Evidence-based guides (CBT, DBT, ACT)

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Distortions

CBT for beginners: how thoughts feed anxiety

The core idea behind CBT, cognitive distortions, a thought record in 5 steps, and three techniques for everyday use.

Panic

What to do during a panic attack, step by step

Why panic isn't dangerous, how to help yourself in the moment (breathing, 5-4-3-2-1 grounding), and what to do afterward.

Mood

Crying for no reason: why it happens and what actually helps

Randomly crying and don't know why? Learn what's really behind crying spells: built-up stress, sleep debt…

Distortions

Which cognitive distortions do you have?

Check the thoughts that ring true and spot your own thinking traps, with CBT tips to match.

Work

Recovering from burnout: a plan to get your energy back

The three stages of burnout and why a vacation doesn't fix it. A realistic recovery plan built on boundaries, values, and…

Self-esteem

"Nobody needs me": where the feeling comes from, and why it's lying to you

Feeling like nobody needs you? That's usually a thinking trap, not a fact. See how your brain filters out…

Relationships

Anxious attachment style: signs and how to heal it

The fear of being left, the need for reassurance, the highs and lows. The four attachment styles,…

Thoughts

How to stop overthinking: 6 steps

Overthinking is rumination: the same thoughts circle and blow up the worst case. 6…

Self-esteem

The inner critic: where the harsh voice in your head comes from and how to tame it

Where self-criticism comes from, how the inner critic works, and what to do about it with CBT. Concrete…

Theory

CBT, DBT, and ACT

How the three approaches differ and when each one helps most.

Quiz · PSS-10

Stress level quiz

The official Perceived Stress Scale: 10 questions, an instant score, and what it means.

Tool · free

Fill out a thought record

Work through a situation with the CBT steps right in your browser. Your entries stay private to you.

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Cognitive distortions

A breakdown of common thinking traps, with visuals and real-life examples.

Practices and techniques

Short exercises and walkthroughs. You can use them right away.

Practice

Body scan meditation: how to do it, and what to do when your mind wanders

A body scan moves your attention slowly through your body, noticing sensations without changing them. A…

Practice

Habit reversal training: catch the habit early and give your hands another job

Habit reversal training swaps nail biting, hair pulling, skin picking or a tic for a competing response. The…

Practice

Core beliefs: the old conclusions under your automatic thoughts

What core beliefs are in CBT, examples like “I’m unlovable,” and how to loosen one with a continuum, a…

Practice

Problem-solving therapy: how to turn a stuck problem into a plan you can test

How problem-solving therapy works: seven steps from defining a problem to reviewing your plan, a CBT…

Practice

Cognitive restructuring: how to rewrite a thought so it fits the facts

Cognitive restructuring in CBT: seven steps to test a thought, worked examples for anxiety, low mood and…

Practice

Socratic questioning: how to check a thought before you believe it

Socratic questioning in CBT: six kinds of questions to test an anxious or self-critical thought, three worked…

Practice

Downward arrow technique: follow one thought down to the belief under it

The CBT downward arrow technique: keep asking what an upsetting thought would mean if true until you reach…

Practice

CBT techniques: which skill fits what you're dealing with

CBT, DBT and ACT techniques grouped by what you're dealing with: a hard moment, a thought that won't let go…

Practice

Exposure hierarchy: how to build a fear ladder and what each rung should teach you

How to build a fear ladder: list what you avoid, rate each rung from 0 to 100, and climb. Four example…

Practice

4-7-8 breathing

How to settle in two minutes, during anxiety and before sleep.

Practice

5-4-3-2-1 grounding

Bring your attention back to the here and now through your five senses.

Exercise · interactive

Do the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding

Step by step, with breathing, a timer, and a walkthrough from the AI assistant.

Tool

How to keep a thought record

A 5-step template and a worked example.

Topic

Anxiety before sleep

Why your thoughts race at night and how to break the loop.

Theory

CBT, DBT, and ACT

How the three approaches differ and when each one helps most.

Practice

How to calm down fast

5 techniques to settle anxiety in a couple of minutes.

