Lifecrafting by Inga Larson

01/12/2026

We have the power to speak up. Let’s use it.

01/12/2026

Ever wonder about talk therapy? I have. After a deeper dive, I found out some surprising things. Here’s my take on its positive effects, and also my belief it doesn’t go far enough…and what’s next.

Ever wonder about psychotherapy? How did people come up with this model of healing? How has it improved over the years? What is its future? In this series, I...

12/27/2025

Your Body Wants to Love, Rest, Breathe—Let It

“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

We really do make our lives complicated, don’t we?
We chase perfection.
We bend ourselves into shapes to please others.
We wobble at the edge of our boundaries.

Our thoughts spin like frantic gerbils—back and forth between what we should be doing, what we should have done, the judgments we fear, and the judgments we place on others.

But what if, just for a moment, we let all of that settle?

What if we surrendered to the simple, instinctive wisdom of the body—
the soft animal that knows how to rest, how to breathe, how to love what it loves?

What would open up if you allowed yourself to feel beauty instead of analyzing it?
If you let your desires guide you, instead of running from what you fear?

When we return to our bodies—when we let our physical and emotional selves be our teachers—
we rediscover vitality.
We rediscover simplicity.
We rediscover presence.

And we finally begin to live in the only moment that ever truly exists: this one.

12/23/2025

Growing Up Silenced Doesn’t Mean You Have to Stay Silent

Don’t hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing…
You’re stronger than that. Stronger than you were ever allowed to believe.

I don’t know about you, but there are days when I just want to hide. Days when the world feels too loud, too painful, too heavy—and disappearing feels easier than facing it.

In those moments, I understand the urge to become a bystander. To turn away. To pretend it’s not happening.

Because many of us grew up with emotionally immature parents who exposed us to things we should never have had to see…
…who spoke words we should never have had to hear…
…who denied us the right to speak at all.

But here’s what I’ve learned:
I am stronger than that child was.
And so are you.
Strong enough to face what’s real.

Strong enough to use your voice.
Strong enough to act—even if you’re scared, even if you might fail.

For years, I’ve worked with survivors of emotionally immature and personality-disordered parents. I’ve watched them reclaim their power… their clarity… their compassion… their voice.

This is what I want for you, too.

12/17/2025

It’s Time to Outgrow the Story You Inherited

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”

So many of us feel pulled backward by our past.
Haunted by childhoods shaped by parents who lacked the emotional maturity, insight, or stability we needed.
Those old stories run through us like hidden code—malware that keeps hijacking the life we’re trying to build.

And the story doesn’t just live in the mind.
It lives in the body.

In the collapse of fear.
In the armor of anger.
In the way we brace, flinch, or shut down.
Some days it feels like the world is a minefield of old memories, waiting to detonate under our feet.

But trauma healing—and the growth that can follow—is not about erasing the past.
It’s about becoming more fully who you truly are.

When the old story loosens, vitality takes the place of fear.
Curiosity softens the anger.
Your relationships deepen.
Your life gains meaning that once felt out of reach.

There are ways to uproot those old stories from the body.
In 25 years as a psychotherapist, I’ve watched people do this work—and watched their lives transform.
If you’re ready to begin, I would be honored to help.

healing journey

12/15/2025

If You Were Raised to Believe You Were “Too Much”… Read This

“You are not crazy for feeling too much, wanting too much, or asking for too much.”

When you’re raised by emotionally immature or personality-disordered parents, you’re taught a cruel double message:
You are too much… and somehow still not enough.

Your feelings? Too big. So you learned to stuff them.
Your needs? Too demanding. So you learned not to want.
Your desires? Too inconvenient. So you learned not to ask—because you knew the answer would be no.

Is it any surprise, then, that as adults we struggle to know what we feel… or even how to feel?
That we tamp down our excitement, sadness, fear, or anger because we’re terrified of being rejected?
That we hesitate to ask for the raise, the promotion, the closeness, the joy we crave?
That we hold ourselves back from the people and opportunities that genuinely move us?

The cost is enormous.
When we avoid being “too much,” we dim our own lives.
We shrink from our potential.
We withhold the gifts that could enrich the world around us.

It’s time to stop that s**t.

It’s time to shine.

You’re not too much.

You’re delicious.

12/10/2025

What If Your Wounds Are Your Greatest Strength?

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”

What if our wounds weren’t only painful reminders of what we endured…
but invitations?

What if the very places that cracked open under pressure are the same places where light, joy, and peace can finally reach us?
Our wounds can become doorways—toward connection, toward the healing force of nature, toward the sacred, toward the people who truly care.
They can guide us back into the world in ways we never expected.

In Japan, there is an art form called kintsugi.
When pottery breaks, it is not thrown away—it is repaired with gold.
The “golden repair” honors the breakage and declares it part of the object’s story, not something to hide.
The piece becomes stronger, more precious, more beautiful because of what it survived.

The same is true for us.

Your parents may have wounded you.
But healing is your golden repair—and those lines of gold can become the strongest, most powerful parts of you.

Wear them with pride.

12/08/2025

The Moment You Outgrow Your Own “Smallness”
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Tight shoulders.
A clenched stomach.
A back that never quite relaxes.
The body tells the truth before we do.
And for so many of us, that truth is tension—protecting us, shrinking us, keeping us “small.”
Or as a friend once said… feeling teeny.
Are you feeling teeny today?
What would it be like to take up space instead?
To let your body expand, your voice carry, your presence be felt?
What would it be like to be heard… and not apologize for it?
Maybe the thought is terrifying.
But there comes a moment when staying small stops working.
When the effort to shrink drains your energy, your joy, your confidence.
When being overlooked costs you—professionally, personally, emotionally.
If you’re at that moment…
it’s time to blossom.
And you don’t have to do it alone.

12/05/2025

12/01/2025

Take Off the Masks. You Don’t Need Them Anymore.

“No need to hurry, no need to sparkle, no need to be anybody but oneself.”

…but who is that self, anyway?

When you grow up with emotionally immature or personality-disordered parents, you’re not seen for who you truly are.
You’re seen for who they needed you to be.

The narcissist’s perfect golden child—or the designated black sheep.
The emotionally fragile parent’s comfort and caretaker, even when you were the one needing care.
The mask-maker. The peacekeeper. The one who never had permission to simply be.

No wonder it feels so hard to peel off the roles you had to perform just to survive.
No wonder “being yourself” feels confusing, distant, or exhausting.

Because part of healing is letting others see you as you are—and letting that reflection help you rebuild a sense of self that feels real.
A self that feels grounded.
Effortless.
True.

You can grow a deeply centered, embodied sense of who you are—one that guides you toward the people, the work, and the life that fit you best.

11/26/2025

If You’ve Ever Felt Like the Odd One Out, Read This

You are not alone.

You want connection. You want to be understood. You want to feel someone’s warmth, their curiosity, their genuine interest in who you are.
You want to laugh with people who “get it”—or sit with a friend and finally feel safe enough to cry.

So many of us carry the same ache: feeling on the outside, feeling like the odd one out, convinced we don’t quite fit anywhere.

But here’s the truth we forget:
This world is full of people who feel exactly the way you do.
People who also feel isolated… who also long to be seen… who would breathe easier just knowing someone else understands.

You may not have found them yet.
But they exist—and they may be looking for you, too.

Please don’t give up. You will find your people.
This is why every one of my courses includes twice-weekly group Zoom sessions. There is nothing more powerful than saying something you believed was “only your story” and watching another person’s face light up with recognition.
Curious? You can explore more on my website.