COME ON IN, THE POND WATER’S WARM
Welcome to the blog!
I'm Carrie Smolen LMFT, a Los Angeles-based therapist specializing in perfectionism, body struggles (including eating disorders), and the particular exhaustion of trying to hold it all together while you’re quietly freaking out. Duck Syndrome is where I write about all of it.
This Thing We're All Avoiding? It's the Thing That Actually Helps
Probably not what you want to hear, but maybe what you need
How Not Asking for Help Actually Makes You Kind of an Asshole
On declaring interdependence as a chronically independent person
How One Simple Choice Can Help You Stop Spiraling
Quick fix for anxiety? I wish. But this method can help ease your worries when you can't get out of your head.
Why You're Sweating the Small Stuff When the World is on Fire
Freaking out about little things lately? Hard same.
ABOUT DUCK SYNDROMEThe term "duck syndrome" was first coined at Stanford University to describe students who were struggling while feeling pressure to appear calm, cool, and collected — much like a duck gliding smoothly on the surface while paddling frantically underneath. In school or not, that image captures something so many of us with anxious and perfectionistic brains experience: not quite imposter syndrome, just the feeling that everyone else has it figured out, and that we'd better act like we do too. And because vulnerability is scary, most of us end up carrying that feeling completely alone.
Duck Syndrome, the blog and the newsletter, exists for anyone who is tired of paddling alone.
If you'd like to read more, join the community, or leave an actual comment (a luxury this blog does not currently offer), you can find the full archive at ducksyndrome.substack.com.