Articles written by Audry Van Houweling
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Radical responsibility
It feels good to have a scapegoat sometimes. The perception that we ourselves are free from blame, and that our challenges are the fault of circumstance or others, is an alluring reprieve... — Updated 9/26/2023
Lady, get lost - a case for solo adventuring
As I write this, I am sitting solo at my camp deep in the heart of the Steens Wilderness. One eye on my journal, and the other on my campfire grappling to sustain itself after a day of... — Updated 7/4/2023
Your Story Matters – Money on the mind
In my day job, I spend a lot of time talking to patients about relationships. To partners, to children, to coworkers, to themselves, but more frequently, the conversation has shifted to a per... — Updated 4/11/2023
The paradox of tolerance
In the world of mental health, we contend with the abstract intersections of nature versus nurture and what behaviors we have agency over versus those we may not. The role of accountability... — Updated 4/5/2023
Modern masculinity and mental health
Note: The list of men I respect and admire is long. This commentary is from a place of care rather than critique. I am an observer and welcome other perspectives, and I think more dialogue is needed. On August 28, my hometown of Bend was... — Updated 10/18/2022
Your Story Matters - Faulty foundations and future directions
What I enjoy most about my job are the stories. Tales of resilience, trudging through struggle, and persistence that is awe-inspiring. Tales of celebration and transformation, allowing lightness to be just as present as the heaviness. To... — Updated 8/9/2022
The consequences of unbridled entitlement
It was September 1939. My maternal grandmother was 15 when the wails of air raid sirens broadcasted throughout her home city of Warsaw, Poland. The Nazi invasion had begun. Targeted as “intellectuals” by the Nazis, my great grandparents... — Updated 3/22/2022
A New Year’s wish for 2022
Feelings of powerlessness are insidious. While sometimes an opportunity for productive action, most often they plunge us into a state of primitive adrenaline: fight, flight, or freeze. These feelings may echo times of powerlessness from time... — Updated 1/4/2022
Prioritizing resilience over stability
Life is hard. There is no way around this fact. If you are lucky enough to have resources and privilege to bypass certain stressors and outcomes, some of life’s curveballs may be dodged, but ultimately, we will all experience our own... — Updated 12/15/2021
Mental health and the housing crisis
It’s true, Dorothy — there’s no place like home. In 2014 my husband and I started the search for our first home in the idyllic and pastoral town of Silverton. Like many millennials, we had embraced nomadism, hopping from one... — Updated 2/9/2021
The new health metric — capacity for compassion
As I sit down to write this, nearly 375,00 Americans have left us from COVID-19. Many of these deaths were in isolation, away from loved ones, and the chance for processing and goodbyes interrupted by restrictions, adding to the isolation... — Updated 1/19/2021
Hope — despite it all
It’s been a tough year. Tough for individuals, tough for families, tough for communities, and tough for the greater world. Layers of “tough,” so to speak. As 2020 comes to a close, I think most of us have been up close and personal... — Updated 12/23/2020
I’m tired, you’re tired, we’re all tired: Let’s talk burnout
Aren’t we all feeling so invigorated lately? Life has been so dang swell, right? It is just so easy these days to rise and shine with a smile, ready to seize the day! Don’t forget the glass is half-full so please turn that frown upside... — Updated 11/17/2020
Navigating the muddy waters of grief
Loss is part of life. No one escapes it. Grief will come for us all at one time or another. Nobody gets to claim the trophy on having suffered the “most grief.” There is no such competition. Ultimately, the worst grief is your own... — Updated 10/13/2020
Challenging confirmation bias
After my years working in mental health, I have come to recognize that people tend to find what they are looking for. It is the conscious and subconscious quest to validate our worldviews, justify our positions, and hold on to our territory... — Updated 9/16/2020
COVID stole my dopamine, now what?
Excitement. Pleasure. Novelty. Anticipation. Reward. The “zest,” the “looking forward to,” and the “passion.” The common denominator? Dopamine. It is the brain chemical we chase in our society and what we have a hard time living... — Updated 7/22/2020
Our health depends on justice and equality
Working in functional medicine, a form of medicine that examines root causes and dedicated to a holistic vision of wellness, it is not enough to talk about nutrition, exercise, meditation, and gut health. I would be negligent as a... — Updated 6/9/2020
Your Story Matters: Holding on to empathy in a time of self-preservation
As I write this I am sitting in a cabin alongside the Metolius River in Camp Sherman. The only sound is the trickling of water just beyond the back porch. I am writing on a note pad because there is no phone or internet and my laptop is... — Updated 3/31/2020
Sex, spirit and shame
Let’s talk about sex. Let’s talk about spirituality. Let’s talk about shame. The interplay between the three are powerful, complex, and deserve honest discussion. When we talk about the need to feel known, the freedom to be... — Updated 3/18/2020
Owning my wellness to love you more — a Valentine’s Day promise
One could name a lot of reasons to be stressed these days. Putting aside personal concerns, simply turning on the news can raise anybody’s blood pressure. Much of our social economy thrives on fear-based messaging that adds to unease and u... — Updated 2/12/2020
Gut feelings: the intimate relationship between your gut and brain
Butterflies in your tummy, trust your gut, pit in your stomach, tied up in knots — common sayings with big implications. These days, the relationship between our gut, brain, and emotions is becoming more widely understood. The gut and... — Updated 1/21/2020
Dear Santa, I want to be less lonely: Unwrapping the gift of intimacy
This is always a very busy time of year to be a mental health provider. Amid the twinkling lights, snowflakes, and seasonal cheer, feelings of loss and loneliness often can permeate and subdue holiday merriment. Loneliness is pervasive... — Updated 12/10/2019
Fear of not doing enough
I have always been drawn to human emotion. The process of how one “becomes” has forever been fascinating. I was the middle-schooler curling up on the couch after school with my cinnamon toast crunch to “Dr. Phil” and “Oprah,... — Updated 11/12/2019
An attempt at seasonal cheer — and why it’s worth it
Despite a bit of denial after what seemed to be an abbreviated summer, seeing snowflakes on my weekly commute over the Cascades, digging out my mittens, and the sudden necessity of hot coffee in the morning rather than my typical iced latte,... — Updated 10/22/2019
Aging gracefully in an anti-aging world
The undertaking of aging gracefully is a lot to ask for in a society that fights so hard against what is unavoidable. As a millennial myself, I may be a bit removed from the post-65 generation defined as “senior citizens,” yet I find... — Updated 9/18/2019
