Category: Trauma

You are sitting on a bench at your local playground. It’s sunny (despite Michigan’s temperamental weather). Your gaze begins to wander and settles on children climbing. They are climbing everywhere. It’s amazing, actually, how many things children can climb on. You further notice how they run, walk, slide down slides, play tag, squeal with delight on swings. Toddlers trundle off in a big, new-to-them world. They seem to take up space with ease; it’s their world, we’re just living in it. They are so sure that they belong wherever they go. Do you have this scene? For me, this imagined space invites lots of emotions: joy, wonder, delight, curiosity, and sadness. Yes, sadness. Because I, as an adult, have a harder time feeling so present and excited and happy and confident of belonging. I have more awareness and more to my story as to why these emotions make sense for me.

What is play, and why does it make sense for all humans of ...

Turning off endless thoughts and rumination can be a difficult task for many people (in fact, 6.8 million people across the US).  So, it should not be shocking that we all may experience similar instances, or even times of day when we find it difficult to turn off the worry.  Some people may experience anxiety in the morning, throughout the day, or all-times revolving around sleep.  Have you ever been abruptly woken up from a deep sleep trying to figure out the world’s problems—many of us have! Or, are you the jealous type who envies your spouse for catching ZZZ’s moments after hitting their pillow—meanwhile, you are left alone with your thoughts for hours on end?! The thoughts can be endless, and thoughts do not necessarily have to be distressing in nature to be, well, distressing. 

Humans have the ability to think and think and think, without ever really finding the end of the thought—we simply ruminat ...

Recently, I returned from an amazing honeymoon voyage to the Virgin Islands. As our ship docked, we were in breathtaking awe of the pristine clear blue waters and lush tropical hillsides. We were greeted by locals dressed in colorful costumes representing their indigenous culture and dancing to Caribbean music. Quaint shops lined the historic avenues and street vendors displayed their wares with cheerful enthusiasm. One could not help but be taken away on a warm breeze of excitement. Taxi drivers lined the avenues willing to take you on tours of their treasured island for this is the home of THE “Treasure Island” boasting the resting place of much famous pirate booty, ship wrecks, water wonders with many colorful species of coral (who knew “fire coral” is a thing); animals, military forts, historic landmarks, and much tropical horticulture.

Joining other eager tourists, we commandeered a taxi bound for the other side of the is ...