Why everyone should be birding in 2026

Birding is on the rise and if you haven’t added it to your list of pastimes, I’m here to tell you why you should!

Ease your mind, relax your body: less stress, anxiety, and depression
We all know that being outside breathing in fresh air is good for us; time in nature has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety. Hearing birdsong relaxes our nervous system because it signals to our bodies that we are not in danger. Looking and listening for birds is an exercise of mindfulness, helping us slow down and ground ourselves in the present moment, letting go of worries about the future and rumination on the past. Birding is generally not a super rigorous activity, but it does often require walking and gentle movement, which can be beneficial for people of any age. A walk outside almost always improves my mood, especially when I get to see my little feathered friends hopping around or singing their songs.

Good for your brain: better focus, attention, and memory
When you’re looking for birds, you’re locked in paying attention to the sights you see and sounds you hear. You’re looking for movement, you’re listening for subtle noises, you’re zoning in on one or two stimuli. I hear so many people talk about how they’re not able to focus these days because their brains have been hijacked by the quick dopamine hits we get from social media and the constant barrage of distractions supplied to us by our phones and other devices. Birding is the kind of activity that is SO GOOD for our brains because the more we challenge ourselves to slow down and engage in this activity, the more it increases our ability to focus and give our undivided attention to one thing. If you get really deep in it, you may find yourself staring at trees for hours and forgetting your desire for a distraction from reality.

Not all birders care about identifying what kind of bird they’re seeing, but if you do choose to get into identification, it can be a really great tool for keeping your brain sharp and improving your memory. There are over 10,000 species of birds in the world and at least 200 species that I know of that move through my area at some point during the year. Identifying these small creatures isn’t always a simple task and can require great attention to detail. Learning the names of different birds and studying the details that help you to tell them apart helps to create new neural pathways in your brain and improves cognitive resiliency. Being a bird nerd might help you maintain your cognitive functions longer, so go study the birds!

COMMUNITY: Parks as third places, intergenerational friendships, celebrating with others
Another optional part of birding is the social aspect (but I urge you to bird with other people because it’s way more fun that way)! I was mostly a solo birder in the early years of my birding journey but since having discovered the amazing community of birders in my area, I rarely bird alone anymore. There’s been a lot of discourse lately around the disappreance of “third places” in our world and while I agree that there aren’t a lot of places where people can go to regularly encounter and socialize with friends and potential friends, parks are the perfect third place for birders or bird-curious people! I’ve made so many friends at parks and being a birder makes it so much easier to befriend local park-goers. If you’re carrying a pair of binoculars or using your binoculars, it’s likely someone might ask you if you’ve seen or are seeing anything interesting. On the flip side, if you see someone else with binoculars, it’s very easy to start a conversation with them asking about what they’ve seen on their outing. The majority of birders are super friendly and happy to tell you all about what interesting finds they’ve had that day. Some might even show you their special birding spots and invite you to join them to look for birds together!

One great thing about the birding community is that it generally includes people of all ages since it is such an accessible hobby. There aren’t many spaces where I interact with people who are of a significantly different age than me, but birding has helped me build friendships with people of all ages- from kids to retired folk. I think it’s so important to have connections with people from different generations because they often have different perspectives and life experiences than you, giving you new ways to think about the world and potentially challenging your normal way of thinking.

One of my favorite things about birding is the excitement of seeing a new or interesting bird and the joy and celebration that follows! When you get to share this experience with another person or a whole group of people, there’s nothing better! I especially love seeing grown adults light up and high five or jump around because of a cute little bird they just saw. Nothing tickles me more than that. Celebrating with others creates bonds and increases your sense of belonging, so go jump around with some birders and experience the joy of being part of the birding community!

Spiritual benefit: Generates awe and appreciation of the natural world, encourages harmony with the earth, adds whimsy to your life
When you stop to appreciate the birds, you’re engaging in a gratitude practice for the natural world. You’re reminding yourself that there is so much beauty around you and allowing yourself to be in awe of it all. When you allow yourself to lean into awe and gratitude, you are likely to feel much more satisfied with your life. This may lead you to feel more at peace with simply being in the world and reduce the feeling that you need to constantly be doing and consuming.

