Why is “Settling” Such a Charged Word?
“Settling” often comes with a negative connotation. When I googled it, one of the definitions I found was to “accept or agree to (something that one considers to be less than satisfactory)”. We assume that by settling, we’re taking a partner who’s “less than satisfactory”, but where does this notion come from in a romantic sense?
What is a Feminist Approach to Therapy?
Here’s a bit of history…the feminist approach to psychotherapy is a branch of psychology that shook things up during the late 20th century, particularly during the second wave of feminism. This approach is all about challenging the traditional ways of therapy and recognizing how societal power structures and gender inequality affect our mental health. It was like a breath of fresh air in the world of psychology, because it is a move away from white-male-centered dominant thinking within the field.
Why I Can’t See You and Your Partner for Individual Therapy
It's not uncommon for individuals to seek help for issues that affect their relationships. Relationship problems can indeed take a toll on one's mental well-being, and seeking therapy is a commendable step toward addressing these concerns. However, there is a crucial distinction between individual therapy and couples therapy, and it's important to understand why therapists often cannot see both partners individually when relationship issues arise. This recently came up for me, so I thought it would be helpful to share the reasons behind this practice and why it is essential for the effectiveness of therapy.
Making Friends Post Pandemic
I’ll be honest, making friends as an adult is HARD, doesn’t matter if you are in your teens or an older adult. During the pandemic, making friends was even harder. As kids, it may have been easier to make friends because we may have been around other people in school, after school activities and even sports. As we get older, making friends gets more difficult. We are consumed by our daily lives which may include working all day, home chores and even parenting. We may even move to a new city or the friends that we have are settling into a new lifestyle, perhaps marriage and kids. During the pandemic, we were all in our homes, which didn’t allow us to socialize with others either. Fast forward to 2023 and you may be finding it hard to connect and make friends. I’ll tell you this, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. This is something that many of us have dealt with or are currently dealing with, we just don’t talk about it as much. As someone who knows many people, but has few friends, I have struggled with this as well. How do we make friends as adults though?