Evidence-Informed Mental Health Guides
Reviewed by Dr. Nicholas Gehle, Psy.D., licensed clinical psychologist (FL PY8489) · Updated
In-depth guides on breathing, grounding, cognitive, and mindfulness techniques. Each guide covers the science, step-by-step instructions, and how to build a daily practice.
Breathing Exercises for Anxiety
Five evidence-informed breathing exercises for anxiety: why breathing works, how to choose the right technique, and how to build a daily practice.
Grounding Techniques for PTSD
Learn five grounding techniques for PTSD that help you stay present during flashbacks, dissociation, and trauma triggers. Evidence-informed methods from clinical trauma research.
CBT Techniques for Beginners
Five core CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) techniques you can practice on your own. How thoughts drive feelings, and how to change the pattern.
Mindfulness Exercises for Stress
Learn five evidence-informed mindfulness exercises for stress relief. From body scans to mindful breathing, discover techniques backed by neuroscience research.
Why Grounding Techniques Don't Work for Me
If 5-4-3-2-1 grounding stops working when you need it most, you're not doing it wrong. A clinical psychologist on why grounding fails in high anxiety.
Why Breathing Exercises Don't Work for Anxiety
Box breathing did nothing for your anxiety? You're likely doing the part that calms you backwards. A clinical psychologist on why breathing fails — and the fix.
Why Won't My Brain Shut Off at Night?
Why your brain won't shut off at night: a clinical psychologist on three ways it happens (looping, thoughts in the dark, a restless body) and what helps.
Waking Up Anxious in the Middle of the Night
Waking at 3am anxious and wide awake is a different problem from falling asleep. What might help you get back to sleep: skip the clock math and go through the body.
Sunday Night Anxiety Is Real. Here's What Helps.
Sunday night anxiety before work is part schedule, part anticipation. A psychologist on why Sundays hit different, plus a free wind-down ritual.
Can't Switch Off After Work?
Still thinking about work at home? A psychologist on why unfinished tasks follow you home, plus short free tools to help you switch off after work.
Mental Health Apps Without an AI Chatbot: An Honest Comparison
10 apps with no AI chat feature listed, compared from each app's own listing: who makes it, price, and what the source says about where entries are stored.
Grounding Apps: An Honest Comparison
8 apps for grounding techniques like 5-4-3-2-1, compared from each app's own listing: grounding features, platforms, price, and whether an AI chat is listed.
Deeper Reading: Why Skills Fail Under Stress
Why Coping Skills Disappear Under Stress
The gap between knowing a skill and reaching it
Knowing What to Do but Not Doing It
Why insight alone doesn't move you in the moment
Why Advice Fails During Anxiety
What "just calm down" gets wrong about your nervous system
What we call stress-induced retrieval failure
Why you blank under pressure
Skill Problem vs. Access Problem
Two different failures that need two different fixes
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