Search results for: self-care
How the World Convinced Me I Was Lesser for Being Short – And How I Started to Believe in Myself Again
We talk about discrimination against short men as heightism, but this woman’s struggle to take up space shows why we need to talk about the power struggles of short women.
Read More6 Ways to Stand Up to Toxic Media Messages and Love Yourself as a Trans Person
Loving yourself as a transgender person is nothing less than gorgeously radical. Here’s how to practice self-love to directly combat the oppression you face every day.
Read MoreImages of Butches and Femmes: Celebrating Our Living Queer Legacy!
There are so many beautiful intersections of LGBTQIA identity and love. This photo-series captures and celebrates the beauty of how contemporary Femme and Butch people express and love themselves, both autonomously and in relationship to each other. There is so much joy, passion, and pride in these pictures. This is what liberation looks like.
Read More6 Things to Navigate While Coming Out to Yourself as a Survivor of Sexual Violence
Dear survivors, regardless of how rape is portrayed in the media, your stories, experiences, and pains are valid. You don’t need to clarify anything for any one.
Read More6 Steps Toward Breaking the Silence and Opening Up to Friends About Our Histories with Sexual Violence
Society tells us to be quiet and deal with the trauma of sexual violence alone. This complacency allows for continued violence, loneliness, and delayed healing. However, creating community through sharing our history with sexual violence is an empowering and revolutionary act of self love. Check out this article for strategies on how to safely share your story.
Read MoreGiving Up On “Guilty” Pleasures: 4 Reasons to Stop Feeling Guilty About Things You Like
Self-care is a revolutionary act when living in a world that tells us we—especially those of us with marginalized identities—are not worthy of care, forgiveness, and gentleness. It allows us to fight back against oppression by affirming that yes, we do deserve to feel good. We are inherently worthy of care and attention, and we shouldn’t feel guilty for it.
Read More3 Ways to Stand Up to Toxic Messages and Accept Yourself as a Queer Person
Self-acceptance as a queer person can be very difficult. Check out this article to learn strategies for attaining self-love, empowerment, and resilience.
Read MoreHow to Change Your Relationship with Failure in 5 Steps
It’s easy to feel like a failure in a culture that glamorizes wealth and accomplishment. This article reminds us that we have agency over how we perceive success.
Read MoreToo Rich for My Blood: 3 Survival Strategies for the Poor and Working Class
In our classist society, we’re so quick to blame and shame people struggling financially. So we don’t have compassionate conversations about poverty, its emotional and cultural impact, and how to survive it.
Read More4 Ways to Get Over the Feeling of Not Being Smart Enough
You know that feeling that you don’t deserve what you have and just got where you are based on luck? Well, it can lead to some serious problems. Here’s how to fight it.
Read More4 Reasons Why We Need to Drop ‘You Must Be Doing Something Right!’
If you do social justice work, you’ve undoubtedly suffered your fair share of abuse. And if you’ve been vocal about it, people have likely told you that “you must be doing something right” if people are angry. And I get their point. But sometimes, it doesn’t feel comforting. Here are some reasons why you might want to drop “you must be doing something right!”
Read MoreOn How Multitasking Stifles Our Well-Being
Multitasking — in all aspects of our lives — means we’re likely doing more for other people than we are for ourselves. And as if that isn’t a red flag on its own, here are some reasons why multi-tasking does more harm than good.
Read More5 Benefits of Sharing
I was twenty-nine when a boyfriend told me it was strange that I didn’t share my food when we went out. At the time, I thought, “Why would I want to share my food? I ordered it so I could enjoy it.” My philosophy? What was mine was mine, and yours was yours. Thinking about it, though, I realized that I kept more than just my peas and carrots to myself.
Read More5 Ways to Speak Out in a Toxic Work Environment
There is a social conundrum for women in which speaking one’s opinion openly and flatly can be considered “un-ladylike.” Since every person and situation is different, only you will be able to decide what works in your life. But if you’re ever in a position where you feel uncomfortable or unwelcomed speaking up, here are a few suggestions that I hope can help.
Read MoreMaintaining a Healthy Mindset as an Unemployed College Graduate
I was one of those kids that was always so worried about getting through college that I never gave much thought to what would happen after college. Before I knew it, graduation was around the corner and then, all of a sudden I was on my own thinking “Now what?” But you don’t have to punish yourself for being unemployed. Get out there and relish the break.
Read MoreBurn-Out Prevention and Intervention
Burn-out happens when you give more energy and compassion than you receive, and as a result, you lose sight of the light of hope at the end of the tunnel. For activists and people working in human service professions in particular, where we never get a respite from dealing with people face-to-face, burn-out feels inevitable. But it really doesn’t have to be.
Read MoreWhy It’s Important for Men to Feel Their Feelings
A key part of patriarchy is that men shouldn’t feel or express their feelings, except when they’re angry. With pervasive messages like “boys don’t cry” and “man up,” guys often don’t feel comfortable or know how to process their feelings. So let’s unpack why it can be so hard for men to feel and how they can start.
Read MoreThe Dangers of Good Girls, Pretty Frocks, and Limiting Beliefs
It is a very dangerous thing to define someone as good or bad, especially when that someone is young. Behaviors, choices, and actions can be good or bad, helpful or hurtful, well-meaning or malicious. Here’s why this shift in language is so important.
Read MoreHow to Set Boundaries After Abuse
When you’re depressed, anxious, abused, and/or have been isolated your whole life, it’s easy to feel like other people can’t really ever get close. Socializing is really hard for people who’ve had nothing but abuse. And we keep waiting for someone healthy to save us. But they can’t. So how can we fight this process and end the cycle? Here are some ways to get started.
Read MoreWhy It’s Harder to Be a T(w)een Girl Now Than It Was in the 90s
Teen and “tween” (that difficult, in-between age of 9-12) girls nowadays have it rough. Contrast this with the caveman era that I grew up in, that oh-so-long-ago decade known as the 1990s, in which girls could simply chillax and be themselves…kind of. But before we roll our eyes at the behavior of “kids these days,” we should at least consider how our adolescence was different.
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