Rising Up

09/08/2026

Grief can make you wonder, “What is happening to me?”

You forget things you normally wouldn’t.

Making simple decisions suddenly feels exhausting.

Your sleep changes. Your body feels different. Relationships shift. You may not even feel completely like yourself anymore.

And then there are the emotions people don’t always talk about: anger, guilt, relief, envy, loneliness, even moments of happiness followed by guilt for feeling okay.

Rising Up Founder Leigh-Ann Larson, LMHC and Certified Grief Educator, recently hosted a workshop exploring what actually happens after losing someone you love and why grief can affect so much more than our emotions.

In the replay, Leigh-Ann discusses grief brain, the nervous system, identity changes, secondary losses, complicated emotions, continuing bonds, and what it can mean to begin rebuilding a life after loss.

There are also simple grounding, meditation, and reflection practices you can return to when the waves of grief feel particularly heavy.

One of our favorite messages from the workshop:

Moving forward does not have to mean moving away from the person you love.

Over time, we can begin building a life large enough to hold both the grief we carry and the life we are still here to live.

▶️ Watch the full replay here:

Grief can affect far more than your emotions. It can change how you...

09/06/2026

How do you set a boundary with someone you love when you’re genuinely afraid something could happen to them?

That’s what makes loving someone with addiction so complicated.

It’s easy for someone on the outside to say:

“Stop rescuing them.”
“Let them experience the consequences.”
“You need better boundaries.”

But when you’re the parent, partner, sibling, adult child, or friend waiting for the next phone call, it doesn’t feel that simple.

Because underneath the rescuing, checking, fixing, and worrying is often something very real:

Fear.

This week, Rising Up is hosting a free virtual workshop for the people carrying that fear.

Loving Someone with Addiction Without Losing Yourself

We’ll talk about how addiction affects the entire family system, why boundaries can bring up so much guilt and anxiety, and how to distinguish between supporting someone and taking responsibility for their recovery.

You’ll also learn a practical framework for asking:

• What is actually within my control?
• What belongs to the person I love?
• What am I taking responsibility for that was never mine to control?
• What do I need to feel safe and emotionally well?
• How can I communicate a boundary without using it as punishment?

Because taking care of yourself doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring about them.

And loving someone doesn’t require handing your entire life over to their addiction.

📅 Thursday, September 10
⏰ 12–1 PM Eastern
💻 Free virtual workshop

Register here:

Learn how to support someone with addiction, set healthier boundaries, and protect your own well-being without giving up on them.

08/31/2026

What if perfectionism isn’t just about wanting to do your best?

Sometimes, perfectionism develops as a form of protection.

If mistakes were once met with criticism, shame, rejection, or conflict, your brain may have learned:

“If I do everything correctly, maybe I’ll feel safe and accepted.”

That can show up years later as overthinking, constantly pushing yourself to do more, worrying about getting things wrong, or feeling like what you do is never quite enough.

In this clip, Rising Up founder Leigh-Ann Larson explains why some of the patterns we judge ourselves for may actually be strategies we developed to protect ourselves.

Understanding where a pattern comes from can be an important part of learning how to respond differently.

💛 Save or share this with someone who puts a lot of pressure on themselves.

08/30/2026

When someone you love is struggling with addiction, it can become hard to tell where their crisis ends and your life begins.

You watch your phone.

You lose sleep.

You try to anticipate what might happen next.

You step in, fix things, make calls, smooth things over—and then wonder:

Am I helping… or am I enabling?

And when their choices really could put their health or life at risk, advice like “just set a boundary” can feel painfully inadequate.

On Thursday, September 10 from 12–1 PM ET, Rising Up is hosting a free virtual workshop:

Loving Someone with Addiction Without Losing Yourself

Leigh-Ann Larson, LMHC, Founder of Rising Up, and Kolby Andrade, LICSW, Clinical Director, will talk about the complicated reality of loving someone through active addiction, treatment, recovery, or relapse.

We’ll explore:

• Why addiction affects the entire family system
• Chronic fear, hypervigilance, grief, and emotional exhaustion
• Helping vs. rescuing vs. enabling
• Why boundaries can feel so frightening when someone you love is at risk
• How to create boundaries that aren’t punishment
• How to support recovery without making someone else’s recovery your responsibility
• How to begin making room for your own needs and your own life again

You’ll also be guided through a practical boundaries exercise to help you separate what is yours to carry from what belongs to the other person.

The goal isn’t to love them less.

It’s learning how to love someone without disappearing inside their struggle.

💻 Free virtual workshop
📅 Thursday, September 10
⏰ 12–1 PM Eastern

Register here:

Learn how to support someone with addiction, set healthier boundaries, and protect your own well-being without giving up on them.

08/27/2026

When you love someone struggling with addiction, boundaries can feel anything but simple.