Birding may also lead you to other nature-related passions as you spend more time outside, you notice more incredible wonders in the world around you. You may take up an interest in bugs or lichen or native plants or land conservation. You will likely start to see the interconnectedness of all living things and want to do your part to live more in harmony with the earth. Showing respect and care to our home matters so much and I do think we suffer in many ways when we are not in right relationship with the earth. Any activity that can move us more into harmony with our planet is an activity worth pursuing in my opinion.

I hope at this point I’ve convinced you to start birding, but if not, I’m urging you to just do it for the whimsy! Birders know that what they’re doing is a little silly and strange to some and generally they approach the hobby with a very playful spirit. Birding is a playful way to engage with the world and the people around you. It’s a way to point out interesting creatures and ask others to join you in your excitement around them. Maybe people will start referring to you as “the bird girl” or if you’re lucky “bird queen”! Maybe you’ll befriend a bird at your local park and chat with them when you’re feeling down. Maybe you’ll make a hoard of birder friends and not be able to go to any of your local parks without running into at least one of them. You’ll never know unless you get out there and let the birds (and birding community) change you!

Join your local birding club! Look for an Audubon chapter near you or search for other birding groups in your area! If you’re in Lexington, join me for a bird walk or bird event with my birding group Lex Bird Cult!

How To Combat Seasonal Depression | 9 Ways to Better Manage Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

‘Tis the season for seasonal depression and you’re certainly not the only one feeling it. Many people get the winter blues when the weather turns and it’s not uncommon to feel extra down this time of year. Luckily, I’ve got your back and have a few tips and tricks to fight that seasonal depression when it comes around. 

Get Cozy : Hygge

My least favorite thing about winter is the cold. Being cold makes my body tense and feeling tense is the least relaxing thing in the world. Being cozy is super relaxing, though, and the best time to get cozy is during the winter. The Danes use the word hygge to describe the coziness of the season. To embody hygge, let the cold be an excuse to stay inside and relax after a long year. Allow yourself to rest and restore your energy. Buy some warm clothes and fuzzy socks to keep away the cold. Cuddle up with a blanket and a fun book. Light a candle and put on some soothing music. Do whatever feels warm and comforting to you.

Get Into Your Senses : Mindfulness

We often find ourselves with more free time on our hands in the winter because most of us spend less time outside the house when it’s cold. This can cause us to get in our heads even more than we usually do, which can exacerbate any anxiety and/or depression we’re already feeling. Instead of ruminating on the past or worrying about the future with that free time, try tuning in to the present with mindfulness by getting into your senses. Do something that engages only one of your senses or do something that engages all of your senses. Put on some essential oils, listen to ASMR, meditate, pet something fuzzy or furry, pay attention to all the flavors in your food. When you’re focused on the sensations you’re experiencing in the present, you don’t give your mind the time or space to spiral further into your depression.

Get Into Your Body : Stretch, Dance, Yoga, Massage

Another thing you can do to get out of your head is to get in to your body. Some people have a hard time with this one because they have negative beliefs about being in their body, but I’m telling you, if you can embrace your body and feel your body, it’s one of the most magical feelings in the world. Stretching was the catalyst that got me back into my body and I have raved about it ever since because of the wonderful feelings it’s led me to. If you don’t stretch, I’d strongly recommend it. You’ll realize your body has been trying to communicate with you by sending you aches, pains, and discomforts. Your body wants to be moved and touched. You’re allowed to move and touch it in whatever way feels good to you. Stretch, dance, practice yoga or give yourself a massage! It’s amazing how good you can make yourself feel just by loving on your body a little.

Get Light : Vitamin D

If the sun is shining, try to get outside! We need Vitamin D and many people are Vitamin D deficient during the wintertime. If you can’t bear the cold or the sun isn’t shining, try getting some Vitamin D supplements or invest in a Happy Light to supplement for sunshine.