Practice

Breathing techniques for anxiety: 4-7-8, box breathing, diaphragmatic

Breathing is the fastest way to settle your nervous system. Three techniques that work for anxiety and…

Practice

The ABC model: how your thoughts, not events, create what you feel

The ABC model from CBT: activating event (A), beliefs (B), consequences (C). Learn how your thoughts drive…

Practice

Progressive muscle relaxation: a step-by-step guide

Progressive muscle relaxation, step by step: tense and release each muscle group to calm anxiety in your…

Practice

Behavioral experiments: how to test an anxious belief in real life

A behavioral experiment lets you test an anxious prediction in real life instead of arguing with the…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Anxiety and the body

The physical symptoms of anxiety: why your body reacts and how to help yourself.

Body

Caffeine and anxiety: the drug you drink and the fear it imitates

A pounding heart after the third cup isn't random: caffeine mimics anxiety, and an anxious brain fills in the…

Body

Cortisol: what it actually does, and what the videos leave out

'Cortisol face,' detox teas, blocker pills — your feed has cast a hormone as the villain. What cortisol…

Body

Regulating your nervous system: what's physiology and what's packaging

Vagus hacks, cold plunges, 30-day rewires: some of it is real physiology, most of it is packaging. The free…

Body

Sensory overload: when light, noise, and people max out your system

Lights, noise, crowds — and your system maxes out. How sensory overload differs from panic, why your limit…

Body

Misophonia: when chewing and tapping sounds set off rage you can't explain

Chewing, pen clicks, loud breathing — then a flash of rage. Why misophonia happens, why it isn't pickiness…

Body

Chronic pain and anxiety: loosening the loop that ties them together

Pain and anxiety amplify each other, and fear of movement shrinks your life. How the loop works, plus CBT…

Body

Anxiety in perimenopause: why it spikes and how to steady the spiral

Anxiety that spikes in perimenopause runs on real hormone swings. What quietly makes it worse, how the…

Body

Heart pounding and anxiety: why your heart races

Why your heart slams and "skips a beat" with anxiety: the mechanism, CBT tools, and step-by-step…

Body

Chest tightness from anxiety: what's happening and how to help yourself

Why anxiety brings heaviness and tightness to your chest, how to tell it apart from your heart, and what to do right…

Body

Dizziness from anxiety: why you feel off-balance and how to ground

Why anxiety makes you dizzy: hyperventilation, the anxious focus, the fear of passing out.…

Body

Nausea, a knot in your stomach, and a nervous gut from anxiety: how to settle your stomach

Why anxiety triggers nausea and stomach cramps: the gut–brain axis explained. CBT techniques,…

Body

A lump in your throat and air hunger with anxiety

A lump in your throat, hard to breathe, can't get enough air: common anxiety symptoms. Why it happens…

Body

Shaky hands and inner trembling from anxiety: the cause and quick relief

Why your hands shake with anxiety and how to stop the trembling fast. The adrenaline-tremor mechanism,…

Body

Derealization and depersonalization from anxiety: that "dreamlike" feeling, what it is and how to come back

Feeling unreal, like you're in a dream, with anxiety. It's your brain protecting you, not losing it. We explain…

Body

Health anxiety: when you can't stop checking for symptoms

Every body sensation feels like an illness, you keep googling symptoms and going to doctors.…

Body

Fear for a loved one's health: when caring turns into anxiety

Compulsive checking, catastrophizing, constant fear for your mom's or your child's health. How CBT…

Body

Hangover anxiety (hangxiety): why it hits and what helps

Why the morning after brings dread, guilt, and a racing heart, how long it lasts, and what actually…

Body

Muscle tension: why stress settles in your body and how to release it

A clenched jaw, stiff shoulders, a locked lower back: how stress lives in your muscles, and how to release…

Body

Fear of doctors: why you keep putting off the visit, and how to finally walk in

Keep putting off doctor visits? Learn why fear of doctors builds, what avoidance costs you, and CBT steps…

Body

Anxiety sweating: why you sweat when you're nervous, and how to handle it

Sweaty palms, forehead, or pits when you're anxious? Learn why stress sweat happens, how it loops with…

Body

Fear of going crazy: what this anxiety really means

Keep asking yourself “am I going crazy”? That fear is a classic anxiety symptom. Learn where it comes from…

Body

Fear of vomiting: how emetophobia shrinks your life, and how to step out of it

Emetophobia is an intense fear of vomiting. How it shrinks your life through avoidance and safety…

Body

Physical symptoms of anxiety: why anxiety hits your body so hard

Racing heart, tight chest, shaky hands, nausea: why anxiety hits your body so hard, a map of the common…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Sleep and anxiety

Falling asleep, staying asleep, and taking the fear out of nights.

