Anxiety and Holiday Family Dynamics: A Three-Part Blog Series When Holiday Expectations Meet Family Anxiety: Navigating Seasonal Togetherness Through the Fog of Worry The holidays bring a unique cocktail of joy and stress, but for those managing anxiety, family gatherings can feel like navigating a minefield of triggers, expectations, and ...

The Plot Twist Nobody Saw Coming Here's what they don't tell you about getting through perimenopause: on the other side lies a version of yourself that's more authentic, more powerful, and more unapologetically you than you've ever been. Welcome to your fucking fabulous fifties. The Wisdom of the Warrior You've ...

The Juggling Act Nobody Prepared You For You're managing a marriage, raising humans who alternate between needing you desperately and acting like you're the worst person alive, dealing with aging parents, crushing it at work, and oh yeah – your body is basically staging a coup. Welcome to the "fuck ...

By Megan Bayles Bartley, LMFT Welcome to the Club Nobody Talks About Here's the thing they don't tell you about perimenopause: it's not just about hot flashes and irregular periods. It's about your body staging a complete renovation while you're still living in the house. And honey, construction is messy ...

By Megan Bayles Bartley, LMFT "My 12 year-old daughter thinks I'm the meanest parent in the world because I won't let her go to the mall with a friend unsupervised. Am I being overprotective? Am I pushing her away by setting these limits?" If you've ever asked yourself questions like ...

By Megan Bayles Bartley, LMFT We've all been there—standing in the kitchen, completely blindsided by our teenager's emotional response to what seemed like a simple question. "How was your day?" somehow escalated into slammed doors and tears, leaving you wondering, "What just happened?" Parents often come to me feeling like ...

Lowering My Expectations On Mother’s Day Was The Best Thing I’ve Ever Done ...

By Megan Bayles Bartley, LMFT Parenting adolescents is like navigating uncharted waters in a boat that keeps changing shape. Just when you think you've found your balance, everything shifts again. Not too dissimilar to the toddler years.  I see it daily in my therapy practice at The Mindfulness Center—parents who ...

by Ashley Vaden, LMFT It was one of those Sundays when the weight of an endless to-do list—each task not insurmountable in itself—still managed to overwhelm me. Rather than spiral into endless doom scrolling, I reached for “The Antidote:  Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking” by Oliver Burkeman, ...