Get Some Responsibilities : Plants Or A Pet

It’s easy to stay cozy in bed all day when it’s freezing outside and you don’t have any responsibilities to tend to, but staying in bed all day will likely make your depression worse. How do you feel when you realize it’s 5pm and you’re still in your pajamas in bed, not having moved all day except to get food or go to the bathroom? Yeah, usually not great. If you have things to take care of like plants or pets, you’re forced to get yourself out of bed to take care of these living things! And then you know what usually happens? You realize that the plant looks happier when you give it the nutrients it needs and the dog jumps for joy when he gets to move his body around outside. And then you realize you’re happier when you do these things, too. So you begin to take care of yourself as well.

Get Out Of The House : Find Events Around Town

If I spend too long in my house, I begin to feel trapped. It’s good to get out and about and there are tons of holiday events you can go to around town if you need to escape your home. Check out Facebook events for things going on around town or join a group on Meetup.com to make new friends and/or try new activities.

Get Social : Invite Friends Over For Cozy Nights In

Too many people neglect their social life in the winter months. People really don’t like getting out in the cold, but isolating ourselves from our friends for a whole season is much worse than exposing ourselves to the cold every once in a while. But if you really can’t stand the thought of getting out of the house, make the fun come to you! Plan a board game night, host a wine and paint event with the girls, cook dinner with friends, bake holiday cookies with your neighbors, or throw a holiday party with fancy drinks. Just get some friends over to your house and have yourselves a good old time.

Get A New Hobby : Cooking, Baking, Crafting, Music-Making

‘Tis the season for indoor hobbies! Print out those Pinterest recipes and craft instructions, head to your local grocery and/or craft store, and get to cooking (or crafting). Almost all of my hobbies have been born out of winter boredom and I’m so thankful when winter is in full force because it always reminds me to get back in touch with my creative side. I often neglect my ukulele and crafts throughout the year, but come winter, we reunite with a passion. There’s really nothing like the flow you get into when you’re being creative. Creative flow is also the pinnacle of mindfulness for me. Get into your flow with a new hobby.

Get Therapy : Talking To Someone Can Help

Sometimes you need more than just some stretching and a new hobby to get you out of your funk. Maybe it’s not coping skills you’re lacking… maybe it’s a pain or hurt you haven’t yet dealt with rising back up or a loss you haven’t grieved coming back around. Therapy can help you process through these things and find some healing from your pain. If you’ve never tried it, I’d highly recommend it!

In the Lexington, KY area and interested in starting therapy? Book an appointment with me! Not in the Lexington area but wanting to start therapy and not sure where to look? Check out my blog post on how to choose a therapist

How To Choose A Therapist : What To Know Before You Go To Therapy

So you want to start therapy but have no idea where to begin? 

You want help but you’re not sure what kind, you have insurance but you don’t know if it covers mental health services, and you’ve heard of CBT but it’s just another acronym to you. Don’t worry; I’m here to help walk you through all that today! Choosing a therapist can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re prepared with the right information, it can be a simple and painless process.

The first thing you need to do when starting this process is reflect on why you’re seeking help. Ask yourself: What do I want from therapy? Take some time on this one. Are you looking for a solution to a problem? Wanting to develop coping skills to better deal with life’s difficulties? Or hoping to gain insight into deep-rooted thought and behavior patterns that have been tripping you up? All of these things are wonderful, but it’s important to get specific on what you want so you can find the best therapist to help you work towards your goals for therapy.

Brief Therapy Versus Depth Therapy

If you’re seeking therapy because you want to find a solution to a problem or develop coping skills to better deal with a problem, you probably want to look for a therapist who practices some kind of brief therapy such as solution focused brief therapy or CBT. These therapies are focused on finding solutions to problems and therapists who practice this way are often more directive, giving you practical tools to deal with whatever you’re dealing with and make it better quickly.