Practice

Sleep hygiene: which habits help, and why they rarely fix insomnia on their own

Sleep hygiene tips checked against studies: caffeine, alcohol, screens, naps, exercise. Why habits alone…

Practice

Imagery rehearsal therapy: how to rewrite a recurring nightmare and rehearse the new version

Imagery rehearsal therapy for recurring nightmares: rewrite one while awake, then rehearse it daily. The…

Practice

Paradoxical intention for insomnia: gently trying to stay awake

Paradoxical intention for insomnia: lie in bed and gently try to stay awake. Where it comes from, how to try…

Practice

Sleep restriction therapy: fewer hours in bed, and why a clinician usually guides it

Sleep restriction therapy for insomnia: how the sleep window is set and adjusted, what the first weeks feel…

Practice

Stimulus control for insomnia: teaching your bed to mean sleep again

Stimulus control for insomnia: the CBT-I rules, what to do when you leave the bed, the first week, safety…

Practice

Cognitive shuffling: the falling-asleep word game, done right

Pick a word, spell it, picture random images for each letter. The full cognitive shuffling method for racing…

Practice

Sleep tracker anxiety: when a score decides how tired you are

Your watch scored the night a 58 and now you feel wrecked. What orthosomnia is, what trackers get wrong, and…

Topic

Anxiety before sleep

Why your thoughts race at night and how to break the loop.

Practice

How to beat insomnia without pills: CBT-I, step by step

Chronic insomnia is treatable without pills. CBT-I is the first-line fix: sleep diary, sleep restriction…

Practice

Nightmares: why they happen and how to stop them

Why you have nightmares: stress, sleep loss, alcohol, the REM rebound. When they're normal, when to act…

Practice

Waking up at 3am and can't fall back asleep: why it happens and what to do

Waking up at 3am and can't fall back asleep? Why it happens: cortisol, alcohol, your reaction to waking…

Practice

Revenge bedtime procrastination: why you stay up, even when you're wrecked

Staying up late on your phone even though you're tired? That's revenge bedtime procrastination. Why it…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Panic disorder

Panic in different situations: how to break the fear cycle.

Panic

Interoceptive exposure: feeling panic sensations on purpose so they stop feeling like danger

Interoceptive exposure brings on panic-like body sensations on purpose so the fear of them fades. The usual…

Panic

Nighttime panic attacks: why they hit you in your sleep

Why panic wakes you in the middle of the night, how to keep the fear from spiraling, and how to get back to sleep without the ER. The mechanism,…

Panic

Panic behind the wheel: the fear of losing control on the road and how to ease it

Why panic shows up while you're driving, what happens in your brain in traffic and on bridges, and how to get back…

Panic

Panic on the subway, bus, and plane: why it hits in transit and what to do

Why an enclosed space sets off a panic attack and how to handle the anxiety in…

Panic

Agoraphobia: what it really is and how it's treated

Fear of places that are hard to escape: transit, lines, trips far from home. How the avoidance loop…

Panic

Fear of flying: why your brain hates it, and how to calm flight anxiety

Dreading a flight you booked weeks ago? Learn why your brain fears flying, what turbulence really is, and a…

Panic

Fear of heights: why your legs go weak up high, and how to face it

Legs go weak on a balcony or bridge? Learn why your brain reacts to heights, what the call of the void…

Panic

What to do during a panic attack, step by step

Why panic isn't dangerous, how to help yourself in the moment (breathing, 5-4-3-2-1 grounding), and what to do afterward.

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Anxious thoughts

Rumination, "what if," and uncertainty: how to quiet your head.

