The torment of people-pleasing! People-pleasing and fear of conflict often look like being “easygoing” on the outside—but internally, they create anxiety, resentment, and emotional burnout. If you constantly worry about upsetting others, avoid difficult conversations, or say yes when your body is screaming no, you are not weak. You are responding to a nervous system that learned early on that conflict equals danger . This pattern may have once kept you safe. Now, it may be costing you your...

Parenting Teenagers Parenting a teenager can feel like navigating a world that is constantly shifting beneath your feet. One moment you’re celebrating their independence, and the next you’re wondering how to break through that “I’m fine” wall. Yet even in the most frustrating moments, there are gentle, effective ways to stay emotionally connected with your teen—without forcing conversations or creating conflict. Research and clinical experience alike show that emotional connection is the...

A joyful moment as an adult daughter shares memories with her parents through a photo album on a sunny day. You spend years raising children, guiding them, feeding them, reminding them to brush their teeth—and then one day, they are legally adults. And yet. They still call. They still worry you. They still need you (just not when you offer ). Welcome to the uniquely stressful, rarely discussed phase of parenting adult children —the part no one warned you about, largely because everyone is too...