doreen dodgen-magee, psy.d.

doreen dodgen-magee, psy.d. author | speaker | psychologist
https://linktr.ee/drdoreendm

Every time I’ve interacted with Nancy Pelosi I have left feeling seen, heard, and cared for in deeply personal ways. She...
11/06/2025

Every time I’ve interacted with Nancy Pelosi I have left feeling seen, heard, and cared for in deeply personal ways. She’s been a role model of sorts in terms of showing me how to be both strong and caring. (Trust me, this is not always the case in meeting with elected.)

Working for the good of the people (all of them…not just the wealthy few), to preserve a democracy, is not easy and I am grateful for those who do so with integrity.

Thank you, Representative Pelosi, for remembering my family, lost to gun violence, and for taking time to really listen and care. You have inspired me to keep pushing…even harder…as I age. Thank you for your example and service!

(As an aside, thanks, also, for twinning with me at the White House! 😉)

10/30/2025

Try one (or more) of these tech moderating practices & notice how calm you feel.

It might be hard at first but, with practice, these small things can improve your mental health and ability to focus.

It’s family reunion time and my heart could not be more full! (Do you see the resemblance? 😉)In 2018 my big brother fin...
10/27/2025

It’s family reunion time and my heart could not be more full! (Do you see the resemblance? 😉)

In 2018 my big brother finally found each other and there’s been no looking back ever since.

I’ve been on the phone and in Zoom rooms with his kids (my nephews) and his siblings but never in person. Once, before he was to undergo a big surgery, we all gathered virtually to figure out who would do what in the support department. It was wonderful!

He’s been to Portland to meet his nieces and nephews, “mom,” & auntie and friends but I’ve not yet been in his world.

But that changed yesterday! I’m in Cincinnati and getting to meet everyone in person (& to have his big brother pop his cowboy hat on my head at the last minute in this picture) is everything!!

Getting to be with his beloved fiancé is especially sweet!

I’m so grateful for everything that brought us together ( , hot peppers, & a particularly frustrating reporter) and for this time that I really, really needed.

The adventure continues because the band is back together and is unstoppable.

❤️ ❤️

10/15/2025

I have fought with myself and the world about the word “cute” for the entirety of my life.

As a person who has longed to be experienced as capable, smart, wise, & radically present, being referred to as cute always stings a bit.

I know it’s because I associate the word/state of being as opposed to that which I so hope to be.

Yesterday, a white man, a bit older than me, referred to me as “Pumpkin” at the store.

I was instantly enraged.

When I got home, I realized that the sticker from the pumpkin I was purchasing was stuck on my jacket like a name tag & he was simply playing along with a game I wasn’t yet aware of.

I wanted to laugh & cry at the same time about the energy I’d wasted being mad.

As I reach into this new season of life, I’m trying to come to terms with how little I can control in terms of how people experience me. This is both freeing and tiring.

Can you all help me out?

What does the word “cute” mean to you when you use it about people? What feelings & associations lie under and in it?

Seriously, please weigh in here.

10/09/2025

Small actions can have huge payoffs when it comes to our mental health.

This one is huge. Make it easy to resist mindless scrolling by placing a list of things that are healthier on your screen saver.

Mental health is health. Take yours seriously.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and I’m deeply grateful to and for the opportunity to honor my beloved s...
10/02/2025

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and I’m deeply grateful to and for the opportunity to honor my beloved sister in law and nieces in this powerful piece.

The presence of a firearm in a situation of intimate partner violence makes it 5 times more likely that an abuser will kill their partner.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders provide a powerful and rational way of lessening this risk for women.

I’ll link the entire article in my Linkt.ree as well as some information on Extreme Risk Protection Orders.

If you are a therapist, teacher, religious leader, librarian, or anyone, really, who works with the public, knowing about these life saving laws is important.

As Su***de Awareness month comes to a close, I share some more important things I’ve learned since Gage died.If you have...
09/30/2025

As Su***de Awareness month comes to a close, I share some more important things I’ve learned since Gage died.

If you have more to add, please do so in the comments.

Together, we can work to remove the stigma around depression and su***de.

To all of you impacted, I feel you and I care!

Seek out part 1 of this series in my feed from earlier this month.

***deawarness ***deawarenessprevention ***deawareness

09/22/2025

(CW Su***de) Su***de Awareness Month, Part 3.

When we are hopeless, stressed, depressed, or generally overwhelmed, the ability to pause is a super power.

Sadly, we don’t develop this ability without practicing it.

What about prating right now?

Put your phone down (it’ll still be there when you’ve finished). Take a few deep breaths. Stretch your arms up high. Sway back and forth.

Come back to your self.

Then set an alarm on your phone (right now) for tomorrow and the days ahead. When it goes off, take 3 minutes to come back to yourself.

The world is hard and we need healthy practices to survive it.

In case you’d benefit from hearing the other things I’ve learned since su***de touched my life, I’ve put a link to this entire talk (from Su***de Awareness Week at Belmont University) in the Linkt.ree in my bio.

09/20/2025

(CW: Su***de) Su***de Awareness Month, Part 2

It’s no wonder to me that it’s hard to stay alive when we are immersed in a culture that tell us that exactly how we should look, post, be, and live.

Grind culture encourages us to be on at all times.

For me, this meant caring for everyone in my circle but never turning that care toward myself.

I think that Gage lived with a similar burden.

Being who you truly are (truly, as in TRULY) is a radical act of resistance to grind culture.

I’m working hard to be who I am (since it’s the only me I can genuinely be).

I invite you to do the same.

While you’re doing so, check in on those you love who may be struggling. And, if you are the one struggling, call 988. Whoever answers genuinely cares. I’m not kidding. I know them and they do.

***deawarenessmonth

09/18/2025

(CW: Su***de) September is Su***de Awareness Month and, last year, I was honored to be the keynote speaker for Belmont University’s Su***de Awareness Week.

My chosen son’s su***de changed almost everything about me.

It also made me want to shatter all the stigmas that say we shouldn’t talk about bone deep depression, unrealistic expectations, the pressure of grind & fitting in culture, & su***de, itself.

In my opening talk, I addressed all the ways in which Gage’s death changed me in the hopes that Gage & my humanity might help others feel less alone. That there might be some comfort in naming the unnamable so that a little bit of light might shine in through a tiny crack.

I’m going to share some clips from this talk over the next few days & invite you to take some deep breaths & consider who you might check in on or reach out to.

Su***de is a reality & we all need to talk about it, from all angles, more.

This is your invitation.

***deawarenessmonth ***deawarenessprevention ***depreventionmonth

As I helped my friend harvest the final tomatoes & zucchini at her farm, I was hit by how the seemingly boring task of t...
09/18/2025

As I helped my friend harvest the final tomatoes & zucchini at her farm, I was hit by how the seemingly boring task of tending to growing things was actually the perfect thing to quiet my mind.

Even if all you've got is a small square of dirt or grass, at some point today, go touch it with your feet or hands.

Really feel the energy of the earth that sustains us.

As you approach the earth, as much as you can, leave all your to-do lists, reactive feelings, & tension behind.

For 2 to 5 minutes just breathe. Imagine pulling nutrients up from the earth just like plants do. Let whatever tiny or huge bit of nature hold your entire being & attention.

Exercises like this, when practiced with frequency, can truly transform our mental health. Let's get committed to doing them.

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