If you’re seeking therapy because you want to gain insight into why you feel and act the way you do so that you can address your issues at the core, a depth-oriented therapy would probably be a better fit for you. A few examples of depth therapies are psychodynamic, existential-humanistic, gestalt, psychoanalytic, and Jungian. These types of therapies often explore patterns of thoughts and behaviors with curiosity around their origins. The idea is that when we’re able to gain insight into why we engage in certain thought and behavior patterns, we will realize our power and ability to change these patterns. This kind of therapy generally takes much longer than brief therapy but often results in longer-lasting improvements.

To help you understand… client presents with social anxiety:

Therapist A (Solution-focused therapist) approaches by: helping the client change their thoughts about how others perceive them and develop anxiety-reducing skills or behaviors (think relaxing breathing techniques or self-affirmations).

Therapist B (Insight-oriented therapist) approaches by: exploring the origin of the client’s social anxiety and digging in to some of their beliefs around how others perceive them. Deep-seated and long-held beliefs are often challenged and new perspectives are presented and explored.

*Most therapists integrate many theoretical orientations/approaches into their practice, so it’s likely that a therapist would say they practice both brief and depth therapies. Therapists often tailor their theoretical approach to what they feel is the best fit for their client and many times this incorporates elements of both solution-focused and insight-oriented therapies.

**If you know for sure you don’t want to talk about childhood trauma or your relationship with mom and dad, don’t go to a depth or insight-oriented therapist. 

***If you want more than just tips, tricks, and skills to better cope with what you’ve got going on, don’t go to a strictly solution-focused therapist.

Insurance Versus Private Pay

I get it, you have insurance (and you pay an arm and a leg for it every month), so you want to use it! Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple when it comes to mental health care. We live in a country where there’s a lot of money to be made off of sick people and not a lot of money put towards helping people stay well. Insurance providers only want to cover what is absolutely necessary medically to keep you alive (but maybe not thriving), so therapy isn’t always something that’s covered.

I want to help you make an informed decision on how you choose to pay for therapy, so I created this handy diagram to guide you through the decision-making process (because it’s a lot more involved than people think it is). I know it looks confusing, but this is as simple as I could make it. More detailed information following the diagram to help you better understand and make a decision about your payment method.

Counseling for: a mental health disorder or personal growth?

Go back to your motivation for seeking therapy. Are you seeking therapy because you’re hardly making it through the day and life is super unmanageable? If that’s the case, chances are you’ll meet criteria for a mental health disorder. This is something insurance will cover if your plan covers mental health care (not all plans do). In order for insurance to pay for your therapy, you must receive a diagnosis of pathology. If life is pretty manageable but you’re wanting to go to therapy because you know things could be better if you put some work in, insurance isn’t going to pay. Self-improvement and personal growth are not considered medical necessities and therefore are not covered by insurance.*

*You can try to use your insurance for this, but it puts your therapist in an awkward and ethically sticky spot where they either have to tell you they’re unwilling to give you a diagnosis because they don’t feel you meet criteria or they have to stretch the truth a little to prove to your insurance provider that you need this service.

I think I may qualify for a mental health disorder, should I use my insurance?

Maybe. A few things to consider before you decide one way or the other. First off, are you okay with a mental health diagnosis being on your permanent health record? A few reasons you might not want that: could disqualify you from life insurance (a diagnosis of depression causes you to be seen as more at-risk for suicide) or cause your premiums to be higher than what they normally would be, could cause you to be denied from the military or security clearances, and you could potentially be treated differently by health professionals (or whoever else has access to your medical record) because of the diagnosis you have been given. If these are concerning to you, you may want to avoid going the insurance route. If these things aren’t concerning to you, insurance could be a great option.

What will my insurance cover?

To find out what kind of mental health coverage your insurance plan provides, you can call the number on the back of your insurance card to inquire about coverage. Some insurance providers don’t cover any mental health services, so if that’s the case, you’ll need to pay out of pocket for services and leave the insurance company out of it.

Some insurance providers require you to reach your deductible before they begin paying for any part of your therapy, so if this is the case for you, it’s important to know what you’re deductible is and whether you think you’re going to meet the deductible at some point throughout the year. Many people are on plans with super high deductibles that they never meet and these people may be better off choosing to not use insurance because their insurance most likely won’t be kicking in anyways.

