Leslie Ellen Mathews JD, MSW

Leslie Ellen Mathews JD, MSW Helping women untangle the legal, emotional, and identity knots of divorce. Divorce can unravel everything—but it can also remake you.

With a background in law and a Masters in Social Work, I offer strategic and soulful support through The LooM Life—guiding you to peace, power, and clarity. With both a JD and MSW, I guide women through the emotional, logistical, and legal overwhelm of divorce. Through The LooM Life, I offer strategy, support, and soul as you untangle what was and reweave what’s next.
👉 Book a free consult to learn how we can work together. Strategic & soulful coaching by a lawyer-turned-therapist.

Do you ever wonder why some relationships feel easy? And why others trigger old patterns?Your attachment style might be ...
02/22/2026

Do you ever wonder why some relationships feel easy? And why others trigger old patterns?

Your attachment style might be quietly guiding how you connect with others.

Understanding your attachment style isn’t about labeling yourself permanently. It’s about seeing the patterns that shape your relationships and learning how to respond to yourself with curiosity, compassion, and care.

Which attachment style do you think you have right now?

We don’t talk enough about how quiet can feel loud after a separation.No arguing.No tension.No constant negotiation.And ...
02/21/2026

We don’t talk enough about how quiet can feel loud after a separation.

No arguing.
No tension.
No constant negotiation.

And yet…

Your chest feels tight.
Your thoughts race at night.
The silence feels almost unbearable.

That’s attachment disruption.

Even when separation is the right decision, your nervous system still registers loss. Familiar stress patterns disappear. Your body is recalibrating.

It’s not weakness.
It’s biology.

Early separation can bring:
• Sleep disruption
• Surges of anxiety
• Urges to reach out just to soothe the discomfort
• Emotional whiplash between relief and grief

This is why grounding matters.

Start here:
• Slow exhale breathing (longer out than in)
• Consistent daily structure
• Movement to discharge activation
• Naming the wave instead of reacting to it

You don’t need to rush clarity in this phase.
You need regulation.

I support women navigating separation in a way that strengthens self-trust instead of panic.

If you’re in this early stage and your nervous system feels loud, book a session with me.
Scheduling and website link are in my bio.

02/20/2026

A reminder:

Trauma bonding does not start with chaos.
It starts with connection.

Chemistry.
Vulnerability.
Feeling seen.

Then distance.
Silence.
Withdrawal.

Your nervous system spikes.

Then they return.
Relief.
Closeness.
Intensity.

And your body bonds to the cycle.

The anxiety isn’t proof of love.
The relief isn’t proof of safety.

When connection and threat are intertwined, your nervous system wires attachment to unpredictability.

This is why intensity can feel like depth.
Why inconsistency can feel addictive.
Why calm can feel… boring.

I help women untangle trauma-bond cycles so they can experience secure attachment instead of nervous system whiplash.

If you’re dating or trying to rewire old patterns, you don’t have to do it alone.

Book a session with me.
Scheduling and website link are in my bio.

02/20/2026

If this week stirred something in you… stay with it.

Growth doesn’t always look dramatic.
Sometimes it looks like noticing your triggers.
Sometimes it looks like pausing before reacting.
Sometimes it looks like choosing alignment over old patterns.

That’s inner work.

This week’s conversation explores nervous system regulation, identity shifts, mindfulness, and the kind of personal growth that changes how you experience your life, not just how it looks on the outside.

You deserve steadiness. You deserve clarity. You deserve peace.

Click the link to watch the full episode.

Podcast: https://www.pullingthreadspodcast.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

If you’re not navigating divorce but are interested in another MBSR group, send me a message on Instagram. I’m exploring a second February cohort.

02/20/2026

If you're exhausted by the world's pain, numb to news that should matter, or guilty for both feeling too much and too little—you're not alone. Millions are navigating this same impossible balance.

Mindfulness isn't a cure-all, but it offers something crucial: permission to be human.

To feel what you feel without judgment.
To rest when you need rest.
To care in the ways you actually can.

You don't need to fix yourself to help fix the world. You just need to stay present to your own humanity.

02/20/2026

Notice how your body never says
“this relationship is doomed.”

It says:
“Heart racing.”
“Tight chest.”
“Fix this now.”
“Get out.”
“Make it stop.”

That’s activation.
Not clarity.

When your nervous system is dysregulated, your brain shifts into threat detection mode. Everything feels urgent. Permanent. Extreme.

Anxiety distorts evaluation.

You might:
• Catastrophize
• Personalize
• Overestimate danger
• Underestimate your capacity
• Confuse intensity with truth

Clarity does not come from urgency.
It comes from regulation.

