Understanding your mind a little better
Writing on mental health, relationships, immigration, and schema therapy — by Ghazal Sheikhtaheri, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying).
These articles explore the emotional experiences many of us carry quietly — from the grief of immigration and the weight of collective trauma, to the repetitive thought patterns that keep us stuck.
Why We Keep Repeating the Same Relationship Patterns — and How Schema Therapy Helps
If you've ever found yourself in the same painful dynamic with different people, schema therapy offers a profound explanation — and a path forward.
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When Family Comes to Stay: Long Visits From Iran and the Quiet Strain on Couples
His parents arrived in October. It is now March. What long visits from Iran do to a marriage, and what protects it.
Read Article → Relationships · CouplesWhen Should Couples Start Therapy? Why Most Wait Too Long, and What Actually Happens in the Room
Most couples wait years before making the call, not because the problems are small but because asking feels like admitting defeat. Here's what actually happens in the room, and why earlier is easier.
Read Article → Couples & RelationshipsWhen Love Isn't the Problem: Couples Therapy and Schema Couple Therapy
Couples therapy is not about who is right. It is about the pattern that keeps you both stuck — and how Schema Couple Therapy reaches the deeper emotional roots of conflict.
Read Article → Trauma · Prolonged StressWhen Trauma Does Not End: From Alarm Into Exhaustion
When trauma is ongoing, many people move from alarm into exhaustion — from fear into fog. Understanding this shift can help you carry it with more compassion.
Read Article → Mental Health · Schema TherapyWhen Crisis Activates Our Inner Schemas
We are not only reacting to the situation itself — we are also responding through deeper, pre-existing patterns within us. Understanding these schemas can help us make sense of why crisis sometimes feels heavier than it "should."
Read Article → Trauma · DiasporaWhen Home Is Under Fire: Supporting Yourself While Your Loved Ones Are in Iran
You are here, and they are there. The fear lives in your body even when you push it from your mind. This article names what you are carrying — and offers ways to hold it without being destroyed by it.
Read Article → Trauma · AnxietyWhen Grief Meets Fear: Anticipatory Anxiety and Collective Trauma
There is a particular kind of dread that does not announce itself with a single crisis. It points forward, toward what might still come. This article names the experience — and offers ways to carry it more gently.
Read Article → Mental Health · AnxietyRumination: Why Your Mind Keeps Going in Circles — and How to Step Out
You've replayed the conversation a hundred times. You know it isn't helping. Yet the thoughts keep coming. Here's what's actually happening — and four evidence-based ways to break the cycle.
Read Article → Immigration · IdentityThe Hidden Grief of Immigration: What No One Tells You About Starting Over
Immigration is celebrated as a new beginning. But it is also, quietly, a loss. Understanding the emotional reality of displacement is the first step toward healing it.
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