Emotional & Mental Health

Un-Happy Holidays: What To Do When You Feel More Miserable than Merry

Two years post-divorce I celebrated my first Christmas without my children. I awoke early that morning, but not to the sounds of excited whispers and scampering feet as I had for the twelve years prior.  I made my way to the kitchen, but not before passing our Christmas tree. It stood solemnly – unlit, without a gift nestled below

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Emotional & Mental Health

When the Holidays Hurt: Grieving Through the Holidays as a Single Parent

I’m a huge fan of Thanksgiving. Before my divorce we had all kinds of Thanksgiving traditions, one of which included putting on the goofiest Thanksgiving Day costumes and dashing downtown to participate in our city’s annual Turkey Trot. Afterward, we’d head home to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. I was always busy in the kitchen prepping

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Emotional & Mental Health

Overcoming Overwhelm

Overwhelm is most often not about whatever sets us off, but rather is connected to something deeper below the surface. Like the time I flipped out on my mom over broccoli. Every Sunday, my kids and I have dinner with my parents. We’ve been doing this for years. This tradition is awesome for a number of reasons, one of

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Emotional & Mental Health

Is “No Contact” Biblical?

“No Contact” is a method for dealing with abuse in which the target stops interacting with the abuser entirely. The idea behind it is to cut off the abuser from the attention they receive from a target, as abusers intentionally manipulate the people in their lives to garner power and control over them. Abusers often do this by creating

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