Thoughts

Thought stopping: what saying “Stop!” to a thought can and can’t do

Thought stopping means telling an unwanted thought “Stop!” What the white bear studies found, why OCD…

Thoughts

Reassurance seeking: why asking "are you sure?" keeps the doubt coming back

Reassurance seeking, from asking your partner again to googling symptoms, calms anxiety for a minute and…

Thoughts

Safety behaviors in anxiety: why the things that feel safe keep the fear going

Safety behaviors are what you do to feel safer in anxious moments. See the overt and subtle kinds, why they…

Thoughts

Decatastrophizing: give the worst case a size, then a plan

Decatastrophizing is a CBT exercise: write the worst, best, and most realistic case, then plan how you'd…

Thoughts

Maladaptive daydreaming: when the world in your head starts eating the one outside

Hours in vivid imagined worlds, music on, pacing the room. Why the habit grips so hard, when it turns into a…

Thoughts

Rumination: why your brain runs the same thoughts on a loop

Why your brain gets stuck on the same thoughts, and how to stop endlessly replaying the past and…

Thoughts

"What if…": how to break the chain of anxious scenarios in your head

"What if" thoughts are the core of anxiety about the future. We break down catastrophizing and teach you to…

Thoughts

Intolerance of uncertainty: why your brain demands guarantees and how to let go

How intolerance of uncertainty feeds chronic anxiety and what to do about it: CBT and ACT techniques…

Thoughts

Fear of the future: how worry about tomorrow steals today

We break down the fear of the future: catastrophizing, intolerance of uncertainty, thinking traps.…

Thoughts

How to stop overthinking: 6 steps

Overthinking is rumination: the same thoughts circle and blow up the worst case. 6…

Thoughts

Compulsive checking: did I turn off the stove, did I lock the door, how to stop

Why we keep checking the stove, the iron, and the lock, and how to stop. The mechanics of OCD, exposure with…

Thoughts

Worry time: how to give worry 20 minutes and get your day back

The worry-time technique: how to set aside 20 minutes a day for worry and stop fretting the rest…

Thoughts

Fear of death: why the thought gets stuck, and how to loosen its grip

An intrusive fear of death can take over your nights and quiet moments. Learn why the thought sticks, how…

Thoughts

Replaying conversations in your head: why your brain won't drop them, and how to stop

Can't stop replaying conversations in your head? Learn why your brain rehashes what you said, and how to…

Thoughts

Test anxiety: how to study, sleep, and keep your mind from going blank

Mind goes blank when you study or mid-exam? Learn why anxiety blocks memory and get a CBT plan for prep…

Thoughts

Waiting anxiety: why the wait is harder than the news, and how to get through it

Waiting on a biopsy, a job offer, or a visa and can't think about anything else? Why the wait is the…

Thoughts

Quarter-life crisis: why 25–30 feels like you're behind and heading the wrong way

Feeling behind at 25–30? A CBT look at the quarter-life crisis: comparison traps, why most choices are…

Thoughts

Decision paralysis: why you can't choose, and how to decide without the agony

Can't make a decision? Learn why analysis paralysis freezes you on small and big choices, and get CBT…

Thoughts

Midlife crisis: why everything gets rethought at 40–55, and what to do about it

Midlife crisis at 40–55: the pull to change everything, fear of aging, 'did I do the right thing.' A CBT…

Topic

Intrusive thoughts

Why they keep coming back and how to loosen their grip, without fighting them.

Topic

Anxiety for no reason

Why it hits with no trigger and how to bring down your baseline anxiety.

Practice

Anxiety before an interview, exam, or presentation

How to steady yourself before an interview, exam, or big meeting: what to do…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Low energy and mood

When you've got nothing left and nothing feels good: where to start when even simple feels too much.

Mood

The gratitude journal: what to write, how often, and what it can and can't do

How to keep a gratitude journal that doesn't feel fake: what to write, how often, what the meta-analyses…

Mood

Functional freeze: going through the motions while your life sits on pause

You answer the emails, you show up — and inside, life is on pause. What functional freeze means, how it…

Mood

Behavioral activation: the key CBT move against low energy

Behavioral activation: how small actions bring energy back when you're flat and low. A step-by-step guide to…

Mood

Anhedonia: when nothing feels good anymore and how to bring the color back

Anhedonia is the loss of pleasure in depression and burnout. We explain the mechanism and give you concrete…

Mood

Apathy and no energy: when you "don't feel like doing anything"

Apathy isn't laziness or weakness. We break down why willpower doesn't help when you're emotionally…

Mood

Can't get out of bed: why starting the day is so hard and how to help yourself

Why mornings feel so heavy with apathy and depression. We break down the "morning…

Mood

Morning anxiety: why it hits the moment you wake up and how to ease into the day

We break down the morning cortisol surge and the habit of waking up into catastrophizing. A plan for your first 20…

Mood

The Sunday scaries: why the night before the workweek hits and what to do

Why Sunday evening turns into dread and gloom before work. We explain the mechanism and give you…

