relationship challenges

Take Root Therapy January Newsletter

We talk about emotion dysregulation, raise funds for our beloved immigrant communities, and learn tools for soothing nighttime anxiety. A Letter From Our Founder Hi reader, It’s hard to know where to start this letter. I feel myself being pulled in so many directions, and that’s become more and more common these days. I want to offer you comfort and hope. I want to sit…
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What Is Emotional Dysregulation? Signs, Causes, and Tools That Actually Work When You Feel Out of Control

Yesterday morning, my daughter and I were running late to school. Again. The crosswalk light was blinking as we approached the busy intersection near our home in Los Angeles, and she started to dart across the street. “I don’t want to be late!” she yelled over her shoulder. My body reacted before my brain caught up. My heart lurched, my breath caught, and I screamed…
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Anxiety vs. Depression: What’s the Difference? Can You Have Both?

I’m no stranger to depression or anxiety, and have been managing both for the duration of my adult life. Depression, I’ve known since adolescence. I was a tween when my critical inner voice got louder and louder, when I would struggle to get out of bed, and when I would find myself thinking about dying far more than I now know is normal. I may…
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What Is OCD? Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Beyond the Myths

After my second child was born, I began experiencing disturbing, intrusive images: vivid scenes of dropping her as I climbed the stairs, or her stroller breaking free and rolling into traffic. The thoughts felt so real that my body would flood with panic. I didn’t know what to do with the terror these images brought, so I developed strategies: I walked impossibly slowly up the…
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Grief After Suicide: Understanding Complex Loss and Finding Support

Gentle content note: This article discusses suicide, traumatic loss, and complex grief. If you feel activated while reading, please pause, breathe, and come back when you feel ready. If you are in immediate danger or worried about your safety, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or use online chat at 988lifeline.org. I wish no one had to die…
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Back-to-School Stress?: A Therapist’s Guide to Easing the Transition

Back-to-school season can be exciting, but it can also bring a wave of stress and anxiety for both kids and parents. From shifting routines to worries about friends and teachers, the transition after summer can feel overwhelming. In my own family, I was reminded just how big these feelings can be when my kids received their teacher assignments the night before school started. During summer…
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Take Root Therapy July Newsletter

We consider the impact stress has on our mental health, offer support during ICE raids, and build a support system without a traditional family structure. A Letter From Our Founder   Dear friends, I’ve been thinking a lot about stress lately. Not just as a therapist, but as someone living through these times alongside all of you. The ongoing ICE raids here in Los Angeles…
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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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Take Root Therapy June Newsletter

We talk about bi+ erasure, ground through yoga, and support our immigrant neighbors. A Letter From Our Founder   It’s the end of Pride Month, and I’ll be honest. This year, it has felt like Pride faded into the background. Not because it does not matter, but because so much else has been happening. The ICE raids here in Los Angeles, the war abroad, and…
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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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