Some insurance plans only require you to pay a co-pay (and they pay the rest) when you see a therapist, and this is usually when it is most beneficial to utilize your insurance. Ask your insurance provider what your co-pay for counseling services is so that you know what you’re getting yourself into financially.

Some insurance plans will cover a portion of out-of-network care. Ask your insurance provider if you have any out of network benefits, as you may be able to get reimbursed for part of your therapy cost even if your provider doesn’t accept your insurance. Your therapist will need to provide you with a superbill or receipt of services to send in to your insurance company for reimbursement and this is something that most therapists are willing to do if you ask.

I don’t think I’m eligible to utilize my insurance for therapy, but I don’t think I can afford privately paying a therapist. Help! 

Therapy can be expensive and not everybody can afford the going rate of a weekly counseling session. Luckily, therapists understand this and many are accommodating of people who can’t afford the full fee. Some therapists offer a sliding scale fee schedule to accommodate clients with financial constraints and those who don’t offer this are often able to refer you to someone who is within your price range. You can also pay for therapy with an HSA or FSA account if you have one of those, which is pre-tax dollars. Also, don’t be afraid to rearrange or eliminate some of your daily, weekly, or monthly expenses to free up some cash for therapy. Making more home-cooked meals and cutting out alcohol or other unnecessary luxuries never hurt anyone that I know. Plus, the more you actively value your personal growth, the more growth usually happens.

Okay, I think I know what kind of therapy I want to do and how I want to pay… what now? 

The fun part… now you get to look for a therapist! Psychology Today is a great place to go to find a therapist as the majority of counselors/therapists are on this site. For that reason, I’ll mainly focus on Psychology Today’s features but I would also like to give a shoutout to a new therapist directory site called Therapy Den because the search options are way better than Psychology Today’s in my opinion. There aren’t nearly as many therapists on it yet since it’s new, but it’s a wonderful site that’s focused on social justice and inclusivity, so if you’re looking for a therapist who is especially open to minority groups or oppressed individuals, this is a good site to check out.

 If you type in counselor/counseling/therapist/therapy and your city and state, chances are Psychology Today will be one of the first sites listed, which is why most therapists are on this site. If you look at the search tools, you can filter therapists by specialties, approaches, gender, faith, ages they work with, insurances they take, languages they speak, and sexualities they’re comfortable working with. Most everything but the price of the session (which irks me because I think health professionals need to be up front about the price you’re going to have to pay for their services- but that’s for another time).

Filter out therapists based on whatever’s important to you. If your sexual identity is important to you, make sure you find a therapist who is affirming of that. If you want someone of the same faith, filter for that. If you’re struggling with a specific issue, look at who specializes in that in your area. If you’re looking for someone to help you develop skills to better deal with life’s obstacles, pick someone who seems competent and sounds like they know what they’re doing. If you’re looking for someone to help you explore the depths of your soul, pick someone you think you could connect and be vulnerable with. This is the fun part. Shop around. This is a huge decision. You’re about to choose someone to walk with you on your journey to becoming a happier, healthier you.

If you’re unsure about whether a therapist would be a good fit, ask them whatever questions you need answered so that you can feel confident about going into your first session. Therapists know that first sessions can be scary and most are willing to do a short phone consultation or at least answer whatever questions you have via email to make you feel more comfortable with beginning therapy. If a therapist doesn’t get back to you after you reach out to them, they may not have enough time in their schedule for new clients. Don’t let that discourage you, there are lots of options! And if you had a first session with someone and it didn’t go well, you don’t have to go back! You’re allowed to try out therapists for good fit and you don’t need to feel committed to the first one you try.

Happy hunting!

If you’re in the Lexington, KY area and looking for insight-oriented depth therapy, I might be your girl! I don’t do insurance but I have a very reasonable (at least in my opinion) sliding scale ranging from $60-$100. I especially love working with young adults in transition but I also specialize in working with those struggling with eating disorders and addictions if that’s something you’re looking for. Shoot me an email if you’re thinking about therapy or go ahead and book an appointment if you’re ready to get started!