Blog for
Chris Lauzon - Therapist, LICSW

The image says what many of us feel but rarely slow down enough to name. We live in an age of constant access, news alerts, social feeds, opinion threads, breaking headlines, hot takes, and outrage cycles. None of it is inherently wrong; we are free: to believe, to speak, to vote, to worship, to dissent, and these freedoms matter.

So much of our emotional energy gets spent managing how we are perceived: what they think, how we “come across” to others, whether we said the ‘right’ thing. It’s understandable, we’re wired for connection, but when we orient our inner world around external judgment, we slowly lose touch with ourselves. What you think about yourself matters far more than what they think about you.

Oftentimes our Old Mental Muscle (trying to protect us) pushes us to ‘feel’ responsible for others. Long-standing friendships, familial ties, or ingrained relational patterns can create the sense that we must hold things together, smooth over conflict, or carry the emotional weight of the group. But here is the truth: there is a profound difference between ‘feeling’ responsible and ‘being’ responsible; who pays the tool?