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Emotional Overwhelm After Leaving Church: Anxiety, Depression, and Mental Health Effects Leaving a high-control religion or belief system changes more than your beliefs. It changes your entire life, your social world, your identity, your relationships, and how you see yourself. For many people, leaving means starting over in every area of life at once. And […]

Written by: Ashley Kirkpatrick, LAC Understanding Gender Roles in Religion and Breaking Gender Roles For many men raised in high-control religious environments, the messages about “being a man” are rarely explicit, they’re taught through patterns, expectations, and unspoken rules. These lessons often center around performing for others, particularly women, and can quietly shape how men […]

Leaving the Mormon Church: Community Loss and Friendship Gaps After Faith Transition The Hidden Cost of Leaving the Mormon Church Leaving the Mormon church often means losing more than a belief system. For many people, the hardest part of a faith transition isn’t the shift in beliefs, it’s losing the social structure that came with […]

People Pleasing in Relationships: How The Fawn Response and Religious Trauma Turn Love Into Obligation Author: Ashley Kirkpatrick LAC “I don’t know what love is without fear attached to it.” That’s what Evan said in our session as he stared at his hands, struggling to explain why he felt so anxious in his relationship. He […]

When “Safety” Becomes a Stumbling BlockIf you’ve left a high-control religion, you might equate safety with peace. Safety feels warm, predictable, and protective—especially after living in a system that shamed or punished risk-taking. But healing isn’t about staying safe forever. It’s about learning when and how to take wise risks. Why Wise Risks Matter in Healing […]