mental health Archives - Gina Davis, PsyD

Unlocking Life Lessons from The Legend of Zelda: You’re Not Failing, You’re Learning

Apr 23, 2025

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Honest Disclaimer: I haven’t played the game myself (yet!). But recently, a client shared some powerful insights from their time exploring Hyrule, and it struck me how many parallels there are between Zelda and, well…life! From trial-and-error learning to reframing mistakes, the game models so much of what we work on in therapy as it…

Distress Tolerance Skills for Healthier Relationships

Apr 13, 2022

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Gina Davis, PsyD

in Attachment & Relationships

If you identify as a person with an insecure (i.e. anxious, avoidant, or fearful) attachment style and have decided to begin your healing journey, you’re going to encounter some challenging emotions. Change is never easy, even when it’s positive, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, defeated, or just plan uncomfortable as you heal your attachment…

The people-pleaser’s guide to speaking up.

Apr 8, 2022

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Gina Davis, PsyD

in Attachment & Relationships

A lot of the clients I work with have been taught not to “rock the boat” in relationships, meaning they’ve received and currently implement some version(s) of the following instructions: Don’t rock the boat by setting boundaries, because people will think your’e selfish. Don’t rock the boat by asking for what you want, you’ll only…

4 tools for healing anxious attachment

Mar 16, 2022

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Gina Davis, PsyD

in Attachment & Relationships

Imagine no longer chasing (or even wanting to chase) relationships with people who cannot love you in the ways you need. If you have an anxious attachment style, you are likely no stranger to the pain of unfulfilling, disappointing, drama-filled relationships. An insecure attachment style can predispose us to unhealthy relationship dynamics, but the good…

The Exploding Doormat: Coping With Anger from People-Pleasing

Mar 2, 2022

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Gina Davis, PsyD

in Attachment & Relationships

“Exploding doormat” is a term I originally learned from someone who was working the twelve steps in Al-Anon. It refers to an individual (i.e. “doormat”) who has habitually bent over backwards, placed their needs last, given into people-pleasing tendencies for far too long…and “exploded” (i.e. become openly enraged and/or acted out) as a result. Exploding…

10 ways to cope with college rejection

Mar 30, 2021

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Gina Davis, PsyD

in Anxiety & Performance

It’s almost April and we all know what that means: thousands of young people across America are hearing back from the colleges they applied to months earlier. This was a record year for college applications (global pandemic, anyone?) and while many college applicants will receive acceptance letters, even more will rejection letters. Being told “no”…

Tag: mental health

Unlocking Life Lessons from The Legend of Zelda: You’re Not Failing, You’re Learning

Distress Tolerance Skills for Healthier Relationships

The people-pleaser’s guide to speaking up.

4 tools for healing anxious attachment

The Exploding Doormat: Coping With Anger from People-Pleasing

10 ways to cope with college rejection