You can usually logic your way through a feeling. You've done the reflecting and reading (and late-night googling), and most of the time, it works. So when something still feels heavy, and you can't quite name it, the easiest story is that something's wrong with you. There isn't. What's usually true is that somewhere under all the performing, you lost contact with who you were before the world told you who to be.

Coping skills are great, but what interests me most is how you're wired—and the parts of you that learned to help, protect, and manage everyone else. I've used the Enneagram for over a decade and still reach for it all the time. And since I'm a recovering perfectionist and eldest daughter myself, none of this is theoretical… the over-functioning, the intellectualizing. I'm fluent. It's hard to slip much past someone who speaks it.

The human stuff: I have three bully-breed dogs who'll absolutely crash our calls. I'm serious about a good flat white (former barista—can't help it), I'm a new-ish mom, and I'm a mountains-over-the-beach girlie EVERY time. I really do think being alive is a special occasion, and most days I'm just trying to live like I believe it. ❤️‍🔥

Anxiety • Burnout • Life transitions • Identity & self-esteem • Spirituality • LGBTQ+