I grew up in the 90s and have always been a big fan of the group, TLC. When their song, "Unpretty," shuffled onto my playlist this morning, I felt inspired to finish this post, which has been sitting as an undeveloped draft for several months. After I define what body dysmorphia is, I'll provide more context for why my mind...[ read more ]
Photo credit link. Despite being only a month old at the release of her debut album, Mary J. Blige is one of the icons that have been a constant throughout my life (alongside Mariah Carey and Ms. Lauryn Hill.) When I saw that Mary J. released a documentary to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her second album, My Life, I...[ read more ]
Image Credit Though I don't tend to follow the royal family, I became more interested when Meghan Markle, an actress from one of my favorite shows, Suits, got engaged to Prince Harry. More recently, I've seen how their lives have been shaped by racism and anxiety, which ultimately culminated in the couple separating from the royal family. Today, I'll be...[ read more ]
I loved watching the docuseries, The Me You Can't See, produced by Oprah and Prince Harry. As a lover of stories, I especially appreciated the interviews with Lady Gaga and Prince Harry (post on him coming soon). What surprised me the most was how forthcoming Oprah was about her own mental health. Today, I'll be sharing some of what I...[ read more ]
I've been seeing snippets of Lady Gaga's Lady Gaga's interview on Oprah's docuseries, The Me You Can't See. Having not yet seen the show, I started to research if Gaga has ever written about her life. The closest thing I could find to a memoir was an essay she wrote as part of a compilation book put together by her...[ read more ]
Since I primarily work with teenagers and read a ton on adolescent development, I wasn't surprised when my library's e-book app recommended Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity, by Peggy Orenstein. Before we dive in, the information presented within comes from Orenstein's research of well over 100 male teens and young...[ read more ]
On the weekends, I try (and usually fail) to unplug and relax from my typical routines of running my therapy practice and consuming/creating mental health content. Luckily for you, what was supposed to be me enjoying a Halle Berry movie led to this essay where I share the mental health insights that I gained from her 2014 film, Frankie and...[ read more ]
As a young therapist working primarily with teenagers and young adults, I've come to learn a thing or two about vaping. In this post, I'll share some of the origin story of the vaping industry, my clinical observations, concerns, as well as some tips for parents and role models for this young population. Marketing is Pervasive and Deadly The most...[ read more ]
Chrissy Metz is best known for her role as Kate Pearson on the hit TV show, This is Us. I just finished reading Chrissy Metz's book, This is Me, for the second time and I'm excited to share some of the insights that I gained from her story. Mental Health Themes This memoir covers a multitude of mental health themes...[ read more ]
I read a lot of books and every so often, a truly fantastic one finds me and rocks my world. Man Enough: Undefining my Masculinity by Justin Baldoni is one of those books. What is this book about? Let's start with the author's rationale for writing the book: "I need this book to heal from those formative years where the...[ read more ]