Word of the Week: Nuance

There’s a tendency—especially when life feels heavy or uncertain—to want clear answers. We crave black-and-white. Good or bad. Right or wrong. One path or the other.

But most of life isn’t that simple.

That’s where nuance lives.

Nuance is the quiet understanding that things can be layered, complicated, and even contradictory. It’s what helps us pause before we judge. It’s what lets us hold two truths at once.

What It Means

You can feel confident and insecure at the same time. You can want space and still love someone deeply. You can be proud of how far you’ve come and still feel stuck.

Nuance says, “It’s both.”

And sometimes, “It’s more than that.”

It allows us to show up with more compassion, more honesty, and more room for reality. It makes space for all the parts of a situation—not just the neat or comfortable ones.

Why It Matters

Nuance helps us respond instead of react. It invites us to zoom out and look at the full picture—especially when emotions are high.

It also softens our expectations of ourselves. Because when we stop needing to feel one way, we make space for the mixed, messy middle where most of us actually live.

And honestly? As a therapist, I’ve seen nuance open doors that certainty slams shut.

When we trade black-and-white thinking for curiosity, something shifts. Our relationships get gentler. Our self-talk softens. We stop looking for the “right” way to feel and start honoring what’s real.

How to Practice Nuance

Pause the binary. When you catch yourself thinking in extremes—always, never, success, failure—ask: What else might be true here?

Hold the “and. ”Try saying: “I’m frustrated, and I’m still open to listening.”Or “I don’t have it figured out, and I’m still moving forward.” Let your truths live next to each other.

Soften your assumptions. Not everything needs a label. Not every emotion needs to be fixed. Sometimes, it just needs to be witnessed.

Stay curious. You don’t need all the answers to be thoughtful. Just enough openness to say, “I’m still learning.”

A Quiet Invitation

Nuance doesn’t demand you overthink—it simply asks you to look a little closer. To listen a little longer. To stay present with the things that don’t resolve right away.

This week, let nuance guide the way you speak to yourself. The way you listen to others. The way you hold space for both/and instead of either/or.

Because life isn’t black or white, and you were never meant to be, either.

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About the Author:

MDW's voice for all things mental health, therapist and LCSW, Carrie Summers, embodies inclusion and creating safe spaces for all people that is free of judgment.

Carrie is dedicated to empowering individuals like you through personalized counseling. Specializing in perinatal, relationship issues, divorce, life transitions, and narcissistic abuse recovery.

Carrie owns her practice, Noreila Healing & Wellness, in Wheaton, Illinois, and is available in-person and online for therapy.

Learn more at noreilahealing.com