
Marie’s Blog

When Food Loses Its Hold: Understanding Shifting Coping Mechanisms
Food used to be a reliable comfort, but now it feels empty. When coping mechanisms stop working, it can be unsettling—what happens when your go-to relief no longer provides the same effect? This shift isn’t failure; it’s a sign of deeper change.
Productivity, Grief, and Connection: A City Metaphor for Internal Conflict
The urgency to complete tasks, the weight of grief, and the complexities of relationships all affect how your inner city operates. Using the Self as City metaphor, this guide explores why your internal systems react the way they do and how to create sustainable balance.
When Anxiety Hits Without a Clear Reason: A City Metaphor
Anxiety can feel like a citywide alarm with no visible fire. Your nervous system sounds the sirens, your rational mind scrambles for explanations, and your emotions react—but what if it’s just an old alarm system firing? This guide breaks down what’s happening inside and how to reset the city’s balance.
Insight and Integration: Expanding the City of the Self
Insight is like a new watchtower being built in your inner city—it allows you to see new perspectives, but integrating that knowledge takes time. This framework explores how insights shape the self, why they can feel fleeting, and how to turn them into lasting change.
Understanding Sexuality Through the City Metaphor: When Desire Feels Distant
Sexuality is a mix of physical sensation, emotional connection, and internal communication. If desire feels intellectual but disconnected from the body, it’s like a city planning a festival—but no one shows up. This metaphor helps map what’s happening internally and how to reconnect with embodied experience.
When the Core Self Feels Inaccessible: A City Metaphor for Disconnection
If your Core Self feels distant or fragmented, it can feel like your internal world is running without leadership. This framework uses the metaphor of a city to explain why disconnection happens, how different parts of the self interact, and how to rebuild inner communication.
Mapping the Self: A Functional Model for Understanding Who You Are
If you were never taught emotions and grew up in survival mode, understanding yourself can feel impossible. This model breaks down the Self into interconnected parts—Core Self, Emotional Mind, Rational Mind, and more—to help you make sense of your inner world.
Occam’s Razor vs. Mysticism: Why People Rebrand Luck as Manifesting
Mystical language like manifesting, synchronicity, and energy work makes the world feel magical, but is it just poetic rebranding of luck and psychology? Here’s a reality check on why people use these terms and what actually shapes your life.
Is the Mental Health Industry Trustworthy? A Balanced Look
The mental health industry has helped many people, but it also has significant flaws. While therapy and medication can be life-changing, the system profits from long-term patients, raising concerns about overdiagnosis and dependency. This post explores the industry's strengths and weaknesses and how to navigate it critically.
Being Seen as the Grand Canyon: A Reflection on Deep Friendship
A friend recently told me that giving me feedback felt like trying to improve the Grand Canyon—impossible and unnecessary. That simple statement made me feel profoundly loved. It wasn’t about being perfect; it was about being seen as whole, as something that just is, without the need for fixing.