Florida Psych Np

08/30/2025

🌟 Small Business Shoutout 🌟

I’m stoked to be collaborating with my business bestie, Lauren Volusia of Anchored Marketing! 🚀

Lauren is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to building connections and keeping client promotions consistent. Her drive and creativity make her an incredible asset to anyone she works with, and I’m so excited to team up with her on new projects! 💼✨

If you’re looking for someone who knows how to keep your business anchored and thriving, Lauren is the one to know. 💙⚓️

08/25/2025

Neurodiversity is strength, but it can come with challenges.

If you’re looking for compassionate, personalized support, I’d love to help.

My virtual telehealth practice is designed to meet you where you are, literally and figuratively.

💻🧠 Send me a message or click the link in bio to schedule your first session.

08/22/2025

🧠 Your brain on stories: When you hear or tell a story, your brain doesn’t just listen — it simulates. The same regions that would light up if you were living that experience in real life become active. That’s why a good story makes you feel like you’re there.

✨ Mirror neurons at work: These special brain cells fire when we watch or imagine someone else’s actions or emotions. Stories activate them, helping us connect, empathize, and even “practice” responses without leaving our chair.

💡 Dopamine boost: A powerful story can trigger dopamine release — the “reward” chemical — which helps us remember the message and stay engaged longer than with plain facts or instructions.

🔄 Rewiring through repetition: Each time we tell our story, or hear others’ stories, we strengthen neural pathways. Over time, this can shift how we think, process emotions, and even view ourselves. This is why sharing personal stories in therapy, recovery, or support groups can be so healing.

❤️ Connection + healing: Stories remind the brain that we’re not alone. That shared experience is what makes them such a powerful therapeutic tool for community and growth.

08/21/2025

✨Did you know storytelling actually lights up more areas of the brain than just sharing facts or data?✨

That’s because stories engage not only our logic but also our emotions, creativity, and memory. They make us feel connected, understood, and inspired.

This picture is a perfect example of that—four women, four business owners, each with our own story of passion, resilience, and drive. Coming together not just to support a great cause, but to celebrate the power of connection through the stories we share. 💛

When women show up for each other, our stories intertwine and become something even bigger—something that inspires community and creates impact.

08/18/2025

✨ Have you seen the magic of Tiny Chef (aka Cheffy)? ✨

What started out as a sweet little cooking puppet has turned into something so much deeper for adults everywhere. His recent short videos, showing him feeling sad, cleaning his “depression room,” practicing yoga, or even job hunting, have hit home in a big way.

Why? Because they remind us:
🌱 Healing happens in small steps, not giant leaps.
💛 It’s okay to admit when you’re not okay.
🌸 Sometimes whimsy and laughter are exactly what we need to soften heavy feelings.
🤝 And most importantly, we’re not alone, so many of us saw ourselves in his journey.

Cheffy’s little tree-stump world somehow made grown adults feel seen, heard, and validated. These tiny videos became a safe space to connect, to laugh, and to remember that even the smallest steps forward are worth celebrating.

Sometimes the simplest stories, told by the tiniest voices, remind us of the biggest truths. 💚👩‍🍳

08/17/2025

Got to go out and support a very good cause, 1 Ohana 1 Community Inc. for their Annual Casino Luau event!

Taking time to build your community of amazing, inspiring people is one of the most valuable things you can do for your mental health. Connection is a fundamental human need. When you surround yourself with others who uplift and encourage you, it nurtures a sense of belonging and safety that directly supports emotional well-being.

Engaging with local communities gives us opportunities to share, listen, and grow together. These moments of connection reduce feelings of isolation, help regulate stress, and remind us that we are not walking through life alone.

Pouring into your community isn’t just an act of kindness toward others, it’s an act of care for your own mind and heart. A healthy community fosters a healthy self, and when we invest in those relationships, we create spaces where everyone can thrive.

08/15/2025

Two Things AI Can Do for Mental Health (that might not be widely known)
1. Early Detection Through Language & Behavior Patterns
• AI can analyze text, speech, or even subtle changes in word choice over time (in emails, journals, or chats) to detect early signs of depression, anxiety, PTSD, or cognitive decline, sometimes weeks or months before a person might consciously recognize the shift.
• This can help someone get help sooner, especially if they tend to mask symptoms.
2. Personalized Coping Strategy Matching
• Beyond generic tips, AI can look at a person’s history, preferences, and mood patterns to recommend coping strategies that are most likely to work for that individual (e.g., “When you’ve been stressed before, short walks and music breaks improved your mood most, here’s a playlist and a 10-minute walking route you liked in the past”).

