Today, I’m offering some life’s little news bites that oddly feel like therapy prompts.

Summer’s here, the city’s sweaty, and even the news feels like it’s melting into metaphors. This week, while sipping my ever hot coffee (since I stubbornly don’t do iced coffee) and contemplating whether I’m more chaos or calm, I couldn’t help but notice a few headlines that read like rejected therapy worksheets.

Let’s explore: an engagement that outlasted most streaming series, a hot dog legend rising from the mustardy ashes, and Parisians doing the backstroke in a formerly toxic river. Yep

Real stories, real vibes, all with a side of existential curiosity.



A) Six years engaged: that’s practically a trial subscription to ‘Will‑they‑won’t‑they’ marriage!

Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom split after nine years together, six years engaged.

Yes, you read that right. Six years. That’s half a decade of “someday, but maybe not really.” And now they’re co‑parenting their daughter Daisy.  From pandemic-induced delays to touring schedules and an album reception cooler than a Blue Origin outing, sources say they drifted apart. As a psychologist, I’ve got to ask: when “engaged forever” becomes your couple narrative, have you actually divorced the fantasy version of each other already? The vibe: we loved the idea of marriage more than the day‑to‑day partnership.



B) Hot dog hiatus? Make a comeback!

Joey Chestnut is back at Nathan’s July 4th contest.

The once‑banished champ over sponsorship beef (no relation to frankfurters) is back, gunning for title #17 at Coney Island. He had signed a deal with a plant‑based brand, got sidelined, then made it right. That’s like ghosting someone mid‑therapy and announcing your return at the next session.
Personally? I can barely eat one hot dog, let alone 70‑plus in ten minutes. I eat very, very slowly as everyone reminds me at the dinner table.  But Chestnut’s focus echoes strong self‑efficacy.
Message to self: you might lack stomach elasticity, but don’t let that stop your comeback in your own arena.


C) Swimming in the Seine: Freedom, taboo, and a dixie cup’s worth of bacteria?

Paris opens the River Seine to public swimming for first time in 100 years.

Thanks to the Olympic cleanup (€1.4 billion later), three swimming zones are opening near Notre‑Dame, Eiffel Tower and east Paris.  Parisian coach Lucile Woodward and Mayor Hidalgo even did a test dip. But I sense hesitation; like dipping a toe back into therapy after decades looks good on paper, but oh those deep currents! Swimming in a reclaimed river: metaphor gold. Trusting the process, plunging anyway, facing currents, and coming up stronger.

Some Takeaways:

Perpetual engagement = repetitive patterns

Comebacks remind us we can reconcile conflict: both inner or outer

Risk‑taking and trust still works, even in murky waters


So there it is: breakups, hot‑dog comebacks, and urban swimming. All of which serve as cocktail fodder.