You may know you need to protect your own well-being, but then the fear starts:

“What if something happens to them?”

“Am I abandoning them?”

“Should I be doing more?”

That’s why compassionate boundaries aren’t about becoming less caring. They’re about learning how to love someone without allowing their addiction to determine your safety, decisions, and emotional well-being.

In this carousel, we’re sharing practical examples of what that can actually sound like—including the difference between supporting someone and rescuing them from every consequence.

And if setting the boundary brings up guilt? That doesn’t automatically mean you made the wrong choice.

Rising Up works with adults throughout Massachusetts who are experiencing the trauma, grief, anxiety, chronic stress, and emotional exhaustion that can come with loving someone with addiction.

Through our virtual IOP and PHP programs, we help you regulate your nervous system, process what you’ve been carrying, build healthier boundaries, and begin reconnecting with your own life.

We are currently accepting new clients.

Call 508-388-5833 or email [email protected] to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.

08/23/2026

Why can something that happened years ago still affect how you feel today?

Trauma doesn’t always show up as a vivid memory of the past.

Sometimes it looks like:

• Overthinking everything
• Feeling on edge when nothing seems “wrong”
• People-pleasing to avoid conflict
• Perfectionism and fear of making mistakes
• Shutting down when emotions become overwhelming
• Having a hard time relaxing, even when you know you’re safe

In our latest free community education workshop, Rising Up Founder Leigh-Ann Larson, LMHC, and Clinical Director Kolby Andrade, LICSW, explore what may be happening beneath these reactions—and why understanding the nervous system can help us approach them with more curiosity and less judgment.

They discuss trauma, triggers, fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses, anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and how healing can involve helping the brain and body experience greater safety and choice.

Kolby also leads a gentle grounding and body-awareness practice you can follow along with at home.

▶️ Watch the full replay here:
https://youtu.be/H3Jdvh_5Tj8?si=bUiWCdc9t4T4G1Cf

Rising Up provides virtual IOP and higher-level mental health support for adults throughout Massachusetts experiencing trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, postpartum mental health challenges, emotional overwhelm, and family stress related to addiction.

If weekly therapy hasn’t felt like enough support, call 508-388-5833 or email [email protected] to learn more.

“That happened years ago… so why does it still affect me?”Trauma ...

08/18/2026

One of the biggest concerns people have before starting group therapy is:

“What if talking about trauma or grief makes everything worse?”

It’s a valid question.

At Rising Up, our groups are intentionally designed to help people feel supported—not overwhelmed.

As Kathleen Flannery, one of our staff therapists and group facilitators, explains, we use mindfulness, grounding practices, and a structured approach to help participants process difficult emotions safely.

We don’t ask people to relive painful experiences or “spill everything” in front of strangers.

Instead, we help you build skills, regulate your nervous system, and move through healing in a way that feels manageable.

Whether you’re seeking support for trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, postpartum mental health challenges, or the impact of addiction on your family, our goal is to help you leave each group feeling more grounded than when you arrived.

Rising Up provides virtual IOP and PHP programs for adults throughout Massachusetts.

📞 508-388-5833

📧 [email protected]

Accepting new clients now. Free 15-minute consultation available.

08/12/2026

Tomorrow’s the day!

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking…

• “Why can’t I just let this go?”
• “Why do I react so strongly?”
• “Shouldn’t I be over this by now?”

…this free workshop was created for you.

Tomorrow, we’ll explore why trauma continues affecting the nervous system long after difficult experiences have ended—and why healing isn’t about forcing yourself to “move on.”

You’ll leave with practical tools, a better understanding of your nervous system, and a simple guided exercise you can continue practicing at home.

📅 Tomorrow
🕛 12:00–1:00 PM ET
💻 Free & Virtual

Can’t make it live?

Register anyway and we’ll send you the replay.

Free Virtual Workshop for Massachusetts Residents & Mental Health Professionals: Understanding Trauma, Triggers & How Healing Happens

08/10/2026

Most people think trauma only means something catastrophic happened.

But trauma is often less about what happened…

…and more about how your nervous system adapted to survive it.

Childhood experiences.

Difficult relationships.

Grief.

Medical experiences.

Chronic stress.

Growing up feeling unsafe or unsupported.

These experiences can continue shaping how you respond years later—even if your life looks completely different today.

If you’ve ever wondered why you overthink, people-please, avoid conflict, or struggle to relax…

This workshop is for you.

Join Leigh-Ann Larson, LMHC, and Kolby Andrade, LICSW, as they explain how trauma affects the brain and body—and what actually helps people heal.

📅 Thursday, August 13
💻 Free Virtual Workshop

Register today (replay included):

Free Virtual Workshop for Massachusetts Residents & Mental Health Professionals: Understanding Trauma, Triggers & How Healing Happens