Michelle Chung, Psy.D.

“In Irish when you talk about an emotion, you don’t say, ‘I am sad.’ You’d say, ‘Sadness is on me – Ta’ Bron Orm.’ I love that because there’s an implication of not identifying yourself with the emotion fully. I am not sad, it’s just that sadness is on me for a while. Something else will be on me another time, and that’s a good thing to recognize.”
– Pádraig Ó Tuama

I love this quote. It’s such a good reminder that we are not our emotions. We are merely experiencing them. Acknowledge their presence. And then remind yourself that soon a different one will come upon us and eventually pass on by.

So what emotion is on you now?

Allow this emotion to stay as long as it needs without judgement. Give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling without the need to change it.

When we give ourselves permission, we’re able to learn from it.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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Perfectionism promises protection.

It tells us that if we can do everything just right, we’ll avoid mistakes, criticism, failure, and rejection.

But that’s the trap. Perfection is never permanent, so the goalpost keeps moving.

And so in trying so hard to protect ourselves, we so often stop ourselves from fully participating in life. We procrastinate, overthink, avoid new opportunities, or find ourselves endlessly revising what’s already good enough.

Perfectionism may help us avoid discomfort in the short term, but it keeps us stuck… at the cost of growth, creativity, connection, and joy.

So try this…
➞ Ask, “What would ‘good enough’ look like here?”
➞ Set a time limit instead of chasing perfect.
➞ Treat mistakes as information, not evidence of your worth.
➞ Take one imperfect step before you feel completely ready.
➞ Focus on progress over flawless performance.

Because a meaningful life isn’t built by never making mistakes. It’s built by having the courage to keep moving forward despite them.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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Do you ever catch your child criticizing their body or worrying about food? 💭 You have more influence than you think.
Join us for a practical webinar on building a food- and body-neutral home — real language, real tools, real talk. 🍽️✨
📅 Tuesday, August 4th | 🕗 8:00 PM | 💵 $20
Link in bio to register 🔗

If past relationships wrote part of our inner narrative, then healing can be found in rewriting it.

Especially early in life, we don’t develop a sense of self in isolation. We learn who we are through how others relate to us. The way we’re spoken to, listened to, dismissed, comforted, criticized, or valued gradually becomes the outline for how we see ourselves.

If you’re treated with:
➞ consistency, you learn reliability.
➞ care, you learn you matter.
➞ neglect, you may learn invisibility.
➞ criticism, you may learn self-doubt.

Our experiences don’t simply stay in the past, they help write our inner narrative. What once came from others can become our self-talk, expectations, and emotional reflexes. Over time, the way we were treated becomes the way we begin to treat ourselves. Explaining why we cling to unhelpful patterns: why certain relationships feel familiar, why some behaviors feel “earned,” and why self-worth can become conditional.

If we were shaped by how we were treated, then healing involves changing the way we treat ourselves and what we allow ourselves to receive. So we can rewrite our narrative by creating new contrasting experiences that teach us something different.

New experiences like…
… still receiving love even after messing up.
… saying “no” and discovering the relationship survives.
… following a negative thought with a kind one.
… feeling understood after expressing an emotion.

The stories that shaped you don’t have to be the stories that define you.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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May your July Fourth weekend be full of joy… and a coping tool in your pocket!

The holiday weekend is often filled with celebration: friends, family, BBQs, fireworks, and sun. But it can also bring crowds, heat, loud noises, and overstimulation.

It can help to have a coping or self-soothing strategy ready, just in case you need a quick reset.

Thankfully, one of the most effective tools is something you carry with you everywhere you go (no pocket needed): your breath.

I like to think of our breath as the body’s built-in metronome. When life feels overwhelming, it can help us find our rhythm again.

One technique worth trying is the physiological (or cyclic) sigh, a breathing pattern that can help regulate the nervous system by engaging our parasympathetic (the “rest and digest”) response.

Here’s how to do it:
➞ Slowly inhale through your nose,
➞ Before you exhale, take one more small inhale through your nose to fully expand your lungs.
➞ Exhale slowly through your mouth like a long, gentle sigh, emptying your lungs.
➞ Repeat for at least 3–5 breaths. For a greater effect, continue for 3–5 minutes.

