn to “toughen up” the incredible vehicle through which we can learn our most valuable life lessons. There’s been judgment as to which emotions are acceptable and which aren’t. I learned early in life that others want you to always show your good, positive emotions and intensely dislike those they themselves did not learn to manage. They can become visibly uncomfortable when emotions that are not “nice” are demonstrated by others. Yet, it’s through emotion that we reveal our character and who we really are! The release of suppression is being played out in our world today, and it’s a dangerous display. Not many are aware of the superego, the part of the psyche that can become completely unmanageable when the wound from trauma or some type of violation has not healed and is just too painful to bear. At first, a habit, which is truly a “coping mechanism,” develops and may, in time, become an addiction. As we grow older, even the addictive substance or habit no longer serves us, and the long-avoided emotional setup for violence or criminal behavior can no longer be controlled. It appears that it’s easier to harm others than to heal oneself. I’m not the first to make that observation! A perfect example is demonstrated in the movie The War of the Roses, as the male lead makes an offhand remark to his mate. She feels it but does not address it! It does not take much or very long for her resentment to build. The unsuspecting male goes on with his husbandly duties, figuring she’s just having “hormonal” imbalances, which he pretends not to notice. The final explosion creates the violation of each partner and the house itself! We are seeing this type of extreme behavior with recent developments in our world. Whether it’s women falsely accusing males of rape, males abusing women as “self-protection,” or children of any age murdering parents and vice versa, the motivation for behavior must be examined closely. This is more than mere hostility. This is dysfunctional behavior that needs to be addressed. Isn’t it time to take heed, as well as boldly take responsibility for all that each human being manages to keep buried before it becomes impossible to hide? As we observe behaviors in ourselves, our friends, families, etc., that may be questionable, can we allow ourselves to be objective and start a healing process before the alarm goes off or the volcano erupts? A call to action is demanded, one that, perhaps, can bring attention to the critical importance of understanding the responsibility involved and the true meaning of "parenting"! Contact Renee Devereaux here or at 775 434 9568. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more info! Read more from Renee Devereaux Renee Devereaux, Regeneration Specialist Renee Devereaux built and rebuilt her business multiple times, surviving financial collapse, health crises, and relocations across countries. Every loss taught her about resilience and the impermanence of external security. This work has remained constant, helping people reclaim their power by resolving what holds them back. "Freedom and Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship" is her second book, a guide and workbook she shares with those eager to start their own business.