Mood

Coping with loss: how to move through grief and slowly come back to life

How to survive the loss of someone close: the stages of grief, how normal grieving differs from getting stuck, and techniques…

Mood

Crying for no reason: why it happens and what actually helps

Randomly crying and don't know why? Learn what's really behind crying spells: built-up stress, sleep debt…

Mood

Winter blues: why your mood sinks when the days get short, and what actually helps

Feel low every fall and winter? Why short days drag your mood down, how to tell winter blues from seasonal…

Mood

Birthday depression: why your own big day can make you sad

Dreading your birthday? Why it brings sadness instead of joy: the year-in-review, high expectations…

Mood

Postpartum anxiety: what's normal, and when to reach out for help

New-baby worry is almost universal, but where's the line? Learn the signs of postpartum anxiety, the red…

Mood

Pet loss: how to grieve the death of a pet when it feels like no one gets it

Pet loss grief is real grief. Why losing a pet hurts so much, how to handle guilt after euthanasia, and…

Mood

Emotional numbness: when you feel nothing and life goes by behind glass

Feel numb, flat, like life's behind glass? Learn why your mind switches off emotions to protect you, and a…

Mood

Mood swings: why you go from high to low, and how to smooth them out

Mood swinging from high to low in hours, then guilt and exhaustion? What's behind mood swings, CBT skills…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Self-esteem and self-criticism

The inner critic, perfectionism, and the fear of judgment.

Guide

Positive affirmations: why they can backfire, and what to say to yourself instead

Repeating "I'm lovable" made people with low self-esteem feel worse in one study. What helps more: values…

Guide

The self-compassion break: three lines for the moment you're hardest on yourself

Kristin Neff's self-compassion break in three lines: what to say in a hard moment, how to make the words your…

Guide

Rejection sensitivity: when small slights land like body blows

One short reply and the whole day tilts. What rejection sensitivity is, why it often travels with ADHD, and…

Self-esteem

Self-compassion: how to be on your own side

A practical guide to self-compassion: its three pillars, everyday exercises, and an answer to "isn't this just…

Self-esteem

Imposter syndrome: why success feels like luck and how to stop fearing exposure

Imposter syndrome: where the fear of being found out comes from and the cognitive distortions behind it…

Self-esteem

The inner critic: where the harsh voice in your head comes from and how to tame it

Where self-criticism comes from, how the inner critic works, and what to do about it with CBT. Concrete…

Self-esteem

Perfectionism: when "it has to be perfect" gets in the way of living and working

Perfectionism is an anxiety strategy, not a personality trait. We unpack its link to the fear of mistakes,…

Self-esteem

Fear of judgment: how to stop living for other people's opinions

The fear of judgment and what others think: the mechanisms, CBT techniques, and behavioral experiments. How to step out…

Self-esteem

How to stop feeling guilty: a step-by-step CBT guide

Healthy guilt vs. the kind that just gnaws at you, the responsibility pie, and repair instead of…

Self-esteem

Shame vs. guilt: what's the difference, and how do you heal shame?

Guilt says you did something bad. Shame says you are bad. Learn where toxic shame comes from, how the shame…

Self-esteem

"Nobody needs me": where the feeling comes from, and why it's lying to you

Feeling like nobody needs you? That's usually a thinking trap, not a fact. See how your brain filters out…

Self-esteem

Fear of public speaking: why the stage scares almost everyone, and how to train it down with CBT

Why public speaking tops fear rankings, what's happening in your body on stage, and a CBT plan: prep…

Self-esteem

Self-sabotage: why you wreck the things you actually want, and how to stop

Self-sabotage isn't laziness. It's protection from failure. See the forms it takes and CBT tools: the…

Self-esteem

Healing after gaslighting: how to trust yourself again

What gaslighting is, how to tell it happened to you, and the first CBT steps to rebuild trust in your own…

Self-esteem

Body image anxiety: how to stop fighting your body

Why the mirror sets off self-criticism and filtered feeds fuel body image anxiety. See the…

Self-esteem

Envy: why it stings and how to make it useful

Envious of a friend or coworker, then ashamed of it? Learn why envy happens, how it differs from jealousy…

Self-esteem

How to build self-esteem: a step-by-step CBT guide

Compliments bounce off and everyone seems ahead? Learn the signs of low self-esteem and how to build it…

