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Candice Coughenour LMFT....................................Issue #3

Something Wicked (and Overthought) This Way Comes

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Hi Reader!

I love spooky season but I don’t do scary.🎃

And when I say I don’t do scary, I mean it.

For reference: a few years ago my friends and I watched the Disney Channel original movie Don’t Look Under the Bed (circa 1999).

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Nightmares. For. Days.
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That movie haunted me far longer than it should have.
And don’t even get me started on psychological thrillers, they just activate my overthinking spirals.

Luckily, I’ve made peace with this.
I know my nervous system just can’t handle extra doses of perceived danger (real life is plenty terrifying, thank you very much).

Even though I know there are no monsters under my bed, my imagination still runs wild.
And as a fellow overthinker, I’m guessing you get it... one small mishap, and suddenly your brain’s planning your own eulogy.
Talk about scary.

Now, I could write an entire book about those terrifying thought spirals (and I probably will), but today I want to talk about something even spookier…

👻 Scary emotions.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been celebrating spooky season since September because let’s be honest, spooky is a state of mind.
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And speaking of spooky minds, have you heard of Schadenfreude???

It’s a German word for that unsettling feeling of joy when someone else experiences misfortune.
(You know — that flicker of satisfaction when your rude coworker gets called out in a meeting, or the ex who ghosted you suddenly gets ghosted themselves.)

It’s weird, right?
Uncomfortable.
Kinda… fun and kinda..spooky.

Brené Brown describes Schadenfreude as a complex emotion that mixes envy, resentment, and the fragile joy of seeing someone else fall.
And here’s the thing: emotions like that can feel scary because they challenge the story we tell ourselves about being “good people.”

But here’s the truth: emotions even the dark, messy ones lose their power when we shine a little light on them.

Just like when I was a kid, terrified of the monster under my bed…
The only thing that helped was turning on the light.

✨ Take a deep breath.

✨ Remind yourself: there’s no monster in your closet...(probably)

✨ And if that doesn’t work? Check. The. Closet. Reader !!!

Turn on the light in your brain, in your body, and in your heart.
Investigate the emotion instead of avoiding it.​
You might just find it’s not a monster at all... just a shadow shaped by fear, shame, or unmet needs.

And who knows… maybe what’s hiding under the bed isn’t something to fear it’s just a part of you waiting to be understood. 💛

P.S. What is the scariest story you tell yourself?

With love and a nightlight,

Candice

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Licensed Therapist | Recovering People-Pleaser | Fellow Overthinker
The Congruent Soul
Email: candice@thecongruentsoul.com

Socials @candice_lmft

Website: thecongruentsoul.com (coming soon)
Helping people-pleasing perfectionists set boundaries, reduce burnout, and rediscover joy.

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See you next week!