And then you became a parent. It began with a test - small, quiet, almost nothing - yet it changed the shape of your days.

Thank you for subscribing to the YMHC newsletter. This volume includes information on YMHC events and activities. Be sure to subscribe to YMHC resources to receive access to monthly self-care calendars, a new recipe, tips if you are getting into running, + more mental health resources!

Mental(izing) Health is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

That mind-confusion is already familiar by now - the kind that doesn’t announce itself, it simply settles in.

As many of you know, I am a partner at Evio VC, leading the firm’s external investments.

🤝 Sword Health acquires Kaia Health for $285M to expand U.S. scale and enter Germany (Jessica Hagen, MobiHealthNews) — 01/28/26

Your quick digest with tools to protect your mental health in under a minute.

In the morning, before the house is fully awake, or when you spring up at the sound of busy feet, you’re already at work. Not the kind that gets applause or a paycheck, just the quiet work of putting…

The Boone Fork Trail at Julian Price Park… the Pinnacle Trail at Crowders Mountain State Park… the Overlook Rock Trail at Kanawha Forest… the Split Rock Trail at Latta Nature Preserve… the Beaverpond Trail at Hard Labor Creek State Park… some of my favorite places to hike.

There is some research that feels important the moment you start reading it, not because the findings are surprising (they are not), but because they name what so many people have been living with all along.

Twenty years ago, I opened my private practice in New York with a PhD in Clinical Psychology, fresh training, and a clear sense of what therapy was supposed to address: childhood wounds, relationship patterns, trauma, and family dynamics.

Friendship is often treated as optional. Loneliness is treated as personal failure. Neither is true.

A common misconception about meditation is that it’s supposed to make your mind totally quiet. That if you meditate “right,” you should stop having thoughts. That is not what the science says, and th…

Ever notice how some people go completely silent the moment they feel hurt? They don’t argue. They don’t cry. They just disappear into themselves, leaving everyone else confused, frustrated, or anxious. This isn’t stubbornness. It’s not manipulation. It’s the brain’s protective mechanism kicking in—and it could be silently shaping their relationships, t…

There is a quiet sentence many people carry into adulthood but rarely say out loud: “I’m behind, and I don’t know how to catch up.” It shows up when you scroll, when someone announces good news, when January asks you for plans and progress. This feeling is not dramatic. It is not loud. It is heavy in a subtler way. And before we try to fix it, motivate …

9 January 2026

The second month of the year is always a bit polarizing because February is a month of review, which comes with two distinct possibilities: Shows us whether the goals we set for the new year are actually attainable or just “goals” in the sense of it, and that can be exhilarating… or overwhelming.

“You okay?” I whisper to Zoe as she trudges into the rehearsal room. The bottoms of her sweatpants are soaked through, and her boots are leaving mudtracks across the linoleum tiles.

They want AI to be your therapist. Not metaphorically. Literally.

One of the quietest traps in caregiving and relationships isn’t overwork. It’s unspoken expectation. It’s the belief that:

Self-compassion is often misunderstood. People worry it will make them soft, lazy, or less driven, as if kindness cancels growth. But the research tells a different story. Self-compassion doesn’t remove accountability; it removes shame, which is one of the biggest blockers of change.

Hi friend,

We live in a culture that rewards certainty.

📢 Join me & best-selling author Ashley Koff RD live on WEDNESDAY, Jan 28th at 5:00 pm ET to discuss myths & facts about metabolic health, GLP1s & weight health. Click HERE to join us.

Here’s a truth nobody tells you: