Do you often feel like you’re pouring yourself wholly into a relationship, only to find yourself second-guessing yourself, craving more closeness, and feeling like you're chasing someone who pulls away? Or perhaps you’ve experienced the opposite—longing for space, desiring independence, or feeling suffocated by a partner’s constant need for reassurance and connection. If this sounds familiar, you may be experiencing the complex dynamics of anxious and avoidant attachment styles. These two styles tend to attract each other - creating a relationship that can feel like a constant emotional tug-of-war.

Relationships can be one of the most fulfilling aspects of our lives, but they can also be one of the greatest sources of fear and potential for pain. 

Entering a committed relationship inherently requires taking a risk — we risk changing familiar habits and routines, we risk not knowing if the relationship will pan out, we risk the possibility of rejection or abandonment, and the ultimately the possibility of experiencing significant emotional pain if we invest in the relationship and it doesn’t work out. 

It is natural to periodically have doubts or reevaluate your relationship. Is this relationship healthy? Is this dynamic sustainable? 

For many, these types of questions can provide insight and guidance, allowing us to evaluate our relationship and take the necessary recourse to improve it, change it, or leave it.

The holiday season is over. The decorations are starting to be packed away, many holiday celebrations have passed, and the excitement of the new year is starting to settle into regular life again. But for many of us, there’s a lingering feeling after the holidays: a little more pressure to “bounce back” or “make up for” the variety of delicious foods we’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks. Whether it’s from the extra treats, the comfy holiday clothes, or the pressure of common new year’s resolutions, it’s easy to feel like you need to change something about your body.

Valentine’s Day can be a tricky time for polyamorous people. While society often emphasizes the day as one for couples, those in polyamorous relationships may feel the pressure to balance multiple connections, manage expectations, and navigate potential feelings of jealousy or exclusion.

As winter fully sets in, many of us feel the effects of shorter days and colder nights. For some, this time of year can bring about more than just a yearning to cozy up on the couch with your favorite show or book—it can also trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression related to changes in the seasons. While SAD can affect anyone, it's more common in areas with long winters and little sunlight.

The beginning of a New Year is often a time to reflect on the past year and think about the year ahead. For many, it’s a time to set resolutions and make goals, and sometimes this may feel a little overwhelming. Creating a vision board can be a way to help you visualize your dreams, and enjoy the process instead of feeling the sense of pressure that can come with setting goals.

Honestly, it is an unfortunate reality that I am writing this, but a necessity. Recently, I attended an event that was meant to be a joyous celebration, but instead, I was left feeling angry and minimized. As I continued to process my anger, it transformed into a sense of empowerment, and eventually, I felt motivated and slightly unstoppable. The spike in motivation that I felt spurred on this post.

In a world where microaggressions and macroaggressions are sadly common, individuals from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities frequently face a barrage of subtle and overt discrimination. These experiences of bias, whether a seemingly “playful” comment or a systemic issue, can weigh heavily on one's mental and physical health. However, many BIPOC individuals have found remarkable ways to transform this pain and anger into powerful motivation, driving them to fully engage in their personal growth and relationships.

Body image refers to how we perceive our physical selves and how we think others perceive us. It’s a complex interplay of self-esteem, societal standards, and personal experiences. For many, this perception can be strongly influenced by external forces, such as social media and the larger cultural context, as well as internal insecurities. Beauty standards are often unattainable and unhealthy, which can place us in a double bind of striving for external appearances different than our own, or feeling like we are unattractive or outcasted from others.

Social media, family culture, and our larger cultural contexts play significant roles in shaping our body image. For every gender, racial identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, socioeconomic status, and so on, beauty standards can vary, which can create a very confusing, conflicting, and further unattainable goalpost to reach—one that seems to move with every passing year.  

Complex and challenging relationships with parents are one of the many struggles adults today face and seek guidance and healing around in our therapy offices. These struggles are often born from experiences and dynamics of childhood that continue to influence the parent-child relationship in adulthood. Sometimes, these dynamics are very evident, and other times they may be more subtle and hard to correlate with current experience. Being able to identify and understand how childhood experiences have affected us and our relationships is often crucial to improve maladaptive patterns and cycles we may find ourselves in. Below are a few ways early childhood dynamics can create problems and some tips for navigating them.

So, you’ve got the ring, the venue, and the guest list all set. But have you considered another helpful part of wedding preparation? Premarital therapy.

Unfortunately, many couples think that therapy is the “last stop” before divorce and only something you consider when your relationship is in crisis. What if we looked at therapy, especially premarital therapy, as an enjoyable and protective strategy to support the success and longevity of our relationships?

At Artemis Psychology, we use Prepare-Enrich, which is a proven, evidence-based assessment tool to explore a number of crucial topics found to help couples better understand themselves, their partner, and their relationship. Topics such as communication, parenting, finances, intimacy, conflict resolution, managing extended family, and others are included. Our premarital therapy structure involves about 5 to 8 sessions on average, but many couples choose to extend it!

A Few of the Many Benefits of HRT for Trans/NB+ Folx

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the profound impact hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can have on the psychological well-being of transgender and non-binary (trans/NB+)  folx. While the physical changes brought about by HRT are often highlighted, the emotional and mental health benefits are equally significant and deserving of attention. HRT has a high potential to contribute to a more fulfilling and authentic life for many trans/NB+ people.

Alignment with Gender Identity

One of the most profound psychological benefits of HRT is the alignment it may foster between an individual’s physical body and their gender identity. For some trans/NB+ folx, gender dysphoria—the discomfort or distress arising from a mismatch between gender identity and assigned sex at birth—can lead to significant psychological distress. HRT helps alleviate this dysphoria, enabling individuals to feel more comfortable in their own skin. This alignment can lead to increased self-esteem and a greater sense of self-acceptance. It is important to note, however, that not all trans/NB+ people experience gender dysphoria. Of these folx who do not experience gender dysphoria, some still choose to receive HRT as a means to affirm their identity and live more authentically to their specific experience.

Reduction in Emotional Discomfort

Numerous studies have shown that trans/NB+ folx who receive HRT often experience a reduction in anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm or suicide, and disordered eating behaviors. The emotional relief that comes from feeling more congruent with one’s gender identity can be transformative. For many, the physical changes—such as breast development, voice changes, body hair changes, or body fat redistribution—can provide a sense of relief and happiness that improves overall mental health and quality of life. This often leads to increased participation in everyday activities, pursuing their interests and goals, and engaging with their communities.

Overview

For many trans/NB+ folx, choosing to receive HRT is an act of empowerment and self-love. It fosters a sense of agency that can be incredibly affirming. The psychological benefits of HRT for trans/NB+ folx extend far beyond physical changes. HRT can significantly improve mental health by alleviating gender and body dysphoria, enhancing one’s relationship with their gender, and fostering a sense of empowerment and self-love. As society continues to grow in its understanding of trans/NB+ identities, recognizing the holistic benefits of HRT will be essential in supporting the well-being of trans/NB+ folx. Embracing and affirming one’s identity is a powerful journey, and HRT plays a vital role in helping many navigate this path toward empowerment in one’s identity.

When considering how to approach relational challenges, one area of exploration that may be helpful is identifying and processing past trauma, often stemming from early attachment experiences. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is commonly used for healing individual trauma, which in turn can heal attachment wounds that come from it. Below we will discuss the relationship between EMDR therapy and attachment theory, and how combining these two lenses can help facilitate profound healing.