Kristen Jacobsen, LCPC - Cathartic Space Counseling

Kristen Jacobsen, LCPC - Cathartic Space Counseling Licensed therapist and author of UNPACKED, helping high-achievers break the patterns that keep them anxious, overthinking, and exhausted.

Licensed therapist and author of UNPACKED | Helping high achievers heal anxiety and perfectionism | Waitlist open for my 12-week program, Anxious to Anchored https://theanxietytherapist.kit.com/waitlist-course I teach you how to heal the deeper emotional and nervous system wiring behind perfectionism and chronic self-doubt, not just manage it. If you’re ready for real change (not more coping tools), join the waitlist for my 12-week group program, Anxious to Anchored.

Holiday comments don’t hurt because you're too sensitive.They hurt because they land on an old wound.Most family trigger...
12/24/2025

Holiday comments don’t hurt because you're too sensitive.
They hurt because they land on an old wound.

Most family triggers aren’t really about what was said in that moment.
They’re about the part of you that still believes it might be true.

When you grow up around emotional unpredictability,
your nervous system learns to scan, brace, and self-correct.
Not consciously. Automatically.

So when a comment comes out sideways,
your body reacts before your brain weighs in.

Here’s the shift that matters:
when there’s nothing in you that agrees anymore,
those comments lose their grip.

Clarity doesn’t change people.
It just stops the internal debate.

You’ve listened to podcasts.You’ve read the books.You’ve tried to figure it out on your own.But the anxiety and self-dou...
12/23/2025

You’ve listened to podcasts.
You’ve read the books.
You’ve tried to figure it out on your own.

But the anxiety and self-doubt? Still there. Just more polished and better hidden.

If you’re a high-achieving perfectionist who’s tired of pretending everything’s fine, this is for you.

Anxious to Anchored is my 12-week group program designed to help you finally feel confident & secure, not just look like you have your s**t together.

It’s not about coping hacks.
It’s about breaking the emotional patterns that drive your anxiety in the first place, like perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the constant need to prove your worth.

🧠 Therapist-led. Research-informed. Small group, deep work.
⚠️ Applications open this Thursday, December 25.

If you’ve been thinking about it, this is your nudge to get on the list before doors open.

🎯 Early access = first dibs on limited spots
🎯 Link in comments or bio to join the waitlist

A quiet reminder for the holidays.You can notice someone’s mood or energywithout taking it on as your responsibility.A l...
12/22/2025

A quiet reminder for the holidays.

You can notice someone’s mood or energy
without taking it on as your responsibility.

A lot of us learned early to track emotional shifts.
Not because we were intuitive,
but because it kept things from getting worse.

That’s conditioning, not character.

There’s a difference between observing tension
and absorbing it into your nervous system.

Real boundaries aren’t walls.
They’re the ability to stay present without becoming porous.

This season, practice noticing…
without carrying it home in your body.

12/19/2025

Burnout isn’t always about work.
Sometimes it’s about still trying to earn the emotional validation you never got.

If you grew up learning that your worth came from being useful, helpful, or perfect, your nervous system might still be chasing that now.

In this week’s blog + video, I walk through how reparenting helps you rewrite those rules.

12/18/2025

You can name the pattern.
You know where it comes from.
But you still can’t stop it.

That’s not a mindset issue.
That’s your subconscious still following an old emotional rule.

In this week’s blog + video, I explain why self-awareness isn’t enough, and what reparenting actually looks like when your system is stuck in survival mode.

👉 Full blog + video linked in the comments.
Waitlist for Anxious to Anchored is there too.

12/17/2025

Why do high-functioning adults still feel anxious, guilty, or stuck, even when they know better?

Because self-awareness isn’t enough when your subconscious is still following emotional rules from childhood.

In this post, I break down:
- What “reparenting” actually means
- Why subconscious beliefs often override logic or insight
- The hidden rules many people still live by:
“Be useful or you’ll be discarded.”
“Don’t speak up or you’ll make things worse.”
“Don’t have needs because they burden others.”
- What reparenting looks like in real life (tools, not theory)
- A 5-step process to begin shifting old emotional patterns today

This isn’t about blaming your past. It’s about giving your system something it never got: consistency, compassion, and emotional safety, on your terms.

Read the full post here: https://www.catharticspacecounseling.com/blog

And if this lands, it’s exactly what we’re working on inside Anxious to Anchored, my 12-week group coaching course for high-achieving adults who are done living in survival mode. Doors open in 2026.

You can get on the waitlist here → https://www.kristen-jacobsen.com/anxious-to-anchored

12/17/2025

If nothing ever feels like enough, it’s probably not about your to-do list.

It’s about an old emotional rule your subconscious still follows:
“If I stop proving myself, I lose connection.”

That rule didn’t start in adulthood.
And it won’t shift through willpower alone.

In this week’s post, I break down what reparenting actually looks like, and how to start giving your system something it never got.

Heading into 2026, I've been reflecting a lot, and honestly….I’m still taking it all in.Writing my book was one thing.Wa...
12/16/2025

Heading into 2026, I've been reflecting a lot, and honestly….I’m still taking it all in.

Writing my book was one thing.
Watching people read it, talk about it, gift it, and see themselves in its pages? That’s something else entirely.

Thank you to everyone who’s picked up a copy of "Unpacked," shared it with a friend, left a review, or sent a message about what resonated.

Your support made this launch feel bigger and more meaningful than anything I could’ve imagined on my own.

If you haven’t grabbed it yet, "Unpacked: How to Detach from the Subconscious Beliefs That Are Sabotaging Your Life" is still available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble (links in bio).

And whether you’re reading it slowly, underlining every page, or letting it live on your nightstand until you’re ready, thank you for welcoming this book into your life.

This whole experience has reminded me that healing is personal, but it’s never isolated.
We change in community.
And I’m grateful to have you in mine.

Link in bio.

You know what you should say.You know the pattern.But your body still reacts like you’re in trouble the second you set a...
12/15/2025

You know what you should say.
You know the pattern.
But your body still reacts like you’re in trouble the second you set a boundary.

This isn’t about confidence.
It’s about emotional rules you learned before you could name them.
“Be helpful or be ignored.”
“Don’t need too much or you’ll lose them.”

Reparenting is how we shift those rules, without blowing up our lives.

I have a new blog and video dropping Wednesday that breaks it down in a grounded, practical way.

For now, this carousel walks you through one of the most common patterns I see in my high-functioning clients:
Why you still feel so uncomfortable saying "no"

12/12/2025

You learned to be helpful, low-maintenance, the one who holds it all together.
Not because it came naturally, because it felt safer than being needy.

That’s not your personality. It’s old wiring.

12/11/2025

You say yes when you mean no.
You overexplain.
You feel guilty resting.

That’s not just “how you are.”
It’s early emotional wiring, and often, unspoken grief.

Address

400 Central Avenue
Northfield, IL
60093

Telephone

+17736339075

Website

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