| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Attachment Style |
Clinical Definition Patterns of relating to others formed early in life. How This Is Often Experienced How you tend to connect or protect yourself in relationships. |
| Boundaries |
Clinical Definition Limits that protect your emotional and physical wellbeing. How This Is Often Experienced What’s okay and what’s not okay for you. |
| Boundary Violation |
Clinical Definition When someone crosses a stated or implied personal limit. How This Is Often Experienced When your “no” isn’t respected. |
| Burnout |
Clinical Definition Physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by chronic stress or overextension. How This Is Often Experienced When you’re running on empty and can’t recharge. |
| Codependency |
Clinical Definition Excessive emotional reliance on another person, often at the expense of your own needs. How This Is Often Experienced Feeling responsible for someone else’s emotions or choices instead of your own. |
| Cognitive Dissonance |
Clinical Definition Psychological discomfort caused by holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or behaviors. How This Is Often Experienced The uneasy feeling when your actions don’t match what you believe. |
| Countertransference |
Clinical Definition The therapist’s emotional response to the client’s transference. How This Is Often Experienced When a therapist’s own feelings get stirred by a client’s story. |
| Dissociation |
Clinical Definition A disconnection between thoughts, feelings, or surroundings, often as a defense against overwhelm. How This Is Often Experienced When you mentally “check out” to get through something hard. |
| Emotional Flooding |
Clinical Definition Intense wave of emotion that feels hard to control. How This Is Often Experienced When emotions rush in so fast it’s hard to think or speak. |
| Emotional Regulation |
Clinical Definition The ability to manage emotional responses to stressors. How This Is Often Experienced Knowing how to calm down when you’re upset. |
| Gaslighting |
Clinical Definition Manipulating someone into doubting their own perception or memory. How This Is Often Experienced Making someone question what they know is true. |
| Grounding |
Clinical Definition Techniques to reconnect to the present moment or body during distress. How This Is Often Experienced Coming back to the here and now. |
| Holding Space |
Clinical Definition Offering presence without judgment so another person can process. How This Is Often Experienced Listening without fixing. |
| Hypervigilance |
Clinical Definition Heightened alertness due to perceived danger or trauma. How This Is Often Experienced Feeling constantly on guard, even when you’re safe. |
| Inner Child |
Clinical Definition The emotional part of you that still carries childhood experiences or unmet needs. How This Is Often Experienced The younger part of you that still wants safety, love, or reassurance. |
| Nervous System |
Clinical Definition The body’s network of nerves that controls stress and relaxation responses. How This Is Often Experienced Your body’s communication system — the messenger between your mind and safety. |
| People-Pleasing |
Clinical Definition Prioritizing others’ approval to avoid conflict or rejection. How This Is Often Experienced Saying yes when you mean no because peace feels safer than honesty. |
| Projection |
Clinical Definition Attributing your own feelings or traits to someone else. How This Is Often Experienced Seeing your own feelings in another person. |
| Red Flags |
Clinical Definition Behavioral or situational warning signs of unhealthy dynamics. How This Is Often Experienced Early clues that something or someone may not be safe or right for you. |
| Repair |
Clinical Definition The process of naming and healing a rupture. How This Is Often Experienced Talking it through and rebuilding trust. |
| Reparenting |
Clinical Definition Providing yourself the care and support you needed as a child. How This Is Often Experienced Learning to give yourself what you didn’t get growing up. |
| Rupture |
Clinical Definition A break or strain in the trust or connection between client and therapist. How This Is Often Experienced A moment of misunderstanding or disconnect in therapy. |
| Safe Space |
Clinical Definition An environment that promotes emotional and psychological safety. How This Is Often Experienced A place where you can be honest without fear of judgment or harm. |
| Self-Sabotage |
Clinical Definition Behaviors that block your own progress or goals. How This Is Often Experienced When fear or doubt talks you out of what you want. |
| Shame |
Clinical Definition A painful emotion linked to feeling unworthy or fundamentally flawed. How This Is Often Experienced The belief that you’re bad — not just that you did something bad. |
| Trauma |
Clinical Definition A deeply distressing event that overwhelms your ability to cope. How This Is Often Experienced Something that was too much, too fast, or too soon for your mind or body to handle. |
| Transference |
Clinical Definition When feelings from past relationships show up toward your therapist. How This Is Often Experienced Old patterns showing up in new relationships (including therapy). |
| Trigger |
Clinical Definition External or internal cues that activate distressing emotions or memories. How This Is Often Experienced Something that suddenly brings up a strong emotional reaction. |
| Validation |
Clinical Definition Acknowledging and accepting someone’s feelings as understandable. How This Is Often Experienced Letting someone know their feelings make sense. |
| Vulnerability |
Clinical Definition Willingness to express emotions and uncertainty in the presence of others. How This Is Often Experienced Letting yourself be seen — even when it’s uncomfortable. |
