depression therapy

Image of a person sitting on the floor with their hands wrapped around their knees and their head resting on their knees to illustrate what stress and depression can look like

Can Stress Cause Depression? 5 Ways To Prevent Depression

When I think about the early days of the pandemic in Los Angeles, I remember feeling overwhelmed and scared, but I think there was also a feeling of excitement. I may be rewriting history here — and I don’t want to downplay the real fear that I was experiencing (and the magnitude of how many people were dying)– but as the eternal optimist, I assumed…
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What Is Bi+ Erasure? How Bisexual Invisibility Impacts Mental Health and Identity

When I think about my sexuality, I go back to my earliest crushes. I remember being completely smitten with both Ariel and Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid. I didn’t have the words for it at the time, but I knew I felt drawn to both of them. Still, when I played with my kindergarten classmates, I only talked about Prince Eric. That felt easier. That…
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Why Is It So Hard To Set Boundaries?: Understanding People-Pleasing and Learning to Honor Your Own Needs

I recently made the difficult decision to assert a boundary with my family while they were here visiting us in Los Angeles, knowing it might not go over well. I communicated it with as much care as I could and felt pretty good about it—until I got a phone call from my mother a couple of days later. She told me how hurt people felt…
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What Does It Really Mean to Be Emotionally Available?: How to Go From Emotionally Unavailable to Building Real Connection for Healthier Relationships

There are many moments in my life where I have acted in a way that later left me embarrassed or, even worse, ashamed. One exchange I have thought about many times since was a conversation between myself and a dear friend during my senior year in high school. My friend was a year older and was already in college, and he called me one night…
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Take Root Therapy March Newsletter

We get curious about our inner critic, fly kites, and learn to build new friendships. A Letter From Our Founder   Hi there, Spring is finally here, and it’s feeling… wonky. We had a few warm days, but today, when I stepped outside, I was shocked by the cold. It’s disorienting—almost like an external reflection of how I’ve been feeling internally. The world keeps spinning,…
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Why Am I So Hard On Myself? Understanding Self-Criticism and Learning to Quiet Your Inner Critic

My schedule has been jam-packed recently: my kids are playing multiple sports in addition to their other after-school activities, and all of it spills into our weekends. We go from one game or birthday party to another, squeezing in meals, caring for our dog, and then tending to a never-ending to-do list. This week, their school has early dismissals all week, and my partner has…
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Why Can’t I Make Up My Mind?: Challenging Decision Paralysis With Desire and Self-Knowledge

We make countless decisions every day—some without a second thought, almost instinctually. But then there are those decisions we agonize over, going back and forth until we’re exhausted. Sometimes, that little voice in our head makes us doubt our choices, yet we push forward anyway. While founding and growing Take Root, I’ve had to make countless choices. Some were straightforward, but others were overwhelming, making…
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How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health? Understanding the Impact and Finding Balance

I grew up with AOL and chatrooms. I’m no stranger to technology, and before we had cell phones, I used AIM to talk to friends after school. And while I’m not opposed to technology, I’m also not an early adapter. I have yet to enter the world of tracking my sleep or physical health, and I don’t use AirPods or a smartwatch. I use social…
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Am I Queer?: Understanding and Embracing Our Queer Awakenings Whenever and However They Occur

Note to reader: While a queer awakening can refer to the process of becoming aware of one’s sexual identity and/or gender identity, for this article we are primarily focusing on sexual identity.  It took me time to accept my sexuality and even more time to come out to my family. When I was 12, my older brother agreed to take me to my first concert,…
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Is It All In My Head?: Recognizing the Mind-Body Relationship and Destigmatizing Psychosomatic Symptoms

In my immigrant home growing up, there wasn’t a lot of room for challenging emotions. If I was feeling overwhelmed, scared, sad, or (gasp!) angry, I was encouraged to disregard how I was feeling and to just keep going. My parents had many concerns, including financial matters and familial issues. My emotional state was not necessarily where my parents would focus their energy, and emotional…
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