The Mended Mind

The Mended Mind A trauma-informed counseling practice supporting adults and couples through anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship challenges.

Thoughtful therapy for clarity, steadiness, and lasting change. Courtney Bodine, LPCA
Supervised by Pamela Aldrich, LPC-S Licensed Professional Counselor Associate
Supervised by Pamela Aldrich, LPC-S

Most of us assume compliments are uncomfortable because we don’t like attention. Sometimes that’s true. But I’ve found a...
08/10/2026

Most of us assume compliments are uncomfortable because we don’t like attention.

Sometimes that’s true.

But I’ve found another pattern.

People often struggle to receive compliments that directly contradict the way they already see themselves.

If someone believes they’re inadequate, praise can feel surprisingly difficult to trust.

That’s one reason paying attention to your reaction to compliments can be so informative.

It may tell you less about the compliment itself and more about the beliefs you’ve quietly accepted as true.

Curious about understanding these patterns? Therapy can help.

Why are compliments so uncomfortable for some people?I've noticed that when someone receives a compliment, their respons...
07/31/2026

Why are compliments so uncomfortable for some people?

I've noticed that when someone receives a compliment, their response often tells me less about the compliment and more about how they see themselves.

One person hears, "You handled that really well," and simply says, "Thank you."

Another immediately responds with, "I got lucky," or, "It really wasn't that good."

From the outside, it can look like modesty.
Sometimes it is.

But often something else is happening.

When someone has spent years believing they're not good enough, capable enough, attractive enough, or worthy enough, a genuine compliment can create an uncomfortable conflict.

Part of them hears the compliment.

Another part immediately begins gathering evidence against it.

They remember the mistake they made.
The thing they forgot.
The insecurity no one else can see.

The compliment isn't rejected because it's necessarily inaccurate.

It's rejected because it doesn't match the picture they've been carrying of themselves.

One of the surprising things that often happens in therapy is that people don't just begin thinking more positively about themselves.

They begin seeing themselves more accurately.

And sometimes that means becoming able to receive kindness without immediately arguing with it.

07/30/2026

Have you ever noticed how quickly you explain away a compliment?

Sometimes that reaction has very little to do with the person giving the compliment and a great deal to do with the beliefs you’ve been carrying about yourself for years.

The next time someone says something kind about you notice your first thought before you respond.

If struggling with those beliefs you’ve been carrying about yourself is a pattern you are ready to explore, therapy can be a great option.

Some conversations are easy to leave behind.Others seem to follow us for hours—or even days.We replay what we said, what...
07/30/2026

Some conversations are easy to leave behind.

Others seem to follow us for hours—or even days.

We replay what we said, what they meant, whether we came across the way we intended, or whether we should’ve handled something differently.

The conversation may have ended, but our attention has shifted somewhere else.

Instead of thinking about what happened, we start thinking about what it says about us.

“Did I sound stupid?”

“Was I too much?”

“Did I make things awkward?”

That’s one reason certain conversations can be so difficult to let go of. They stop being about the interaction itself and become a reflection of our own worth, competence, or acceptance.

The next time you catch yourself replaying a conversation, pause for a moment, and ask:

“Am I trying to understand what happened…
Or am I trying to decide what this says about me?”

That question won’t answer everything, but it may help you understand why some conversations are so much harder to leave behind.

If this is a pattern that feels familiar and you’d like to understand it more deeply, therapy can be a place to explore what’s happening beneath it. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own.

07/28/2026

People rarely replay the parts of conversations where they felt comfortable.

It’s usually the sentence they stumbled over.

The joke that didn’t quite land.

The answer they wish they’d phrased differently.

And it’s not because these moments are necessarily important—it’s because those were the moments they became uncomfortably aware of themselves.

Self-consciousness has a way of shrinking our attention until one small moment feels much larger than it probably was.

This is worth noticing and asking yourself WHY this moment feels so important to you…this is the space where you’ll discover something deeper about yourself.

HAVE YOU NOTICED HOW TWO PEOPLE CAN WALK AWAY FROM THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION WITH COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES?One...
07/22/2026

HAVE YOU NOTICED HOW TWO PEOPLE CAN WALK AWAY FROM THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION WITH COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES?

One remembers what was discussed.

The other spends the rest of the day wondering whether they talked too much, sounded confident enough, explained themselves clearly, or accidentally upset someone.

At first glance, it seems like they’re both thinking about the conversation.

But I’ve found that’s not always what’s happening.

Sometimes the conversation quietly becomes the way of trying to understand ourselves.

We start asking questions like:

“Did I come across the way I wanted to?”

“What do they think of me now?”

“Did I make things awkward?”

The difficult part is that conversations rarely provide clear answers to those questions.

We only know what we said, what we intended, and how we felt. We usually don’t know everything the other person noticed, assumed, appreciated, or forgot five minutes later.

That leaves our minds trying to fill in the blanks.

I have found that simply noticing what question you’re actually trying to answer can change the experience.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I stop thinking about that conversation?“ you might begin by asking, “What am I hoping this conversation will tell me about myself?“

Those are different questions and they often lead to very different places.

If this is a pattern you notice in yourself that you’re curious about exploring further, I’d love to help.







One of the easiest things to overlook is where your attention naturally goes.Some people notice almost immediately when ...
07/18/2026

One of the easiest things to overlook is where your attention naturally goes.

Some people notice almost immediately when someone else is overwhelmed, frustrated, or discouraged. They pick up on subtle changes in tone, facial expressions, or mood without even trying.

But when they’re asked, “How are you doing?“ they often have to stop and think.

Not because they don’t have thoughts or feelings.

Because they’re simply more practiced at paying attention to other people than they are to themselves.

This week, notice where your attention goes first.

Not to judge it.
Not to change it.

Just to become more familiar with it.

Sometimes the smallest observations become the beginning of understanding ourselves a little more clearly.

07/17/2026

I’ve always admired people who notice the little things.

The problem is that many of those same people rarely notice THEMSELVES.

There’s a quiet difference between paying attention to everyone else’s emotions and paying attention to your own.

Learning that difference can change the way you experience your relationships.

I often hear people describe themselves as “the one everyone comes to.”They’re the listener in the family. The dependabl...
07/16/2026

I often hear people describe themselves as “the one everyone comes to.”

They’re the listener in the family. The dependable friend. The parents who notices when something feels off. The spouse who can tell when tension is building before anyone else says a word.

Those are wonderful qualities.

But I’ve also noticed something else.

Many of those same people have a surprisingly difficult time answering a simple question:

“How are YOU doing?”

Not because they don’t care about themselves.

Because they’ve become so accustomed to watching everyone else’s emotional world that they rarely pause long enough to observe their own.

Over time, this can create an interesting imbalance.

You become highly skilled at noticing what everyone else needs while slowly losing touch with what you need.

Healthy relationships don’t require us to stop caring for others.

They invite us to become just as familiar with our own inner worlds as we are with everyone else’s.

Maybe that’s something worth paying attention to this week.

Real change rarely begins with self-criticism. It begins with curiosity. The moment you stop asking, “What’s wrong with ...
07/15/2026

Real change rarely begins with self-criticism.

It begins with curiosity.

The moment you stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “Why does this make sense?” you’re already living in a new direction.

Understanding doesn’t keep us stuck.

It gives us somewhere solid to begin.

Support is available, right here, when you’re ready.

Address

2591 N Highway 77, Ste. 107
Waxahachie, TX
75165

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 3pm
Tuesday 8am - 3pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 6am - 1pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Mended Mind posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to The Mended Mind:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category