Be Soft; Do Not Let the World Make You Hard
Healing from Childhood Abuse: Get Help and Take Your Life Back
TRIGGER WARNING: This post deals with an account of sexual abuse and may be triggering to some people.
“No one loses their innocence. It is either taken or given away willingly.” ~Tiffany Madison
Childhood innocence. When I think of it I always picture a baby lying on their back, playing with their feet. They are laughing, cooing, smiling, and lost in a sense of wonder. Full of joy, love, curiosity, and awe. When you look at them you can’t help but smile, and their joy and laughter are infectious. At this moment, they are perfect.
Now have all that taken …
How Defensive Pessimism Can Help Ease Your Worries
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” ~Corrie Ten Boom
You know if you’re a worrier.
You worry about all kinds of negative things happening, without any evidence that they’re likely to happen.
I’m a recovering worrier.
It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve become conscious of the extent of my worry and the impact it has on me, and of how ineffective it is.
My worry paralyzes me, making it hard to think, plan, or act.
But, as anyone who is prone to worry knows, worry can feel …
You Never Know How Much Time You Have, So Forgive While You Can
“Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.” ~Corrie ten Boom
I sat next to my stepmother Elaine in her hospital room. I was thirteen. We’d met six years prior as she took a stepmother’s role and had a strained relationship and didn’t speak to each other for parts of it.
Elaine was facing terminal brain cancer. So far she had kept herself together and composed, remaining strong on the outside. I was trying my hardest to do the same for her.
It had all started back when I was seven and my dad took …
What to Do When Someone You Love Is Sick and Struggling
“Love is not what you say. Love is what you do.” ~Unknown
As a graduate student in public health, I spent my days talking about illness and death. Normal lunchtime conversations among students covered topics like: how to define a case of multiple sclerosis, the most effective strategy to stop HIV transmission among injection drug users, and the probability you’d be alive in five years after a breast cancer diagnosis.
None of this talk about illness remotely prepared me for the experience of illness. I was blissfully naive when I started dating a man named Evan with a cough …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine.