One of my favorite parts of summertime is connecting with others. People are walking around in their neighborhoods, kids are out from school and playing in the street or going for bike rides, and new friends are made at camps, work retreats, at the beach or park, or just around in their own neighborhood. This summer has been especially cool as there have been some historic shared experiences in the sports world that impacted many people who are not typically sports fans (me included!) but...

Can you remember the thrill of childhood play? The joy of imagining different worlds and characters, making up skits or games, and of meeting new friends and discovering new areas in your neighborhood. Can you recall the autonomy of being able to do this on your own with your own amazing childhood skills? The film series Toy Story does a beautiful job of illustrating the joys of childhood play. The most recent movie, Toy Story 5, depicts the change of childhood play in the context of what...

There are a variety of ways anxiety and panic symptoms can affect your life. Traveling any distance from home can be especially difficult when anxiety convinces you that you are unable to leave, be farther away, or be in the air, on water, or in an enclosed area. There are very effective ways to work through this and get back to going where you want to go! Exposure therapy is a very effective treatment for travel anxiety. With a mental health professional’s guidance, you and your therapist...