Hey there! I’m so glad you’re here.

Hello my friends,

Welcome to the newsletter! *offers you a bubbly beverage of your choice*

What is this all about?

I’m glad you asked! An introduction to what we do here: Picture a Venn diagram of two sort-of overlapping circles. Label one “Human Connection” and the other “Anxiety.” That overlapping part in the middle? That’s what we’ll talk about.

Every other Friday, you’ll get actionable tips, “oh, now I get it” explainers, and cutting-edge clinical techniques for social anxiety, perfectionism, and all the trimmings. Plus dumb-yet-amusing memes.

A (re)introduction to Ellen:

In terms of descriptive nouns, I’m a clinical psychologist, anxiety specialist, and author of How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists as well as How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. I also do the faculty thing at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. Want more? Look here.

Why are we all here?

I can’t answer that in the grandest existential sense, but I can say why I write this newsletter. We’re all here to be brave (not fearless--we don’t want you playing with fire or giving tummy rubs to rabid raccoons) and to, well, practice doing exactly what it says in the title: be good to yourself when you’re hard on yourself. 

Believe me, I’m on the same journey as you: if How to Be Yourself was the book I needed twenty years ago, How to Be Enough is the book I need now. Nodding your head in agreement? Grab a copy here, my friend.

Why Substack?

Two reasons: 1) the archive, so you can access previous newsletters, and 2) the zero-pressure community: we can talk to each other via the comments if we want, be quiet if we want, or simply read the comments and discover a light bulb forming above our head as we realize other people feel the exact same way we do. 

Enjoy and please let me know how I can be helpful to you!

As always, be kind to others and yourself,