07 May

Posted at 13:56h in All Blog Posts, Children, Feelings, Relationships, Resilience, Trauma by
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Valancia Abdullah considers it her calling to care for youth who some may think of as “challenged.” After working with special needs students at Atlanta Public Schools, in 2000, she joined CHRIS 180’s foster care program. She serves as a Resident Assistant. The kids affectionately refer to her as Ms. Val. “The RA to me is just like being a mom in care: we have to make sure their needs are met,” Abdullah shared. “They look up to us. They’re learning from us. Kids who are grown now have come back...

05 Jan

Posted at 08:35h in Feelings, Holiday by
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Over and over I’ve heard people remark that they were so ready for 2020 to be over. And with the start of the new year, we are all looking forward to a better 2021 -  a new beginning, a path to recovery. At the same time, there just might be some things that we learned in 2020 and that are gifts. So, I am curious and reflecting on these questions over the next few weeks: What did I learn?  What do I want to keep?  In what ways was I...

30 Dec

Posted at 16:21h in Feelings, Grief and Loss, Holiday by
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‘Tis the season to pause and reflect on the past year as a new one approaches, and oh what a year it has been! 2020 started off as a promising new decade, with exciting goals, dreams and resolutions. But as we all know, a few months into it, all our hopes and plans came to a screeching halt as we entered a time of unfamiliarity and fear. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to face life with a new mindset. This disruption affected each of us differently. To many, it meant...

02 Dec

Posted at 09:35h in All Blog Posts, Anxiety, Feelings, Resilience, Stress, Uncategorized by
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If this year has taught me anything, it is that there is a lot of stuff I cannot change. That realization has brought on frequent feelings of powerlessness, helplessness and frustration. It has also sometimes brought about anger, sadness and a downright desire to just throw my hands up in the air and say, “forget it all!” 2020: The Year of Uncertainty For most of us, this year has brought with it an onslaught of new stressors that could be enough to take the most positive, happy, successful, highly functioning person and...

04 Nov

Posted at 09:55h in All Blog Posts, Anxiety, Feelings, Stress by
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Many women can often feel like we have the world on our shoulders. We often carry not only our stress but the stress of our loved ones and those closest to us. Often, women can feel isolated, unsupported, and even depressed because of various challenges. Over time, women often become desensitized to these feelings as we accept this as the norm as opposed to true clinical depression or anxiety. Below are some common symptoms of depression and anxiety. Feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, sadness, or suicidal thoughts or attempts Irritability, anxiousness,...

13 Oct

Posted at 13:43h in All Blog Posts, Feelings, Resilience by
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If summer is your favorite time of year and you dread the upcoming winter – you may want to stop reading here -- or you might want to read on for hope.  Slowly, gradually, the sunny days of summer (despite the COVID-19 pandemic) are fading into the vicissitudes of autumn. Gradually, the shades of lime green, forest green, spring green and emerald green, fern and shamrock green in the canopy of leaves above are transforming.  The leaves look increasingly yellow and golden in the sunlight, with splotches of red and orange. ...

06 Oct

Posted at 12:55h in Feelings, Resilience, Routines and Structure by
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The cool breeze in the mornings lets us know that autumn is around the corner. I have not always been ready for this newness because I love the summer months and do not want to say goodbye to the warmth of the sun, the flowers, butterflies, lightning bugs, BBQs, late evenings and beach trips. There of course is nothing I can do to prevent the inevitable seasonal change. During the summer I embrace all I can as I know autumn is coming! I tackle projects, make the most of the...

27 Jul

Posted at 11:41h in Feelings by
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“It’s easier being in each other’s presence, or in each other’s absence, than in the constant presence of each other’s absence.”–Gianpiero Petriglieri Yes, Zoom Exhaustion is real. As we continue to work from home, visit family and friends on the screen, or go to school virtually, we are spending a lot more time on Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, Google Meet and the list goes on…and this is exhausting. But why so exhausting?  Is it that hard to spend hours in front of a screen interacting with people while sitting in the comfort of...

23 Jul

Posted at 12:11h in Feelings by
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One of my favorite meditations is a short guided one by Deepak Chopra. In the middle of  this meditation he asks repeatedly in his soothing voice, “What am I grateful for?” I hear his hypnotic tone sometimes in my head when I need a good, positive reminder. We are living in a time where the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the course of our regular daily activities and comfort. Many of us are not happy with the way things are happening, and the way we want to live is out of our control. We cannot...

29 May

Posted at 19:30h in Feelings by
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“I’m getting really tired of being alone,” a friend said, tears flowing down her face. “I’m angry I don’t get to have my graduation ceremony,” a high school student confided. “I’m disappointed we can’t go on the cruise we’ve looked forward to for a year,” someone lamented on a telephone call. What is unusual yet common about these comments? They all focus on feelings…It is as if the horrific death toll juxtaposed with awe-inspiring stories of everyday heroes who live and die serving us all has ignited a volcano of emotions. Our feelings are...