I originally wrote this letter for a dear friend of mine about the process of healing from trauma and life after abuse, in 2018. The blog that published it has sadly gone dark since then. I wanted to make sure that this piece could still be enjoyed and potentially shared with your own close friends if they’ve been through something similar.
Tag: self-care
Resistance to Conformity: Balancing Authenticity with Community
I’d like you to please welcome a new writer on the Yopp platform, Eleni Stephanides! She’s here to talk about the complexities of conformity: the damage it can do, and the benefits it can yield when used well.
Patreon Bonus Article: Why We Postponed Our Poetry Book Publishing Date
Originally, it was our plan to have our poetry book published by now. But for the sake of our mental health… (Read More on Patreon)
Everything You Need to Know About Boundaries
Boundaries are magic. They are protective and allow us to navigate our life as empowered and autonomous individuals. Most of us come to learn our boundaries through trial and error, and may not get good support around forming or establishing boundaries in relationships. As we approach a season of gatherings, including those with family we don’t have good relationships with, taking intentional time to reflect on who we’re connected to and how we want those connections to look can be valuable.
The Things Our Pets Can Teach Us About Self-Care
As a change of pace, I’m offering you this lovely, silly self-care article, with the hopes that it both gives you good reminders for healthy habits to practice during the pandemic, and also gives you a laugh. Rats got a pretty bad rap in previous pandemics, and apparently, they’d like to make it up to us.
Adjusting to Social-Distancing & Other Lessons from Chronic Illness
I’d like to share some of my hard-earned lessons that have come from the last 5+ years of managing multiple chronic illnesses and a disability that have since proved incredibly useful during the pandemic.
How to Care for Your Mind and Body When You’re in a Pandemic Hellscape
In today’s guest post, Liz’s amazing mixture of compassionate warmth and dry, biting snark when talking about living through the beginning of the pandemic is exactly what everyone needs right now.
Article on Medium: Why Does Everything Feel So Hard Right Now If I’m Fine
Soon after the beginning of the pandemic, I found that if I didn’t work hard to use my systems and tools meant to support my mental health, my functionality would quickly deteriorate. I frequently felt like I wasn’t okay and also that I had no business feeling that way.
Coping with Covid: Learning to Find Comfort Amidst the Unknown
But what do you say to your community when you’re scared, don’t know what to do, and you still want to offer them some kind of comfort?
Recovering from Abuse: Was Everything My Fault?
I have a large number of friends who have been through at least one kind of abuse and I’ve noticed that if someone has gone through the process of recovering from abuse at least once, it becomes much more important to them to evaluate future behaviors as potentially abusive. But having the intense desire to avoid ever suffering abuse again, and actually identifying abuse are two very different things.