🌞 Feel Good Friday: Small Steps, Big Impact in Mental Health This Week - June 20, 2025

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by headlines that highlight all that’s broken in the world. But every Friday, we pause to spotlight what’s working—especially in the mental health space. This week’s wins come from prison yards and therapy barns, digital spaces and policy circles, showing us that progress is not just possible—it’s already happening.

🐴 Healing on Hooves: Horse Therapy for Incarcerated Veterans

One of the most moving stories this week came out of Texas, where a horse therapy program is helping incarcerated veterans heal from trauma. As featured by the BBC, these men—many of whom carry combat wounds, PTSD, and moral injury—are learning to care for rescue horses in a deeply relational process. What’s beautiful is that both the veterans and the animals have experienced neglect or abandonment—and together, they’re rediscovering trust and purpose.

It’s a reminder that healing doesn’t always come through words. Sometimes, it comes through presence, responsibility, and the quiet companionship of another living being. In a system that too often forgets to rehabilitate, this program offers true restoration.

🤖 AI Accountability Gaining Ground

After weeks of growing concern over therapy-style chatbots giving harmful advice or encouraging delusional thinking, clinicians and researchers are taking action. Stanford psychiatry experts published findings that push for better safeguards in AI emotional support tools. While not all chatbots are dangerous, this week’s news highlights that the mental health community is no longer on the sidelines of tech development.

It’s a feel-good moment for advocacy and ethics—proof that mental health professionals are shaping the future of digital care, not just reacting to it.

🧠 Research That Validates Real Pain

A Yale-led study released this week showed how childhood trauma physically alters the brain, increasing inflammation in regions tied to emotional regulation. While that may not sound uplifting on the surface, the response to this research has been incredibly affirming. Clinicians, survivors, and caregivers are celebrating what this means: more validation, less stigma.

Trauma isn’t “just in your head”—it’s in your biology. And now, the science backs it up. This week’s takeaway? You are not imagining it. Your pain is real. And healing is possible.

💻 Work-Life Wellness Gets a Win

After four years of tracking remote workers, researchers have confirmed what many already knew: working from home improves mental health. The study found lower stress, better sleep, and higher job satisfaction among those with flexibility and autonomy. Employers are paying attention—and some are even redesigning mental health strategies around these findings.

As the lines between home and work continue to blur, it’s good to know that well-being is finally being prioritized, not pushed to the background.

🧘‍♀️ Feel Good Friday Reflection

Let’s carry this energy into the weekend with a few affirmations and actions:

• 🧠 Healing is non-linear—but it’s always possible.

• 🤝 Connection can happen in unexpected places—even between a veteran and a horse.

• 🛡 Mental health care must evolve—but it must stay grounded in empathy.

• 🕊 You don’t need permission to rest, reset, or reach out.

🌼 Final Thought

Feel Good Friday isn’t about ignoring pain—it’s about honoring the people and programs making healing a reality. Whether through neuroscience, prison reform, ethical tech, or workplace wellness, this week reminded us that progress often begins with small, brave choices.

So go into the weekend knowing this: hope isn’t just a feeling. It’s something we build—together.