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Dr. Aleks Kalinich
About
Individual Therapy
Coaching
Workplace Consultation
Blog
Book a free 20‑minute consultation!
Dr. Aleks Kalinich
About
Individual Therapy
Coaching
Workplace Consultation
Blog
Book a free 20‑minute consultation!
About
Folder: Work With Me
Back
Individual Therapy
Coaching
Workplace Consultation
Blog
Book a free 20‑minute consultation!

Compassion Consulting & Therapy

aleks@compassionconsulting.org
(949) 229-7943

Striving is not necessarily a bad thing…until it hijacks your nervous system. But when your inner critic is running the show and rest feels like something you haven’t earned yet - that’s not drive. That’s survival mode.

Anxi
A question I hear often in therapy is: “Why am I so hard on myself?”

Most people initially think it helps them stay motivated. But that usually doesn’t work long-term. So the next question becomes:
“How do I get rid of it?&rd
Your self-talk isn’t truth. It’s something you inherited, absorbed, and eventually stopped questioning.
 
The inner critic sounds so authoritative. So certain. So concerned about your best interests. But most of the time it’s not wi
Hot take: You don’t need more positive affirmations. You need support that actually regulates you. If you’re constantly telling yourself “just think positive” or “it could be worse,” you’re not actually heali
I’ve been reading Mind Magic by the late James R. Doty. He founded Stanford’s CCARE program, which I attended in 2023 and which genuinely shifted something in me. While the title of the book is provocative, there’s no magic involved
Our bodies learn safety in patterns long before our minds catch up. Before your next “yes,” pause. Check your body first — the tight chest, the sinking stomach, the subtle contraction. That’s information.Then ask yourself:

Do
A self-trust mindset is built slowly, often in ways that don’t look impressive from the outside.

For many high-achieving, self-critical women, self-doubt didn’t come from nowhere.
It developed over years of overfunctioning, self-monitori

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