By Lynn Northrop, Ph.D. | Licensed Psychologist in CA, CT, FL | ACT Specialist I want to tell you about the fart walk. It was my father’s term — his cheerful, matter-of-fact description of the morning constitutional he took after decades on CPAP therapy. I thought it was funny when I was younger. I think it is considerably funnier now that I am a recent CPAP initiate myself, shuffling around my neighborhood at 7am with spectacular bedhead, waiting for the pressurized air I swallowed overnight...

By Lynn Northrop, Ph.D. | Licensed Psychologist in CA, CT, FL Guess what. I am a psychologist and I’ve talked to an AI about my own life. Not as a research experiment. Not to test the technology. Because I was having a hard morning and needed to think out loud, and the AI was there. I’m a psychologist with decades of clinical experience, a specialist in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and a former training director for a doctoral internship program. I have worked with thousands of clients...

Every January, the pressure is on: Become a new you. Write a list of New Year’s resolutions, summon willpower, and hope you can out-stubborn real life. And every year, many kind, capable humans discover the same truth: when resolutions fail, its not just about “self discipline.” They often fail because they’re built on an unforgiving model of change—one that assumes we can fully control our mood, motivation, schedule, stress level, health, and relationships for the next 12 months. Acceptance...