Figs & Teale

12/09/2025

Discover the four ways we unconsciously cope with shame attacking others, attacking ourselves, denying the problem, and collapsing. In this video, we break down how shame shapes our behavior long before our day even begins, why these patterns form, and how understanding them can help us heal, reconnect, and build real self-worth.

12/07/2025

Discover the one communication shift that can instantly bring more connection, empathy, and emotional safety into your relationship. Instead of blaming or retelling stories about your partner, learn how to share your real inner experience and watch conflict soften fast. This video breaks down a simple but powerful habit that transforms disconnection into closeness.

09/18/2025

✨ People don’t change until it hurts like hell.

That’s true in love, in money, in life. We cling to the familiar—even when it’s toxic—until the pain finally cracks us open.

In my latest piece, I explore how this truth shows up in relationships and in Bitcoin:
👉

I still remember walking on Ocean Beach with my mother in San Francisco: I’m 40 years old and I feel I have to tell her, “Look, I cannot make relationships work. I’m sorry, I’m just never going to make you a granny.” This moment is particularly hard because by far the most important goals ...

04/25/2025

He was raised to be self-responsible.

04/25/2025

John saw his mom one hour a day. His dad, once a week on Sundays.

As an upper-middle-class British kid in the early 1900s, John was not to be spoiled by too much attention from his parents.

Instead, he depended on and bonded with his nursemaid and primary caregiver, Minnie.

Minnie left for a better job when John was 4.

John Bowlby grew up to become the father of Attachment Theory, the antithesis of his "stiff upper lip" upbringing.

What he discovered not only changed the way we understand parenting, but the fabric of all human relationships.

03/28/2025

Being connected is your birthright.

When you're born into this world, you don't need food, shelter, or a weapon to protect yourself...

You need to be bonded with another human being.

Human babies are absolutely useless: they can't feed themselves, they can't fight for themselves — they couldn't even cover themselves with a blanket if it were right next to them!

But Mother Nature was kind enough to leave us a blanket that will wrap around ourselves and one other so that life's not completely crap from beginning to end.

That blanket is Attachment.

Attachment is the built-in mechanism that:

A. We want to be loving and nurturing to little babies…

and B. We are going to f***ing freak out if it looks like no one's there for us or that we're a disappointment, because being left alone or rejected means DEATH.

You can survive without connection as an adult — bury your iPhone in the sand and sail off into the sunset…

But your organism will remember...

Being connected is your birthright.

It has always been your ticket to survival, and so without it, you WILL feel a level of threat.

So when you and your partner are stuck in suffering, feeling left alone or rejected by each other, your organisms are rightfully feeling the THREAT of disconnection.

Our job is to bring you back inside the blanket.

Couples therapy here: https://empathi.com/contact?&utm_source=facebook-1

02/15/2025

Happy Valentine's Day to all the little monsters out there.

01/10/2025

Don't let the slow creep of resentment eat your relationship alive.

With all the promise of 2025 before you, face the dark underbelly of your relationship head-on.

You just might be surprised by what you discover.

Check out Lily Petroff's new article, "How to Fix Relationship Resentment":

https://empathi.com/blog/how-to-fix-resentment-in-a-relationship/?&utm_source=facebook-1&utm_content=post&utm_term=resentment

11/28/2024

We all could use a little help dealing with family this Thanksgiving 😅

So check out these quick tips from Sherwood Wang, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist at Empathi.

11/16/2024

You've shown your partner what kind of support or acceptance you need in a million different ways, and they just don't seem to get it.

So, you cut to the chase...

Love me now, or stop pretending!!!

The sad part is, this just makes things worse.

In this clip, the woman — Tiffany Pollard — LOOKS like she's being as real as it gets.

But the ultimatum only pushes both of them further and further from the truth...

They're just two vulnerable people who want to be loved, playing emotionally tough people on tv.

(Just like all the rest of us.)

09/29/2024

I tried to resist being a bunny dad. It lasted 2 weeks..just too much cuteness.

Teale O'Sullivan, have the decency to do your victory dance privately.