When my kindergarten teacher started using "conversation journals" with each of her students, I doubt she realized what a difference it would make in my life. As a 5-year-old just learning to write, I'd scribble down my thoughts and she'd reply. This created a valuable back-and-forth. If I didn't know how to express what I wanted to communicate in spoken words, I had another outlet. There was a...

Somehow, over time, we have both found the words to talk about this reflex to worry and to feel as though we have to stop imaginary bad things from happening. And we’ve given each other permission to stop.