Learning to Embrace Self-Love After Years of Internalized Ableism

What would happen if you trusted yourself completely? If you knew that no matter what life threw your way, you’d be able to deal with it? If you believed that you were strong, capable, and able to overcome and grow from adversity?

For as long as I can remember, I have had what I can only describe as existential dread over the idea of becoming pregnant. I’m not talking about the ramifications of actually having a child and what that would entail in terms of my path in life. I’m not even talking about the fear of changes within my body, like gaining weight — which, while scary for someone with body dysmorphia and a history of anorexia, is something that I could rationalize in terms of bringing a healthy fetus to term. No… what I’m talking about is something deeper. It’s something that ties to an underlying terror of losing autonomy over my body and having it not just taken over by a fetus, but by the overwhelming expectations of my mother.

“Practice what you preach” is how the old adage goes — but I’m here to tell you that sometimes I’m a much better “preacher” than I am a “practicer.” I read an article today that I should have read yesterday before I really pissed my kid off. The article was titled “Are Your Dreams for Your Autistic Child Serving You or Them?” I often preach on my Facebook page, on my blog, and to anyone who will listen about this very topic, trying to remind all of us — myself included — to make sure you aren’t putting your wants, your needs, and your dreams on your kid. Yeah, of course we probably all want our kids to be happy, but how “happy” looks to you may not be how “happy” looks to your child, and that, my friends, is where we get lost.

As we usher in the new year, we usually have different goals. Here, we’ll focus on fitness goals. The main focus is on sticking to the fitness goals you have in 2022. How to do that most effectively? Here are some of the best tips that will come in handy. 11+ Tricks How to Stick […]

“We just found out our baby, a girl, has Down syndrome via our amniocentesis appointment. We know you have a sister with Down syndrome. We’re calling you because you are the closest friend we have who truly knows someone with Down syndrome. What do we need to know?”

These W.E.B. Du Bois quotes will challenge the way you think and stimulate your hunger for knowledge.

Let me begin with unequivocally stating that I have zero qualms with psychics, tarot, crystals or any other practice that someone may use as part of their self-care or spiritual fulfillment. In fact I’m fully mindful of and supportive of people turning toward any faith-based practice that helps them to feel safe, connected, gives them meaning and otherwise contributes to their well being, as long as they don’t push those beliefs onto others. I know that these aspects of a person’s life are crucial and often integral to their identities, which is why I find religious trauma particularly damaging and egregious.

Heather Odendaal, the head of the WNORTH organization that unites female leaders in corporate, notes that pandemic years brought us a new reality where women had to navigate another layer of complexity in drawing lines between their work and home life to avoid burnout.So, let’s look for solutions. But all solutions must come with a caveat. You have a lot going on.

Our latest collection of Aretha Franklin quotes on Everyday Power. Enjoy!

Anyone who has experienced mental wellbeing issues will know what a huge impact they can have on every aspect of life. In fact, serious issues can have an effect on other people in your life as well, and they can affect their quality of life and wellbeing as time goes on. Seeking the right treatment for issues relating to your mental wellbeing is vital, and you need to ensure you find the right treatment for your needs.

Not available April 6? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.Do you hesitate to reach out to old friends — uncertain whether they’re eager to hear from you? Do you seldom make new friends — apprehensive about risking rejection or just too exhausted to invest time and energy in social endeavors? Is speaking in public so uncomfortable that you avoid ordering take-out at your favorite cafe?Many adults with ADHD struggle with fears of embarrassment, rejection, or criticism and hold back from participating in the relationships they truly desire.

executive functioning, defined as a group of cognitive abilities that control the skills we need to get just about anything done. Little things, such as leaving the house in matching shoes, often elude me. I am prone to committing more serious mistakes as well.

Those experiences were brutal.  Each of them, naturally, knocked us down and off course for a period of time.  But once we accepted the truth, by giving up our innocent ideals and letting go of the way things used to be, we pressed forward, stronger, and with a greater understanding and respect for life.Getting to the right state of mind—one that actually allowed us to move forward with our lives—required mindful practice.  Because when we were initially faced with each one of those brutal experiences—when we were standing at the forefront of another rocky crossroads in our lives—you better believe our minds were spinning with negative emotions.  We had to learn to catch ourselves in that negative state of emotional unrest, and then consciously calm our minds, so we could think straight, and make the best decisions possible with the hand we’d been dealt.The simplest way of doing this?Proactive daily reminders.It’s all about keeping the right thoughts at the top of your mind every day, so they’re readily available on those inevitable days when you need them most.  For us, that meant sitting down quietly with ourselves every morning and reflecting on precisely what we needed to remember.  We used quotes (many of which are tiny excerpts from our books) like the ones below to do just that.  Some people call them affirmations, or mantras, or prayers, or convictions, but in any case these daily reminders kept us on track by keeping calm, peaceful, productive thoughts and perspectives at the top of our minds, even when life got utterly chaotic.We ultimately learned that peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard realities to deal with—peace means to be in the midst of all those things and