Two Things AI Can’t Do (and are crucial in mental health care)
1. Provide Genuine Human Empathy & Connection
• AI can mimic supportive language, but it can’t actually feel empathy, offer the warmth of human presence, or read nonverbal cues in real-time body language, which are vital in therapeutic relationships.
2. Make Clinical Judgments or Crisis Interventions Safely
• AI can’t legally diagnose mental health conditions, develop official treatment plans, or safely manage crisis situations (e.g., deciding when someone needs hospitalization). Those require trained human judgment, ethical oversight, and often legal authority.

08/14/2025

The Hidden Risk of “Spiral Feeding” with AI

When we’re feeling low or stuck in negative thinking, it’s natural to want to vent somewhere safe. But here’s the thing, AI tools only know what we tell them. If all they receive is distorted or harmful self-talk, they can accidentally:

Reinforce the negativity by validating unhealthy thoughts instead of gently challenging them.

Keep you stuck in a loop of self-confirming beliefs, because most AI is designed to be agreeable unless specifically trained to disrupt that cycle.

This is why it’s important to use AI tools mindfully, asking for reframes, coping strategies, or new perspectives instead of just replaying the same spiral. AI can be powerful for mental health support, but only when it’s guided toward growth and healing.

08/13/2025

🎉 August New Follower Giveaway Winners! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who joined our community last month, you’re the reason this space is so vibrant, supportive, and fun!

I’m thrilled to announce not one, but two winners of our $25 gift card to Margarita Island in Ormond Beach:

🏆 Terri Shurdom – Insurance Agent with Terri Sherdom Powered by Blanchard Insurance
🏆 Jillian Whitsitt Miller – Doctor of Physical Therapy, Board Certified Women’s Health Specialist at Greater Daytona Beach Women's Health and Physical Therapy

Congratulations to both of you! 🥳 Thank you for being part of this amazing community, we’re so lucky to have you here.

Stay tuned for more giveaways, events, and opportunities to connect. 💛

08/11/2025

🧠 AI in Mental Health: Helpful Tool or Hidden Risk?

Artificial Intelligence is showing up everywhere in mental health—apps that “listen,” chatbots that give coping tips, even virtual therapists.

These tools can be amazing for quick information or tracking progress… but here’s what your mental health deserves that AI can’t replace:

1️⃣ Human judgment – AI can’t read body language, notice subtle mood shifts, or catch serious warning signs the way a trained clinician can.

2️⃣ Root cause work – It might calm symptoms, but it can’t dig into the why or help you rewire patterns long-term.

3️⃣ True confidentiality – Many apps aren’t bound by HIPAA. Your “private” chats may be stored or analyzed to train the AI.

4️⃣ Bias-free care – AI learns from existing data, which means it can unintentionally carry cultural or gender bias into its advice.

5️⃣ Ethics & safety – Some states (like Illinois) are already banning AI from making therapy decisions because there’s no agreed safety standard.

Bottom line: AI can be a great assistant for your mental health journey—but it should never replace real human connection, empathy, and professional expertise.

💬 Have you ever tried an AI mental health tool? Did it feel helpful, strange, or somewhere in between?

08/10/2025

I just got my ticket for the Fayes Pillars Of Hope Inc fundraising event. Can’t wait to support this cause and Alexandra L Walker 🫶🏽

If you feel like supporting too, here’s the link:

Heart of the City Gala: Celebrating Those Who Make Volusia County ShineJoin us for an unforgettable evening at the inaugural Heart of the City Gala, a prestigious event dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary individuals who embody the spirit and drive the heart of our beloved Deland.This elegant...

08/06/2025

🧠✨ Feeling overwhelmed? Read this.

If your to-do list is endless, your brain won’t shut off, and you’re one “I’ll get to it later” away from burning out — this free toolkit is for you.

I created the Overwhelm Toolkit for busy, neurodivergent minds who are trying to do it all… but feel like they’re drowning while doing it.

Inside, you’ll find:
💛 Energy check-ins
✅ Gentle daily routines (3 levels — even for “survival mode” days)
🧩 Focus tools & mood maps
🚫 The “Overwhelm Catcher” method — 3 questions that can literally stop a spiral
🧘‍♀️ Reset ideas, printable templates, and permission to slow down without guilt

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about finding your way back to yourself — one manageable moment at a time.

📥 Grab your copy below!
Drop a 💛 if you’re downloading it — and tag a friend who needs this too!