Intentional Therapist: Putting You In Your Schedule E28: The Power of Discernment & the Importance of Knowing Where to Target Your Self-Care Efforts
Mar 9, 2026
A practical mini-series on learning to spot the real source of workplace struggles. Short takes on four discernment categories: beliefs, boundaries, values and seasonal capacity, and truly toxic work environments. Stories about career shifts and lived experience. A simple self-care experiment invites tracking your default explanations to target support more precisely.
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Workplace Problems Are Not Just Me Or The Job
- Workplace struggles are rarely just “me” or “the system”; they often reflect multiple overlapping causes.
- Melissa and Karen frame four discernment categories to avoid binary thinking and unnecessary career changes.
Match Self Care To The Actual Problem
- Target self-care based on the true source of the struggle using four categories: belief, boundary, values/seasonal capacity, and unhealthy environment.
- Accurate naming guides whether to use individual self-care, boundary changes, value-aligned shifts, or system-level action.
Self Stories Can Amplify Work Strain
- Belief misalignment arises from stories we tell ourselves that amplify struggle, like I should handle this or saying no means being difficult.
- These distorted beliefs can push us toward unhelpful self-blame or overwork instead of practical fixes.