All articles
Articles on CBT, DBT, exposure therapy, and the patterns of thinking and feeling they work with.
Therapy
ADHD and emotional dysregulation — a core feature, not a comorbidity
Around 70% of adults with ADHD show clinically significant emotional dysregulation. It's a core feature of the disorder, not a separate condition stacked on top.
Therapy
Affect labeling — why naming an emotion turns the volume down
Putting a feeling into words measurably dampens it — the fMRI studies, the spider experiment, and why a mood journal works at all.
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Alexithymia — when emotions don't come with words
A trait, not a diagnosis — about 1 in 10 people score in the alexithymic range. Here is the research, the autism overlap, and what a colour-first picker is for.
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Behavioral activation — the depression treatment hiding in your calendar
Action first, motivation later. The depression treatment that matched full CBT in a 440-person trial — built on scheduling, not insight.
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Mood charting in bipolar disorder — the oldest evidence-based self-tracking
The original evidence-based mood tracking. Why charting mood and sleep helps in bipolar disorder, and how to catch an episode before it builds.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
A type of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and challenging negative thought patterns and behaviors.
Therapy
Cognitive distortions — the 14 patterns
A field guide to the 14 cognitive distortions used in CBT — what they are, how to spot them, and how to challenge them.
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The menstrual cycle and mood — PMS, PMDD, and why two months of tracking matters
PMS is common; PMDD is severe and diagnosable. The line between them is timing — and only two months of daily tracking can actually draw it.
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT mixes therapy with mindfulness, promoting acceptance while changing harmful behaviors.
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Emotional granularity — why naming the feeling helps
The skill of telling apart frustrated, lonely, ashamed, and envious instead of just bad — and what 25 years of research say about it.
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Exposure Therapy
Psychological treatment developed to help individuals confront and reduce their fear or anxiety.
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5-4-3-2-1 grounding — how to use it during panic and anxiety
A clear walkthrough of the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique for panic, anxiety, and dissociation — what it does, what it doesn't, and how to use it.
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Do mental health apps actually work? A research review
An honest review of the meta-analytic evidence on mental health apps — what they reliably do, what the marketing oversells, and which features predict real effects.
Therapy
Does mood tracking actually work? A research review
An honest review of the evidence on mood tracking apps — what works, what doesn't, and when self-monitoring can backfire.
Therapy
Mood vs emotion — the difference, and why a tracker needs both
An emotion has a cause and a face; a mood is the weather it leaves behind. Why the distinction matters every time you log your day.
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Opposite action — the DBT skill for emotions that don't fit
A practical guide to opposite action, the DBT skill for changing emotions that don't fit the facts.
Therapy
Paced breathing — box breathing, 4-7-8, and how slow breathing calms the body
How to do paced breathing (box, 4-7-8, resonant 6-bpm), why it works, and where it fits in CBT and DBT.
Therapy
Radical acceptance and check the facts — the DBT pair for reality
Pain is the event; suffering is the argument with it. The DBT skill of accepting what already happened — and its partner skill, check the facts.
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Rumination vs reflection — why one digs the hole and the other climbs out
Going over it again feels like working on it. The research on why rumination deepens low mood, and the questions that turn it into reflection.
Therapy
The science of journaling — what 40 years of research actually shows
An honest review of the evidence on journaling and expressive writing, anchored in Pennebaker's 40 years of work and the Frattaroli 2006 meta-analysis.
Therapy
Self-compassion — talking to yourself like someone you're responsible for
The "what would you say to a friend?" move, with research behind it. Why self-compassion lowers anxiety and depression, and why it isn't going soft.
Therapy
Sensory overload and mood — tracking the input most apps ignore
Sensory load is mood input. A practical guide to logging light, sound, crowds, and texture so the patterns become visible.
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Sleep and mood — the factor that moves everything else
One short night makes the amygdala trigger-happy; chronic insomnia doubles depression risk. What the trials say, and why CBT-I beats sleep hygiene.
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How to fill out a thought record
A worked example of the seven-field CBT thought record, the same fields the Colors reframe flow walks you through.
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TIPP — DBT's crisis-survival skills for high-arousal moments
A walkthrough of the four TIPP sub-skills from DBT distress tolerance — temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, and paired muscle relaxation.
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Triggers vs factors — two axes of mood causality
Acute triggers and chronic factors are both antecedents to a mood, but they answer different questions. A short guide to tagging each correctly.
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Validated mental health screeners — what HADS, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 actually measure
A plain-language guide to validated mental health screeners — HADS, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 — what they measure, what their scores mean, and how to use them honestly.
Therapy
When mood tracking backfires
An honest account of the patterns where mood tracking stops helping and starts hurting — and what to do about each.