Self-esteem

People-pleasing: how to stop living for everyone else's approval

Why you say yes before you've thought about it and apologize when it's not your fault. A CBT look at…

Self-esteem

Sensitive to criticism: why feedback stings so much, and what to do about it

Does gentle feedback feel like a gut punch? Learn why criticism hits so hard, how to separate feedback from…

Self-esteem

Highly sensitive person: what it is, and how to live well with it

Are you a highly sensitive person? Learn what HSP means, how it differs from anxiety, and how to manage…

Practice

Phone call anxiety: why dialing feels scarier than texting, and how to change it

Dread making phone calls? Learn why calling feels scarier than texting, plus a CBT exposure ladder, call…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Work and burnout

Anxiety around work, boundaries, and recovery.

Work

Video call fatigue: why a day of calls empties you, and what to change

You sat in a chair all day and feel wrecked anyway. Why video calls cost more than real meetings, and…

Work

Recovering from burnout: a plan to get your energy back

The three stages of burnout and why a vacation doesn't fix it. A realistic recovery plan built on boundaries, values, and…

Work

Work anxiety: the fear of emails, calls, and messages from your boss

Scared to open an email from your boss? Avoiding calls? We break down the mechanism of work anxiety…

Work

Anxious procrastination: why we put off exactly what matters and how to get moving

Procrastination is often about anxiety, not laziness. CBT tools: breaking tasks down, lowering the stakes,…

Work

Mom burnout: signs and what actually helps

"Am I a bad mom or just tired?" Why staying home with a baby burns you out, how it differs from PPD,…

Work

"I want to quit everything": what's really behind the urge, and what to do next

Want to quit everything? Why decisions made at peak exhaustion backfire, plus a CBT plan: the 72-hour…

Work

Job interview anxiety: why interviews feel so scary and how to stay clear-headed in the room

Interviews scarier than exams? Defuse worst-case thoughts with CBT, prep without cramming, and get through…

Work

Feeling overwhelmed: what to do when everything hits at once

When everything hits at once and your brain locks up, that's overwhelm, not weakness. First aid in the…

Work

New job anxiety: how to survive your first weeks and the probation period

Starting a new job and can't shake the anxiety? Learn why the first weeks feel so hard, how to reframe…

Work

Can't relax: why you can't rest, and how to give yourself permission

Guilt when you rest, anxiety when you slow down, vacations that feel like a to-do list. Why you can't relax…

Work

Losing your job: how to cope with a layoff and not lose yourself

A layoff hits your identity and your paycheck at once. Learn the stages, the thinking traps, and CBT first…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

DBT and ACT skills

Concrete skills for regulation, acceptance, and living by your values.

Skills

DBT mindfulness skills: what to do with your attention, and how to do it

DBT mindfulness skills in everyday words: observe, describe, participate and the three how skills, with…

Skills

Chain analysis in DBT: retrace one behavior link by link and find where you could have stepped off

How to do a DBT chain analysis on paper: vulnerabilities, the prompting event, each link, consequences and…

Skills

Pros and cons in DBT: four boxes to fill in before the urge hits

The DBT pros and cons skill for crisis urges: how to fill in the four-box worksheet, a worked example, how it…

Skills

IMPROVE the moment in DBT: seven ways to make a painful stretch easier to bear

IMPROVE the moment, a DBT crisis skill, letter by letter: imagery, meaning, prayer, relaxing, one thing…

Skills

Wise Mind ACCEPTS in DBT: seven places to put your attention until the worst of it passes

Wise Mind ACCEPTS, the DBT distraction skill, letter by letter: examples for a crisis moment, when…

Skills

Urge surfing: how to ride out a craving without obeying it or fighting it

Urge surfing means riding out a craving as it rises, peaks and fades, without acting on it or fighting it. A…

Skills

The DEAR MAN skill in DBT: ask for what you need without caving or blowing up

DEAR MAN, the DBT skill for asking for what you need or saying no: what each letter means, four example…

Skills

Check the Facts in DBT: does your emotion fit the situation?

