Name: Sun Catcher / Dream Catcher: Last Sparks of Summer Materials: Collected branches, wild roses, string, yarn, ceramic beads, wire, and stone. Last Sparks of Summer began as an exploration inspired by Ruth Asawa’s hanging sculptures and her ability to create form through openness, repetition, and the spaces between woven lines. The piece is something more personal as it is a reflection on seasonal transition, interconnectedness, and my deep connection with Mother Spider. The outer branch structure holds the fading remains of summer, and a few scattered wild roses were both gathered from the landscape in my backyard. The color and softness of the roses contrast with the roughness of the branches, but also there is an increasingly fragile quality of the drying flowers and the dying leaves. Rather than trying to preserve them, I wanted their inevitable change to become part of the artwork. Summer does not disappear all at once; it leaves behind small sparks as the world m......

  I’m sharing my paper, “Separation From Self as Pathology or Adaptation?” This paper examines personality-disorder diagnosis through feminist, trauma-informed, and transpersonal lenses. Rather than treating emotional intensity, dissociation, relational instability, or self-injury as evidence of individual defect alone, it asks how these experiences may emerge within histories of trauma, gendered social conditioning, and disconnection from one’s emotional self. I explore the disproportionate pathologization of women, particularly through diagnoses such as Borderline Personality Disorder, and consider how psychiatric categories can sometimes individualize pain that has social, relational, and political roots. The paper also considers whether experiences commonly understood as “symptoms” may, in some cases, represent survival strategies, embodied communication, or difficult movements toward greater integration. A central focus is nonsuicidal self-injury, approached neither as somethi......

  A certified health coach can support your goals towards sleep. We support individuals experiencing sleep challenges such as insomnia, poor sleep hygiene, and stress-related sleep disturbances using behavior change for insomnia, exploring the psychological, behavioral, and environmental contributors to sleep problems. This type of coaching can improve sleep quality, restore circadian rhythms, and implement sustainable sleep-promoting habits. Not everyone has the time for coaching, and that is where we can support ourselves with other pathways. Natural protein hydrolysate 's (SPH) may improve sleep quality. Recent studies have explored the effects of these supplements, a notable study conducted by Eckert et al. involved a 4-week randomized, placebo-controlled crossover design that assessed both subjective and objective sleep metrics. The findings suggested that the this specific hydrolysate could positively influence sleep by addressing factors such as stress, anxiety, and ove......

  I've been wondering about something, and I'm curious what others think. When we talk about "food noise", are we always talking about the same experience? I wonder whether there are times when what we call food noise may actually be something different. Could there be a difference between persistent food-related thoughts that seem biologically driven and eating urges that emerge after the nervous system becomes activated by stress, trauma, shame, or emotional overwhelm? In other words, do they have different patterns? For me, one of the most meaningful conversations I've had was with an eating disorder specialist. They explained that one of the ways to begin interrupting the restrict–binge cycle is by eating something every 3–4 hours. Not because every person needs the same schedule, but because consistency can help reduce the physiological deprivation that often fuels binge eating. What stood out even more was the reminder that, during recovery, we don't wan......

  In narcissistic relationships, the victim often shoulders all the physical, emotional, and administrative labor because partners with narcissistic traits systematically avoid accountability, shift blame, and exploit their partner's natural empathy, competence, and high work ethic to manage the relationship. You were never supposed to be the one to carry an entire relationship. That's not what healthy is. In these relationships your empathy becomes the tool used against you. They will take advantage of how capable and driven you are, and rely on you to naturally solve all of the problems, unless the problem is them. One of the hardest things to witness is how in these relationships when you notice emotional shifts, you are the one left to be responsible to stop the fight. Usually you are in fight or flight, or worse, fawn. Your narcissistic partner or parent relied on the ability to regulate the household and stabilize the environment so they weaponized efforts that included c......