Regulation before evaluation.

I help women slow down their nervous systems so they can make relationship decisions from steadiness instead of fear — whether that leads to repair, boundaries, or transition.

If you’re trying to decide something big and your body feels loud, that’s your cue to regulate first.

Book a session with me.
Scheduling and website link are in my bio.

02/19/2026

As someone who works with individuals and couples in repair, here’s what I wish more women understood:

Not all discomfort means you’re in danger.
But not all discomfort is growth either.

Discernment matters.

Growth discomfort looks like:
• Honest conversations that feel vulnerable but respectful
• Temporary tension while new skills are being learned
• Accountability that increases over time
• Repair that becomes more consistent
• Emotional safety that deepens, even if it’s imperfect

Chronic emotional instability looks like:
• Repeating the same rupture with no sustained change
• Promises without follow-through
• Blame-shifting when you express hurt
• Walking on eggshells
• Your nervous system never fully settling

Growth stretches you.
Instability destabilizes you.

One builds security.
The other erodes it.

I help women assess patterns — not just moments — so they can make grounded decisions from clarity instead of fear.

If you’re trying to discern whether you’re experiencing growth discomfort or something more destabilizing, book a session with me.
Scheduling and website link are in my bio.

02/19/2026

Can I say something gently?

You don’t have to power through this season.

If you’ve been feeling more emotional, more reactive, or quietly overwhelmed, it might not be weakness. It might be your nervous system asking for regulation. It might be identity work rising to the surface. It might be alignment calling you forward.

Midlife isn’t a crisis. It’s often a recalibration.

In this episode, we talk about emotional regulation, mindfulness, personal growth, and how to stop overriding your body in the name of being strong.

Click the link to watch the full episode.

Podcast: https://www.pullingthreadspodcast.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

02/19/2026

The thing nobody talks about in struggling marriages, but every woman should know:

Emotional safety is not chemistry.
It’s not intensity.
It’s not passion after a blow-up.

It’s consistency.

Emotional safety looks like:
• Your partner responding instead of reacting
• Repair happening without you begging for it
• Words matching behavior
• Accountability without defensiveness
• Hard conversations that don’t leave you dysregulated for days
• Follow through — especially when it’s inconvenient

Intensity-based connection often feels powerful:
Big fights.
Big apologies.
Big declarations.

But your nervous system can’t relax in unpredictability.

Secure love is steady.
It lowers your heart rate.
It allows you to exhale.
It doesn’t require you to shrink, chase, or over-function.

If you’re constantly scanning the relationship for stability, that’s information.

I help women understand the difference between secure attachment and trauma-bond intensity — whether you’re trying to repair, decide, or rebuild.

If you want clarity and steadiness in your relationship, book a session with me.
Book at free consult call at https://theloomlife.com/discovery-call

02/19/2026

In case you were curious… I did get some great LOVE questions for Valentine’s Day! You can listen to them all on Pulling Threads or see clips here! Thank you for all of your questions! Podcast links in bio!

02/18/2026

If your heart rate is spiking…
If your chest is tight…
If your voice is getting sharp or shaky…
If you’re rehearsing your defense instead of listening…

You are likely outside your window of tolerance.

And when one partner is activated while the other pushes for resolution, the nervous systems clash instead of connect.

That’s not immaturity.
That’s physiology.

When you’re dysregulated, your brain shifts into protection mode. Logic decreases. Threat sensitivity increases. Repair becomes harder.

What support actually looks like:
• Naming activation without shame
• Taking a pause before damage is done
• Regulating first, resolving second
• Returning when both partners are inside their window

I help individuals and couples understand their nervous systems so conflict doesn’t keep escalating the same way.

If you want to feel more secure, steady, and connected in your relationship — whether you’re repairing, questioning, or rebuilding — you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Book a session with me.
Book at free consult call at https://theloomlife.com/discovery-call

Address

Saint Petersburg, FL
33704

Website

http://loomlifetherapy.com/, https://youtube.com/@pullingthreads_lesliemathews, https://www

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Mindful Storytellers Live Here

Mindful Mayhem is a place to share the things we love and make us feel great, as well as what we have learned from living with autoimmune disease, ADD, chemical intolerance and allergies.

Galleries from our travels, gardens and crazy life are coming to the website soon! Capturing the things we are passionate about guides my mindful journey and helps me stay focused on the present. Right now that is extremely therapeutic and essential.

Ella and Jack love to share their music, stories and experiments on our Youtube channel, so be on the lookout for videos from their Mindful Mayhem channel!

You can also find us on Instagram at mindfulmayhem.com, IG @mindful.mayhem and @houseofmindfulmayhem