Conversations

You’re not fully a woman when you get your period, or turn 18, or have sex, or get married, or have children, or have a career.  Femininity, female empowerment, and transitioning into your full womanhood is not dependent on these things.  No one else gets to tell you “now you’re a woman.”  

When someone tells you to concentrate on the good things in your life and be grateful for what you have despite the abuse you’ve suffered, please remember you can’t erase trauma, oppression, and hurt feelings by skipping to “what’s good in my life.”  You can talk about your pain from hurtful, traumatic experiences in order to process your hurt feelings and at the same time be grateful for good things in your life – you don’t have to choose one or the other. 

Trying to get rid of your anxiety is like silencing an alarm system on your house:  If it’s installed to alert you about danger, why stop it from doing that job? 

Stress is your body’s response to a challenge, threat, or difficulty.  Anxiety is your mental and physical reaction to stress. 

Just like everything in life, it’s a little more complicated than a “yes or no” answer. I’ve had seasons of such intense anxiety that I thought I was dying.  Literally.  And it wasn’t all situational or tied to anything I could figure out. 

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash   Women and girls need to hear this message, so I’m going to keep saying it:  Anger is not bad.  Anger is okay.  And you have every right to feel and express your anger in ways that truly empower you. In Why Anger Matters – Part 2,...

Anger can be a shield, a spear, a catalyst, or an equalizer. 

If we just try to get rid of our anger, or not feel it, we aren’t paying attention to the message our anger holds. 

Photo by Dingzeyu Li on Unsplash   What Do Reactions Look Like?   You’re in a fight with someone you care about.  You’re angry.  You feel justified in your anger because he/she is not listening to you.  You feel unheard and invalidated.  Before you know it,...