Doing Life Together

A friend recently asked me how to bring up the subject of mental health with someone she cares about. She noticed her friend wasn’t eating well, seemed withdrawn, and had lost interest in activities he used to enjoy. She wondered if he might be clinically depressed but didn’t know how to start the conversation. Mental…

Heather doesn’t want to keep thinking about the breakup she went through, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t get those unwanted thoughts out of her head. She finds herself ruminating: “I should have done this… Why did he say that? How could I have missed the signs?” The cycle is distressing and exhausting—and it…

  Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has sounded the alarm on what he calls a growing epidemic of loneliness. In his 2023 advisory, he described loneliness and social disconnection as a public health crisis—comparable in risk to smoking 15 cigarettes a day and more serious, in some cases, than…

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  Kurt made an appointment with a therapist because he was feeling increasingly anxious. What he didn’t expect was that beneath his anxiety was something deeper—unresolved anger. As the therapist explored Kurt’s history, a pattern began to emerge. Kurt had been holding on to resentment toward a relative who had wronged him years ago. While…

  “We need to talk.” It sounds simple—maybe even obvious—but too many people avoid these four words. When something feels off in your relationship, the most important person to talk to is your partner—not your friends, not your family, and not social media. Talk to the person involved in the conflict If something bothers you,…

My first college roommate was difficult—and not exactly welcoming. Her very first words to me weren’t “Hi” or “Nice to meet you,” but rather: “This is my boyfriend, ______, and stay away from him.” I remember being stunned. First, I didn’t know her boyfriend. Second, why would I even think to “take him away”? And…

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming our lives, and for many people, chatbots like ChatGPT have become go-to tools for quick answers, conversation, and even emotional support. But mental health experts are raising red flags: Could too much trust in AI harm your mind? Psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Pierre from the University of California, San Francisco, thinks…

My daughter once said, “Having a brother helped me understand guys.” She explained that sharing space, learning to argue, and simply being around him gave her confidence when interacting with boys her age. It turns out, she’s not alone. We already know from developmental psychology that siblings play a crucial role in shaping social skills.…

Have you been wronged? Most of us have. And if we’re honest, many of us replay the offense, wishing the other person would “get what’s coming.” Yet clinging to a grudge costs far more than it pays. A cautionary tale: Herodias’s grudge: Mark 6:17‑29 recounts how Herodias—angry that John the Baptist had condemned her unlawful marriage to Herod Antipas—“nursed a…

Sharon and Rich have been dating for a year, but the relationship has grown increasingly toxic. Every disagreement follows a predictable and painful pattern—Rich feels threatened, lashes out with accusations, and then flips the script to make himself the victim. At a recent party, Rich accused Sharon of flirting with another man. When she calmly…

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