rescue called ‘I Stand With My Pack.’Before that, he’d been abandoned at a kill shelter, likely because his previous owners couldn’t care for special needs pets. He would’ve been put down if the rescue didn’t intervene.However, he still had a long journey ahead. ADVERTISEMENT The rescue spent the next month taking care of him and bringing him to vet appointments.

In my experience as a 27-year-old, very few people with a uterus discuss their choice of birth control publicly, and if they do choose to speak about it with friends, the pill (either combined or progesterone only) and condoms (external) are the main forms discussed.

make self-care a priority. It is as fundamental as breathing or eating. But it can feel like since you can survive without it, it can be sidelined in lieu of goals and the endless to-do list, which means we have to be clever about it.Do you know the quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”? What you have been doing so far isn’t working.

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” ~Jon Kabat Zinn

Imagine this…

your mental tools as aids that help you stoke your inner fires. Have you ever built a campfire? It would help if you always had kindling, wood, and something to stir it to keep the flame burning vividly. If you don’t fuel the campfire, it will burn down and eventually go out.

Lata Ramesh is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her thoughtful answers.. but also, with her immense experience, deep intuition and inner guidance when it comes to helping people get rid of anxiety. Her approach is super clear, precise, and […]

Today, I am writing a blog post that I’ve been wanting to write for a while but have just been putting on the back burner. But, now is as good a time as any to finally share it with you.

So many of us have learned to accept and live with long-term medical conditions and also, unfortunately too often, prove to others that it is real. Living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, one of the many invisible conditions, has truly been a challenge to have others understand. We tend to look “normal” to others’ eyes, yet we live with daily pain, uncertainty, altered lives, and so many heartbreaking losses. And then you add that judgment we feel from others and it can just become too overwhelming to take on. Sometimes, it is actually a strange relief to show our disability to others when we are using our wheelchair or wearing a brace. Those visuals sometimes make a difference in receiving compassion, patience, and understanding.

“Put in the videotape!” and Phelps would push himself as hard as he could. It almost felt anticlimactic as he cut through the water. He’d already done it before.

When my dentist told me I had nine cavities, I was shocked. I had recently given birth to my son and, during my pregnancy, had skipped a six-month dental check-up and cleaning. But nine? That was a lot!

I’m a grandma. Better known as “Ny-Ny.” We’ll get into that later. What I want to tell you about now is a story you’ve heard at least a million times. You’ve heard all these platitudes and more from friends on social media. But I’m going to tell you a few new ones.

A few months ago, I unexpectedly lost my grandfather. Suddenly, I had to process my devastation, numbness, and anger. My grief looked different every day, and it was so overwhelming that I couldn’t cope.

Many of us have so many duties in life that we neglect to look after our own needs. This is especially true for those who are responsible for a large number of people. Self-care is a vital element of stress management, even if it’s difficult to prioritize when you have so many other things on your to-do list.When we’re physically and emotionally exhausted, we’re less equipped to handle the challenges that life throws at us.

When I exercise, I like to listen to music. Like many others, I enjoy walking to the beat of music. The right song or music helps to set a rhythm to my walking. However, recently I have been walking without listening to music, so I will not be distracted and can concentrate on my surroundings. I have schizophrenia, which sometimes alters my perception of what is going on around me. When I am not listening to music, I try to use my senses to recognize what is real and to experience what is really going on.

Music is truly food for the soul. Science Studies have shown that motivational music benefits our physical and mental health.

Jealousy is one of the basic human emotions—and handling your jealousy can be quite the challenge. We’ve all been bitten by the green-eyed monster of envy. It is even easier now to get jealous because of social media.

I thought I had depression, and that’s what I was first diagnosed with. Later, I learned that I really had bipolar disorder, type 2, with an anxiety disorder on top of it. Here’s what I learned on my journey to a proper diagnosis.

