I was talking to a reporter the other day about one of those psychological ideas that explains so much but doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s called “soiling the nest,” and if you’ve got a teen who’s about to fly the coop, you might have seen it in action. It’s that strange, frustrating phase where a kid who’s almost an adult suddenly starts making a mess of things right on the brink of success.

We all know divorce changes a family. But what nobody warns you about is how it changes your friend group. That tight-knit circle that once felt so easy and familiar can suddenly feel like uncharted territory. As an LMHC, I’ve seen firsthand that with a little honesty and a lot of care, these friendships don’t just survive—they can actually become stronger.

You know those nights. The ones where the silence is too loud and the thoughts are too dark. The ones where reaching out to a person feels impossible, but the pain demands an outlet. For a growing number of people, especially men, that outlet is now an AI chatbot.

Ever found yourself saying “yes” to a new video game after a long day at work? Or impulsively buying that overpriced stuffed animal at the zoo because your kid had a meltdown minutes before? If you’re nodding your head, you are so not alone.

Let’s settle this once and for all: Are thank you notes still necessary?   Absolutely.   But not for the stuffy, old-school reasons you might think.

We’ve all been there: coaching kids to “play nice,” to include everyone, to be the bigger person. And yeah, those are great lessons—until your kid comes home miserable because they feel stuck with a classmate who drains their energy or just… doesn’t click. So, is it okay to tell them they don’t have to be friends with everyone?

August always brings that hopeful back-to-school feeling—fresh notebooks, new routines, and the quiet promise that this year will be different. But if you’ve got ADHD, you might also be carrying some old worries: Will assignments actually get turned in this time? Will your work reflect what you’re truly capable of? Why does school feel so much harder for you than for everyone else?