Blog for
Chris Lauzon - Therapist, LICSW

We’ve all done it... Scanned cheap flight deals, fantasized about a beach getaway, a mountain escape, or even a cozy staycation filled with naps and novels, only to immediately shut the browser tab and sigh, “Ugh, I can’t afford it.” But before you exile your desires to the land of "maybe next year," it’s time to grab your most powerful planning tool: self-awareness.

Online Dating: Fish With A Line, Not A Net: If you’ve spent any time on dating apps, you know the feeling: an endless scroll of profiles, hollow conversations that go nowhere, and a nagging sense that maybe, just maybe, you’re going about it all wrong. Let’s talk about a different way to date online, a way that feels less like you're trawling the ocean for anything that bites, and more like casting a line, patiently, intentionally, for what you actually want.

Somewhere along the road of growing up, many of us absorbed a lie: that life is a pass or fail test. You're either doing it right, or you're doing it wrong. Success or failure. Approval or rejection. We internalize this binary thinking early—at home, at school, in relationships—and it follows us quietly into adulthood like a shadow. But the truth is: real life happens in the gray. And that’s where the grace is.

When we think about conflict in relationships, we often imagine explosive arguments or long-standing feuds. But what can be just as damaging (though far more subtle) is conflict avoidance. That creeping tension that builds up when couples sidestep tough conversations, suppress small annoyances, or habitually say “I don’t care” to avoid disagreement. Over time, this kind of emotional evasion can erode connection, breed resentment, and spark fights over seemingly trivial things