The DBT Check the Facts skill in six questions: when fear, anger, shame or jealousy fits the facts, four…

Skills

The self-soothe skill in DBT: comfort for a moment you can't fix yet

How the DBT self-soothe skill uses sight, sound, smell, taste and touch to get you through a painful moment…

Skills

The STOP skill in DBT: a pause between the urge and the action

The DBT STOP skill: Stop, Take a step back, Observe, Proceed mindfully. What each step means, when to use it…

Skills

Leaves on a stream: how to watch a thought float past without chasing it

The ACT leaves on a stream exercise with a script you can follow alone, fixes for common snags, and a summary of what…

Skills

The TIPP skill: getting through an unbearable moment

A detailed breakdown of the DBT TIPP skill: temperature, intense exercise, breathing, relaxation. How to ride out the peak of an emotion…

Skills

Radical acceptance: how to let go of fighting reality

The DBT skill of radical acceptance: the difference between accepting and approving, why the secondary pain is worse…

Skills

Emotion regulation in DBT: how to name, understand, and ease strong feelings

DBT emotion-regulation skills: recognizing emotions, reducing vulnerability, checking…

Skills

Wise mind: the balance point between emotion and reason in DBT

What wise mind is in DBT, how to find the balance point between feelings and logic, and how to make…

Skills

Values in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): how to choose a direction when you have no motivation

How to work with values in ACT: exercises to clarify what matters, techniques for choosing a direction,…

Skills

Opposite action: how to ease fear and sadness by doing the opposite of the urge

Opposite action is a DBT skill: when an emotion doesn't fit the situation, act against its…

Skills

Cognitive defusion (ACT): learning to watch your thoughts from a distance

Cognitive defusion from acceptance and commitment therapy: techniques to see a thought as just…

Skills

Personal boundaries: how to say no without guilt and avoid burnout

How to say no without guilt: DBT assertiveness skills, the difference between a request and manipulation,…

Skills

Stress eating: why you crave food when you're stressed, and how to stop

Stress eating isn't a willpower problem. Learn why food soothes so fast, how to tell emotional hunger from…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Anxiety and everyday life

Money, the news, moving, loss: the stuff of real, present-day life.

Life

Time anxiety: always behind, even when nothing is due

Dread at the to-do list, guilt during rest, the sense that life is leaking away. Where time anxiety comes…

Life

Feeling behind in life: the timeline you're failing was never yours

Everyone your age seems to have the house, the ring, the title. Why 'behind' comes from a timeline you never…

Life

Retirement anxiety: when the finish line looks like a cliff edge

Retirement removes structure, status, and your answer to 'what do you do?' Why that stirs anxiety, and how to…

Life

The empty nest: grief, worry, and the question of who you are now

The kids moved out and the house went quiet. How to separate grief for the role from worry about them, plus…

Life

Caregiver burnout: caring for a parent without disappearing

Caring for an aging parent while your own life shrinks: why irritation brings shame, why breaks are part of…

Life

High-functioning anxiety: when holding it together is the exhausting part

You hit every deadline while your chest stays tight. Why success never quiets high-functioning anxiety, what…

Life

Financial anxiety: how to live when money is tight

How to tell real money moves apart from anxious rumination about money. CBT and DBT techniques for…

Life

News anxiety and doomscrolling

Why your brain gets stuck on alarming news and how to set up healthy media habits without guilt. Real…

Life

The anxiety of moving and emigrating: culture shock, loneliness, and losing your footing

Culture shock, loneliness, grieving your old life: how psychology explains the anxiety…

Life

FOMO: the fear of missing out, and how to stop chasing everything at once

FOMO: the fear of missing out. Why your feed shows everyone's highlight reel, where it hurts, and how to…

Life

Climate anxiety: how to cope with eco-anxiety without burning out

Eco-anxiety is a normal response to a real problem, not a disorder. A CBT guide to telling worry from…

Life

Phone addiction: why it pulls you in, and how to loosen its grip

Why your phone keeps pulling you back for hours, what it's costing you, and how to loosen its grip without…

Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.

Relationships and closeness

Breakups, jealousy, boundaries, and fights: how anxiety runs your relationships.

