Most people know that exercise is good for them. Very few feel good about their relationship with it. This post examines what drives that gap — from avoidance and compulsion to exercise as punishment — and offers six evidence-based principles for building a relationship with movement that is intrinsically motivated, self-compassionate, and genuinely sustainable.

"Has anyone experienced a moment when a physical sensation — a headache, a bruise, fatigue — sent your mind immediately to cancer?"‍ ‍

That moment is what researchers call fear of cancer recurrence — or FCR. It is not a weakness. It is not catastrophic thinking. It is the predictable neurological response of a nervous system that has lived through a life-threatening event and, quite understandably, learned to stay vigilant.

And yet, in all my years of clinical practice, one of the most consistent things I hear from survivors is a version of this: "I thought something was wrong with me for feeling this way."

Nothing is wrong with you. The fear has a name. And it is manageable.

Rock climbing is one of the few physical activities that simultaneously demands prefrontal engagement, working memory, sustained attention, and fine motor control. For athletes with ADHD, that convergence is not incidental — it is neurologically therapeutic. This post explores the neuroscience behind why climbing and ADHD are a compelling match, and the sport psychology tools coaches and practitioners can bring to the wall.

The psychological skills that have transformed athletic performance — goal setting, self-talk, visualization, routine, and arousal regulation — are not sport-specific. They are human performance tools. And patients managing chronic illness are among the most demanding in high-performance contexts. This post expands on a workshop presented at The Family Institute at Northwestern University's Day of Learning.

Parental stress is not a personal failing or a scheduling problem — it is a public health concern with documented downstream effects on children and families. This workshop examines the evidence on physical activity and stress, identifies gaps in the research, and proposes an inclusive framework built around integration, dose flexibility, social embeddedness, and self-compassion.

At The Family Institute at Northwestern University's second annual Gratitude Gala, Daniel Wilsea moderated a fireside chat with 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist on performance, identity, relationships, and mental health — and why honest public conversations about mental health matter most in the spaces where it has been least visible.

The one-hour virtual event for The Family Institute at Northwestern University featured a discussion on how parents can support their children's mental health needs.