Tag Archives: POSITIVE

Living with ADHD: How Medication and Therapy Help Me Show Up to My Own Life

I didn’t wake up one day and suddenly “get” ADHD. It’s been with me my whole life—long before I had a name for it. Looking back, I can see it in the half-finished projects, the “I’ll do it later” that turned into never, the report cards that said “smart, but doesn’t focus.” I always thoughtContinue reading “Living with ADHD: How Medication and Therapy Help Me Show Up to My Own Life”

Christ the King Sunday: Who Has My Allegiance?

Today’s service started like a lot of Sundays do—kids heading out with Miss Twila and the others, ushers coming forward, the offering plates moving up and down the rows. But underneath all the usual church motions, there was a theme that kept coming back around: Who really has my allegiance? Who is my King? AContinue reading “Christ the King Sunday: Who Has My Allegiance?”

God of Second Chances (and Third, and Twentieth)

There were so many nights I thought, Well, that’s it. I’ve blown it for good this time. You know those moments—the ones where you’ve messed up so badly that even you don’t want to look in the mirror. The ones where you’re sure God has finally had enough. Where you’re convinced you used up yourContinue reading “God of Second Chances (and Third, and Twentieth)”

Inner Peace and Love: Learning to Breathe Again

There’s a different kind of quiet than just “no noise.” It’s that calm that shows up in your chest when you finally stop fighting yourself. That’s inner peace. And most of the time, it’s built on one thing we forget to give ourselves: love. Not the movie kind of love. Not the fake social mediaContinue reading “Inner Peace and Love: Learning to Breathe Again”

If I Could Meet Anyone from History: Why I’d Choose 2Pac

If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why? Some people say presidents, inventors, or famous leaders. Me? I’d pick Tupac Amaru Shakur—2Pac. Not because he was perfect. Not because I agree with every lyric, every decision, or every headline attached to his name. I’d pick 2Pac because he was honestContinue reading “If I Could Meet Anyone from History: Why I’d Choose 2Pac”

Faith and Recovery – Why I Need Both

I used to think I had to pick one lane. Either I was going to be “the church guy” who just prayed harder…or “the recovery guy” who just went to meetings and did the steps. Now I know the truth:I need both.If I drop either one—my faith or my recovery—things start slipping fast. Church: RememberingContinue reading “Faith and Recovery – Why I Need Both”

Gratitude When Life Still Hurts

Holidays are funny.You see all the pictures online—matching pajamas, smiling kids, big family dinners—and it looks like everyone else is living inside a Christmas movie. Meanwhile, some of us are just trying to make it through the day without breaking down. If that’s you, I want you to know this: you’re not broken because gratitudeContinue reading “Gratitude When Life Still Hurts”

If I Perish, I Perish: How a Sunday Sermon Challenged My Faith and Recovery

Walking into church this morning, it felt like one of those Sundays where the air is already charged before the first song ends. Kids heading one way, ushers moving the other, people shuffling bulletins and coffee cups, “Amen” and “Hallelujah” bouncing around the room. Just a normal Sunday… until it isn’t. Today we walked throughContinue reading “If I Perish, I Perish: How a Sunday Sermon Challenged My Faith and Recovery”

Twenty-Four Hours a Day Friday Mar 17

AAA Thought for the Day A.A. also helps us to hang onto sobriety. By having regular meetings so that we can associate with other alcoholics who have come through that same door in the wall, by encouraging us to tell the story of our own sad experiences with alcohol, and by showing us how toContinue reading “Twenty-Four Hours a Day Friday Mar 17”

Joy Can Return

It does get better; you will experience joy again. In her book A Passage Through Grief, Barbara Baumgardner writes, “They told me one day I would go twenty-four hours without thinking of my loss. I told them they were crazy. “They weren’t crazy; they were right. At first, I felt guilt, then elation.”[1] God isContinue reading “Joy Can Return”

Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: Mental Health Among Asian Americans

Akua Mind Body > Mental Health > Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: Mental Health Among Asian Americans Posted in Mental Health Posted on July 2, 2021Posted  by Kristen Fuller, M.D. Minority Mental Health in America “Minority Mental Health Month is a nationwide effort developed by Mental Health America to shed light on the multitude of mental health experiences within BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People ofContinue reading “Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: Mental Health Among Asian Americans”

Cognitive Biases that Can Feed into Social Anxiety

This post is a follow-up to a conversation Winter Dragonflies and I were having about different mental errors that can feed into social anxiety. We … Cognitive Biases that Can Feed into Social Anxiety

Genes and Depression

Depression is a common mental health condition. The World Health Organization (WHO) says depression affects about 300 million people worldwide. It’s the most common illness and the leading cause of disability across the globe. Depression affects how a person feels, think, and act. Patients with depression may have a hard time eating, sleeping, and working.Continue reading “Genes and Depression”

Antidepressant Side Effects & Delayed Therapeutic Effect

Have you ever wondered why antidepressant side effects seem to be worse at the beginning, or why it takes so long for them to actually start doing … Antidepressant Side Effects & Delayed Therapeutic Effect

Addiction Should Be Treated, Not Penalized

Nora D. Volkow APRIL 27, 2021 NOTE: A Spanish translation of this article is available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the large racial health disparities in the United States. Black Americans have experienced worse outcomes during the pandemic, continue to die at a greater rate than White Americans, andContinue reading “Addiction Should Be Treated, Not Penalized”

Difference Between Stress & Anxiety

Individuals under stress will eventually start to feel mental and physical symptoms, such as irritability, anger, fatigue, muscle pain, digestive troubles, and difficulty sleeping. Stress can often lead to anxiety, and these terms are often used interchangeably; however, there is a significant difference between stress and anxiety. Stress is a response to an external factor, such as an impending deadlineContinue reading “Difference Between Stress & Anxiety”

DEPRESSION…THE MISCONCEPTION FOOLING US ALL

Sitting in her bed, she can feels her eyelids heavy across her eyes. She lays there still, reciting all the things she knows she should do, what she knows she would normally want to do – get out of bed, go for a walk, lay in the sun, reach out to a friend, meditate, eatContinue reading “DEPRESSION…THE MISCONCEPTION FOOLING US ALL”