Relationships

Making friends as an adult: why it stopped happening by itself

No dorm, no built-in crowd: friendship after 30 stopped happening by itself. Why it got hard, and a concrete…

Relationships

When a friendship ends: grieving the breakup nobody treats like one

When a close friendship ends, there's no ritual and little sympathy. Why it hurts this much, and CBT steps…

Relationships

Limerence: when a crush takes over your head, and how to take it back

Rereading their texts, mood hanging on one emoji. What limerence is, why an uncertain crush hooks so hard…

Relationships

The situationship: when not knowing what you are becomes its own anxiety

You're together, but it has no name, and asking feels dangerous. Why undefined relationships breed anxiety…

Relationships

Being ghosted: why the silence hurts this much, and how to close the loop yourself

Ghosted by a date, a friend, or an employer? Why silence hurts worse than a clean no, and CBT steps to close…

Relationships

After a breakup: how to move through the pain without getting stuck in it

How to get through a breakup: the stages of grieving, CBT and ACT techniques, and how to tell…

Relationships

Fear of abandonment: where it comes from and how to stop bracing for a breakup

The fear of being left: the causes, the behavioral traps (control, jealousy, self-sacrifice)…

Relationships

Jealousy and obsessive thoughts about your partner: how to break the cycle of suspicion

Jealousy as anxiety and rumination: why checking doesn't help, how to work with the cognitive…

Relationships

Relationship anxiety: why doubts hit and how to stop controlling everything

Anxious attachment, looking for proof of love, overthinking. We break down the mechanisms and give you…

Relationships

Conflict avoidance: why we stay silent and bottle up resentment, and how to speak up about what matters

We break down the fear of conflict and passive aggression. DBT and CBT skills for hard conversations: how to…

Relationships

Snapping at the people closest to you: why we lash out at family and how to stop

Why we lash out at the people we love, and how to stop. The mechanisms, CBT techniques, and a plan…

Relationships

Anger and outbursts: how to stop blowing up and stay in control

The anatomy of an anger outburst, the triggers, and the thoughts that fuel it. CBT pause-and-reframe techniques for anyone who…

Relationships

Anxious attachment style: signs and how to heal it

The fear of being left, the need for reassurance, the highs and lows. The four attachment styles,…

Relationships

Emotional dependency: signs you're emotionally dependent on your partner, and how to break free

Does one person's mood decide your whole day? Learn the signs of emotional dependency, how it differs from…

Relationships

Resentment: why it sticks for years, and how to finally let it go

Still replaying what they did years later? Learn why resentment sticks, how holding a grudge keeps you…

Relationships

Teen anxiety: how parents can actually help, and what quietly makes it worse

Teen moodiness or anxiety? Spot teenage anxiety symptoms, avoid the accommodation trap, and learn how to…

Relationships

Dating anxiety: how to stop dreading dates and actually enjoy them

Why dates trigger anxiety and what to do about it: pre-date spirals, endless texting, the spotlight effect…

Relationships

Fear of commitment: why you pull away, and how to work with it

Fear of commitment: why you pull away when things get serious, where it comes from, what to do on both…

Relationships

Passive aggression: how to spot it in yourself and what to do

The silent treatment, sarcasm, dragging your feet. Learn where passive aggression comes from and how to…

Relationships

Anger at your kids and the guilt after: why it happens and what helps

You lost your temper with your child and the guilt is crushing. Why almost every parent feels this, what to…

Relationships

How to get over being cheated on: what's happening to you and what helps

Cheated on and can't stop replaying it? Why infidelity hurts so much, how to survive the first weeks, and…

Relationships

Avoidant attachment: what it looks like from both sides, and what helps

What avoidant attachment looks like from both sides: signs of a dismissive avoidant style, deactivating…

Relationships

How to get through a divorce: the stages, the setbacks, and what helps

Divorce ranks near the top of life's most stressful events, even when leaving is right. The stages of…

Relationships

Loneliness: why it hits even when you're around people, and how to deal with it

Feeling lonely even around people? Learn what loneliness really is, how the isolation spiral works, and how…

Relationships

Toxic relationship signs: what they look like and what to do about them

Feel worse after every conversation with your partner? Learn the toxic relationship signs: gaslighting…

Relationships

Fear of being alone: why it keeps you stuck, and how to loosen its grip

Fear of being alone can keep you in bad relationships and settling for less. Learn where it comes from and…

Relationships

Trust issues: how to trust again after betrayal

How to trust again after betrayal or being cheated on: why checking and control backfire, how to tell…

Choosing an app

Two popular CBT chat apps have closed. What happened, and what to look for next.

Coming soon

  • Toxic relationships topic
  • Fear of flying topic
  • Insomnia: the CBT approach topic
Online course

Reducing Anxiety

Catch anxiety early, before it sets the tone for your whole day. Five modules, the first one free.