Attachment Styles 101
Few things can activate us faster than feeling someone pull away—or feeling someone get a little too close. Those reactions can seem irrational in the moment, but they usually aren’t random. They may be part of an attachment style: a pattern we learned early on for managing closeness, distance, safety, and connection. In this episode of Right Here, hosts Christopher Mooney, LCSW and Kenyon Phillips, LMSW break down the four primary attachment styles—secure, anxious, avoidant, and…
Micro-Regrets Aren't Failures
“I wish I had texted back.” “I wish I had said no.” “I wish I had spoken up.” Most regrets aren’t dramatic. They’re tiny. The friend we meant to call back. The boundary we didn’t hold. The apology we keep meaning to make. The night we spent scrolling instead of resting. But those small “I wish I had…” moments can quietly pile up until we start turning them into much bigger stories about ourselves, like I never follow through. I’m a bad friend. I always get it wrong. In this…
Fine Is Not a Feeling
“How are you?” “I’m fine.” It might be one of the most automatic exchanges we have. But what does "fine" actually mean? Sometimes it means we really are okay. Sometimes it means we don’t have the time, energy, or desire to explain ourselves. And sometimes, “I’m fine” is covering up exhaustion, sadness, loneliness, fear, overwhelm, anger, or feelings we haven’t stopped long enough to identify. In this episode of Right Here, hosts Christopher Mooney, LCSW and Kenyon Phillips, LMSW…
Self-Care Is Not a Prize
Self-care has been sold to us as candles, spa days, vacations, and “treat yourself” posts. And while all of that can be lovely, it can also make self-care feel like something decorative, expensive, or earned only after we have done enough. But most people aren’t walking around saying they need more luxury. They’re saying they can't remember the last time they had a good night’s sleep, or exercised, or said no. Many of us feel guilty for resting, and we don’t know what we need until we're…
Trying to Fix People
You love someone. A partner, a parent, a grown child, a close friend. You see them struggling, repeating old patterns, avoiding help, making choices that hurt them or the people around them. So you try to help. You send the article. You recommend the podcast. You suggest therapy. You rehearse the perfect conversation in your head, the one that will finally make it click. And somewhere along the way, without meaning to, helping turns into managing. In this episode of Right Here, hosts Christopher Mooney,…
The Appreciation Gap
You decide to do something different. You start unloading the dishwasher without being asked. You cut back on drinking. You stop snapping at your kids at bedtime. You finally schedule that doctor’s appointment, declutter the closets, or make that change you’ve been avoiding. And somewhere inside, there’s a quiet hope that someone will notice. Maybe they’ll say thank you. Maybe they’ll say they’re proud of you. Maybe they’ll say, “I see how hard you’re working.” But what happens when…