Raise your hand if you’ve ever experienced a rejection. *raises both hands* Rejection is impressively versatile. It can show up in your inbox, on a waitlist, in a breakup text that starts with “you didn’t do anything wrong,” or in the form of being ghosted.  Unfortunately, it is an unavoidable part of life and something we will all experience at various times. And when it happens repeatedly or in a stressful time, it can start to feel personal, overwhelming, and even identity-shaping (and not in a good way). People love to offer “comfort” in the form of telling us “don’t take it personally” but our brains tend to immediately respond with what ifs that make us doubt ourselves, our abilities, and our worth. Before you spiral, rewrite your life narrative, or decide this one rejection confirms all your worst fears—let’s talk about how to handle rejection in a way that protects your mental health. No toxic positivity. No pretending it doesn’t hurt. Just real tools for not letting on...

  How many times have you said or thought: “I feel guilty when I’m not doing something.” This is a very common thought for college students, especially high-achieving ones. Many high-achieving students are taught—explicitly or implicitly—that rest is something you earn after you’ve pushed yourself to exhaustion and burnout. Somewhere along the way, downtime starts to feel lazy, unproductive, or even irresponsible. But here’s the reframe we want you to sit with:  Rest is not the opposite of productivity. It’s a requirement for it. If you’re someone who is driven, disciplined, and goal-oriented, rest can feel deeply uncomfortable and here’s why: Your worth may feel tied to output: Grades, internships, leadership roles, and achievements become measures of value You’re used to functioning in “go mode”: Slowing down can bring up anxiety, restlessness, or guilt There’s constant comparison: Social media and campus culture often reward being busy and overextended You’ve learned to ov...

  You wake up knowing exactly what needs to get done — that assignment, that email, the laundry piling up — but somehow, you just… can’t start. You scroll through your phone, stare at your to-do list, and feel the weight of everything you “should” be doing, yet you just can’t get yourself to do it. Sound familiar? Losing motivation is something we all experience from time to time and is very common for college students. But when it becomes a pattern — when the energy, focus, and drive you used to have seem to vanish — it can be discouraging and confusing. It’s easy to think you’re being lazy or unproductive, but in reality, what’s often happening has much more to do with mental health and executive dysfunction than with willpower. Motivation isn’t just about “trying harder.” It’s a complex process that involves the brain’s reward system, emotions, and energy regulation. When your mental or physical resources are low, that system can easily short-circuit. Common reasons motivation m...

  “You’re not smart enough to be here.” “You made a mistake? Unacceptable. You should have done better.” “Everyone else gets this faster than you.” “If you don’t get straight A’s, you’re a disappointment." Sound familiar? Many of us carry around this negative “inner critic” that consistently tells us we aren’t “enough”. The inner critic is the internal voice that criticizes, judges, and pressures you - often more harshly than anyone else would. This is why the common phrase is “you are your own worst critic”.  This voice might feel like it’s “motivating” you, but the reality is that our inner critic most often makes you feel ashamed, guilty, and unworthy, rather than encouraging growth. We see this a lot in college, as this is the breeding ground for self-criticism. With balancing academics, social life, finances, and figuring out who you are as a person, it makes sense that the “inner critic's” voice shouts louder and louder. Some common ways we see this is: Academic Pressure...

Let's be real: Starting therapy can be...weird, awkward, and anxiety producing (trust us, we get it!).  Not only are you trying to navigate your own emotions, thoughts, and mental turmoil, but then you find yourself sitting in a room with someone you've never met before, trying to talk about things that maybe you've never really shared with another person.  We want to validate that feeling nervous, apprehensive, unsure, or even silly at the beginning, is perfectly normal!  Starting therapy is a big step for many people, especially those that are not used to talking about their thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc., and we deserve to give credit to ourselves for seeking mental health support, despite the awkward feelings it initially can bring up. All this to say, we want to validate the normalcy of these feelings and thoughts when starting therapy, but we also want to explain a little bit as to why the initial awkwardness is completely okay.  1. As we highlighted in th...

  The aspect of "healing" tends to be something that a lot of people struggle to understand. There are numerous misconceptions, but the most impactful one seems to be focused on healing following a linear trajectory.  Healing is rarely a straight road. In fact, it's more of a winding path with numerous detours, setbacks, and moments that feel like you're going in circles. The harm that comes with the expectation of a linear path to healing is that it counteracts the sense of progress that is made when we revisit "old wounds", which tends to be a vital part of actual healing. Each time we experience a twist and turn on the winding path, we grow in awareness, insight, and tools that help us navigate the "wounds". With this understanding and awareness on the complexities and uniqueness of healing for every individual, it's important to remember that the struggles and difficult moments in our healing journey serve as turning points. They allow us t...