The beauty of this technique is its simplicity. You can use it anywhere: before the fireworks, after a stressful conversation, while sitting in traffic, or anytime you need to reset.

Sometimes the fastest way to change how you feel is to change how you breathe.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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As I shared last week, there’s no single “best” coping skill. But what we can do is switch to the skill that best fits the challenge in front of us.

Grounding yourself in the present moment may help when anxiety is high, but it won’t necessarily lift a low mood. Movement might improve a low mood, but it might not quiet our rumination. Sometimes you need self-compassion. While other times your mind and body might need acceptance, distraction, or simply breaking things down into one small step.

The goal isn’t to master one coping skill, it’s to build the flexibility to switch them as your needs change. It will take practice, trial and error, and paying attention to what works (and what doesn’t) for you.

Because resilience isn’t about responding the same way every time. It’s about responding wisely.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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No coping skill works all the time

Mental health isn’t about finding the right strategy, it’s about knowing when to switch.

Like rock–paper–scissors, what works in one moment might fall flat in another. Rigid coping is like playing rock every round and wondering why it stops working.

The same is true for skills:
✧ Distraction helps sometimes.
✧ Feeling it fully helps sometimes.
✧ Problem-solving helps sometimes.

Struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing , it just means the strategy doesn’t match the moment.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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Ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the manager of the South Korean national team had players swap jerseys during training. Knowing the Swedish scouts would be reliant on the printed names and numbers on their backs, the goal was to make it harder for the opposing team to identify and study players.

His strategy drew on the cognitive phenomenon known as the other-race effect, when our brains tend to have a harder time recognizing and distinguishing faces from racial groups we’re less familiar with. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, he flipped the script and turned it into a strategic advantage.

But there’s a lesson here beyond soccer:
We spend so much of life trying to hide, fix, or overcome our challenges, setbacks, and perceived weaknesses that we overlook another possibility… learning to work with them.

The trait you see as a weakness may become a strength in the right context. The setback you resent may reveal a new path. The thing you’re trying to overcome may hold the insight needed to move forward.

We can’t always change the circumstances, but we can change our relationship to them.

So ask “Is there another more helpful way to see this?”
➞ A difference that can become an edge?
➞ A setback that motivates?
➞ A “no” that gives direction and clarity?
➞ A limitation that channels your focus?
➞ A mistake that gives you the chance to build trust?
➞ A sensitivity that helps you notice what others miss?

Sometimes the very thing holding you back can become the very thing to move you forward.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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✨ New Webinar: Tools for a Confident Summer ✨
Navigating Body Image Using Nutrition & Psychology

Summer can stir up extra stress around food, clothing, vacations, and photos — and you’re not alone if you feel it. Join registered dietitian Rebecca Jaspan, MPH, RD, CEDS, and clinical psychologists Dr. Allie Dashow & Dr. Michelle Chung for a warm, judgment-free space to build real tools you can use.

We’ll cover:
🍽️ Flexible nutrition tips
🧠 Coping skills for hard moments
🪞 Body image strategies to stay present
☀️ Reframes for the beach or your backyard
💬 Live Q&A

📅 Wed, July 1 | 8:00 PM EST (75 min)
💻 Online | $20
🔗 Link in bio to reserve your spot

The stories we tell ourselves matter.

Not because every thought is true, but because the thoughts we repeatedly return to shape how we see ourselves and the world around us.

If you constantly feed the narrative that you’re not enough, your mind will start collecting evidence to support it.

If you repeatedly remind yourself that you’re learning, growing, and capable of handling hard things, your mind begins looking for evidence of that too.

This isn’t about toxic positivity or pretending difficult realities don’t exist. It’s about noticing which stories you’re strengthening through repetition.

While we can’t eliminate every negative thought, we can become more intentional about which narratives deserve our attention.

Because the thoughts you practice become the beliefs you carry. And the narratives you nurture are the ones that tend to grow.

** For more tips follow @𝗱𝗿.𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 **
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