Julie Little is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her spiritual wisdom and dedication to her work. Her approach is customized to each client. She creates programs that fit her clients’ needs. Probably the biggest advantage she has is listening […]

When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis over 20 years ago, I was told I was lucky because they caught it early. After suffering for months with swollen joints and extreme fatigue, I was excited to think that my life would go back to “normal.” I was very wrong.

more than 90% of those with a mental health condition, so there is a clear correlation.Many people think that fatigue is a cause of depression, but that isn’t accurate. However, depression causes a severe drop in your energy levels for seemingly no reason. The other signs of depression worsen fatigue and irritability, causing it to interfere with every area of your life.

I’ve always had digestive problems. When I was a kid, I would vomit over practically nothing. We always chalked it up to sensitive digestion, and never really pressed the issue. These issues got progressively worse as I grew older. About five years ago, I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). Simplified, this means that my connective tissue acts more like chewed bubblegum instead of elastic, so a lot of my body’s systems don’t quite work how they should. It wasn’t until I received this diagnosis that my doctors began to suspect that my digestion problems were caused by something else.

A close friend asked the other day how I think my trauma has contributed to the variety of mental illnesses I live with. It got me thinking that not only did trauma contribute to my mental health issues, but because it started so young, it, in fact, changed my entire childhood development and personality. I never had a chance to develop properly, because, for me, there simply was never a time I wasn’t traumatized.

When I was 16 years old I nearly lost my life from a climbing accident at the top of a mountain. When I was in my early 20s and my mental illnesses started to manifest I began thinking of ending my life, which developed in my mid 30s to actually come up with a plan. While I have managed to stay in control of these thoughts and urges despite a great toll, they are still present as recently as last year in response to much aching loss, and even as recently as two days ago. This time what helped me was thinking about how I bravely and buoyantly fought for my life when I was 16. I imagined what that 16-year-old boy would say to me now and that was clearly to fight to live.

forego making resolutions or goals and instead make a vision board that also included some key phrases. Instead of setting lofty goals for myself that I would most likely eventually give up on (and then be disappointed in myself), I made it a point to just focus on how I wanted to feel this year.

make time for those important to you. Take a moment out of your busy day to listen and truly hear and understand what these little ones say to you.If you brush them off in haste, they will think that’s an acceptable way to communicate. There’s nothing more important than your kids, so give them a little bit of your time.

“Don’t believe everything you think.” ~Unknown

For over fourteen years, I have had the privilege of working with men and women who are experiencing homelessness. Throughout those years, I have been duly impressed by the ability of these men and women to survive, but hoped they could start living an abundant life.

There are many occasions for gifting. Birthdays, holidays, weddings, graduations, and even promotions at work can all require a gift. But what if you’re not sure what to give? This article offers some tips on choosing a perfect present depending on the occasion. You will learn how to select the right gift based on the person’s taste and preferences as well as their personality type or current situation in life. Whether they are looking for an experience or want something tangible, this article has it all! No more talking, let’s get to the point.

Do you feel like it has been ages since you have slept well? Even after so many changes in your routine and habits, you are still suffering from insomnia? If yes, then I think we might have a solution for you.

Life is full of wins and losses, ups and downs, twists and turns. Keep track of the good things and watch your life improve.

I thought I was getting healthier but little did I know this was the birth of Cruella, who was slowly getting stronger and making me weaker. I began treatment for my eating disorder at 15 after one of my teachers at school suspected that I had an eating disorder and contacted my mother. I was already on a waiting list for CAMHS to receive treatment for anxiety after experiencing childhood traumas. While waiting for support, my anxiety got worse, with my panic attacks becoming more frequent.

.In his latest book , Nalebuff argues that considering the collective’s needs is the most productive way to problem solve. Unfortunately, few people and practically no businesses approach discussions with this mindset, a problem he’s intent on changing. “One of the reasons that people dislike negotiation is that they feel taken advantage of,” explains Nalebuff in his interview with host Tristan Ahumada. The feeling of disenfranchisement is even greater when people assume they don’t have power in a dispute.

With the latest Netflix binge show hitting screens, there is not one person who hasn’t heard the name Anna Delvey of late. Anna Delvey first came to my attention years ago when I was scrolling through a news site and came across her story.

Teen Wolf, but this one’s a close second), but it’s been a fan favorite for millions of people for decades. I’m talking about Back to the Future, the film we’re going to parse in search of tasty bits of personal development wisdom today. Welcome back to , where I take you on a journey through a movie to find the lessons we can all use to further our goals. The journey is sometimes a reflective walk down a paved path and sometimes an off-road crash course through the underbrush of pop culture, but it’s always spoiler free within reason and a ton of fun.Let’s get right to it.