Lauren Worley, LCSW

06/19/2024

Have you ever tried to change a habit but find yourself constantly going back to your old ways? You can thank your brain for that. Our brains want to stick with the status quo and change is hard. I've often compared our automatic thoughts to walking in Muir Woods. It's easy, well lit, and smooth traveling. Changing our thoughts is like chopping down brush. Click the Blog link in bio to read the rest of the post!

08/29/2022

👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼
I spent this weekend with a group of people that reminded me that family doesn't need to be biological. If you are loved and supported by your biological family that's great, but not everyone is and that can be super hard. The holiday season isn't far away and that can be so hard for folxs who aren't connected to the family they had growing up. While this isn't always true for LGBTQ+ folxs, there is a higher chance of disconnection from the family they grew up with because of bigotry and hatred in that family.
It's okay to reject family that hurt you (you don't need to forgive just because they are family), it's okay to create a new family of supportive folxs who love you for who you are, it's okay to say no to going home for the holidays and staying with your chosen family instead, it's okay to have a mixture of family you grew up with and family you chose.

08/22/2022

This one can take a bit to internalize. "Shouldn't my best self be my favorite self?" "But I've always been told to be my best self!" "Uhh what does that even mean?"
We have been conditioned to have unrealistic expectations of what best means. Working out enough, making the best food choices, the perfect self care routine, being an amazing employee, Instagram posts showing all the greatest adventures, being a perfect parent, etc. But what if we throw away all those societal expectations and focus on what brings joy? Maybe we can't meet those impossibly high standards that people think of when they think of "best" but we can work to try and end the day feeling joy with what we did. Is our favorite self the one who realizes doing the minimal amount in one area of life allows for a renewed and happy focus in another area? Is our best self the good enough parent who realizes we are flawed? Are we a student who understands that grades don't mean everything and that the social connections formed in school also help develop us?
Our favorite self doesn't have to be best. Maybe it's okay to say "hey I'm not doing my best right there, but I'm okay with the place I'm in". Being okay with the place you're in does wonders for mental health and maybe that's more important than being the best at everything.

08/15/2022

The first time I heard that phrase from Courtney with I stopped what I was doing and just sat with it. How often do we react with no pause, no thought, nothing? How often are we so triggered by the way someone said something that we didn't hear what was said? I don't know about you, but it's often for me. Sometimes I realize that if I just paused to actually respond to what is being said I would respond so differently than my initial reaction. Sometimes it's so important to take that moment before you react and ask yourself "what did I just hear" or "is what I'm feeling a reaction to what was said, how it was said, or something else entirely?". Take that pause and then respond, see what happens

06/18/2020

Are you struggling to talk to your kids about the protests or worried that they are too young to talk about race? They aren't. Here are some resources about how to talk to your kids about race

Recently, I’ve had several white folks, who have heard me talk about anti-racist parenting before, ask where to start with their own anti-racist parenting. Before I was even pregnant, my partner and I made an intentional and conscious decision to weave anti-racism into our parenting from the start...