Lights! Camera! Action! Welcome to your Monday Mental Health Moment at the movies, a series discussing the intersection of psychology and cinema. Some spoilers ahead… In Jane Schoenbrun’s new(ish) film, “a queer filmmaker named Kris…travels to meet the reclusive star of an 1980s slasher franchise and ends up stepping directly into a surreal, bloody world of desire and fear.” The source of Kris’s fear? Surrendering completely to pleasure and play! Kris, like many people, has t

Self-as-context, from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), is the idea that there is some mental flexibility within each of us to take the observer’s stance toward our thoughts and feelings. This means freeing ourselves from rigid rules, judgments and self-evaluations. In other words, you know yourself best and are therefore in the best position to observe. BUT, this takes some practice. So let’s try a couple of exercises. Exercise 1 - Noticing your thoughts as thoughts T

As we head into cooler weather and our days get shorter, let's talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

In honor of Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Awareness Week (October 11-17, 2026), I would like to pay homage to the obsessive-compulsive detective, Adrian Monk. The TV series ran for eight sessions from 2022-2009 and features a former homicide detective who is discharged from the force following the murder of his wife. He develops a fear of germs, contamination and heights that render him incapable of performing the tasks required of his previous occupation. An endearing

Archibald J. Motley Jr., Blues, 1929. Oil on canvas Imagine a dance hall in 1929. It’s Saturday night and dancers fill Ruggles Hall in Roxbury, bouncing to the beat of a string bass and drums as a trumpeter belts out Ain’t Misbehavin’. Now travel a mile north to Symphony Hall, where another trumpeter stands in front of an orchestra and sounds the opening notes of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto in Eb. At the exact same moment the first valve on each trumpet sticks, and their tone

How embodying someone you admire and respect can improve self-worth - and looking good while doing it! First off, what is cosplay? According to Encyclopedia Britannica, cosplay means “costume play.” It is a hobby where people wear special clothes and makeup to look like characters from anime, video games, comic books, movies or TV shows. You may see people dressed up in colorful, expressive costumes impersonating a favorite character of theirs in the streets of Boston, Cambr

Emotions can be experienced like a wave. Some waves are calm and gentle while others are rough and destabilizing. They can be brief or prolonged, they can be sudden or anticipated in advance. Regardless, they all have an onset, eventually dissipate and have a reason for showing up in the first place. Artist credit: Brit Chida (they/them); britchida.com When paired with mindfulness, observing this wave has profound benefits because it allows individuals to both deepen their in

Welcome to the next installation in the exploratory series of Mental Health Themes in Music!Today, we’re looking at a song from the 2014 album, “Heart Murmurs,” by Minneapolis based indie pop artist, Jeremy Messersmith. Let’s take a look at the beautiful and dynamic sentiments from “Hitman.” “I need a hitman for my heart Someone to bump it off a balcony Nonchalantly leave the scene I need a hitman for my heart It doesn't care who might get hurt Never thinks, only loves reckle

There is wellness in the act of re-imaginging yourself in a game as an opportunity to more deeply grow and understand yourself! Whether your interests are in video games, table top role-player games (TTRPGs) or computer games, having space to redefine yourself can be a deeply rewarding and illuminating experience. In my experience of TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, Daggerheart and Stormlight Archives I have found great joy and self-expression in making an in-game character th

Welcome to the second part of "Challenges to Long-Term Change Efforts - a three Part Look at Goals for Long Term Change. You can read part 1 here. And part 2 here. I have a distinct image in my head from Scooby-Doo! of Shaggy and Scooby getting scared by a monster. In their moments of panic, the show depicts them trying to run and their legs go round and round in circles as they try to run away quickly without having any prior momentum. Humans are not high performance sports