A Guest Post By Cherise Young During a morning of Scripture reading, I came across some passages where Job compares his former “glory days” to feeling like an outcast. Job’s words resonated with me. I understood what it’s like to go from feeling respected and valued to feeling left out and mishandled. In Job 30:19,…
Category: Mental Health
Suicide Is Preventable
A Guest Post By Cherise Young In 2010, just two years after September was deemed National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I led my first suicide prevention training. Based on the discussion during that training, it was apparent that viewing suicide as preventable was a rather new concept. In fact, saying “suicide is a preventable public…
Grief & Loss: Sometimes It Just Hits Different
A Guest Post By Cherise Young Around this time in 2020, I, Cherise, wrote of feeling weary. Having dealt with six months of a global pandemic that entailed isolation, collective loss, and traumatic images playing across multiple media outlets… I was tired… weary. Well, 2022 has been another heavy year. This time the yuck hit…
Self-Sabotage: It’s An Inside Job
A Guest Post By Cherise Young It wasn’t until recently that I, Cherise, really began to look at the notion of self-sabotage. I realized I may not know as much as I thought I did. In a Facebook group discussion, we attempted to determine why we felt stuck and were not achieving our dreams. The…
At 61, I Am Yet Alive
A Guest Post By Cherise Young Hi there. Cherise here. Just eight months shy of reaching her 100th birthday, my grandmother made her transition from this life to her eternal rest. Months later, I still find myself saying, “She really did die.” Not that I thought she would live forever, but I did think she…
Basking In Solar Powered Wellness
A Guest Post by Cherise Young The Sunshine Vitamin Many will attest that there is nothing quite like being outside, head thrown back, with eyes closed as the sun pours over our bodies. Over the past 20 years or so, we have been constantly warned about the ill effects of too much sun. I now…
Cherise’s Fibroid Story
A Guest Post by Cherise Young It was either late 2002 or early 2003 when I learned I had a uterine fibroid. I went to the doctor about the heavy bleeding and bad cramps I suffered monthly. I remember it clearly, the doctor said, “Oh, the tumor is probably bigger.” “What tumor?” I asked with…
Better Out Than In
A Guest Post by Cherise Young One of the not-so-appropriate things my father would say during my childhood was, “Better out than in!” In case you didn’t guess his reason, it had to do with bouts of flatulence. Not, “Excuse me.” No, “Begging your pardon.” It was, “Better out than in,” more times than not….
What Is PTSD?
A Guest Post by Cherise Young May Is Mental Health Awareness Month Working in the mental health field for over 20 years has given me a front-row seat to many of the struggles those living with a mental health diagnosis endure. Whether clinically diagnosed or not, many contend with societal stigma, and problems locating culturally…
They Weren’t Laughing
A Guest Post by Cherise Young The Conundrum… Well, it happened again. I planned something, people said they were coming… but life got in the way and they couldn’t. (Insert heavy sigh here.) No, the sigh isn’t about people’s schedules, it’s the anticipation of entering into an inner dialogue centered on the theme of, “Is…
Live Like You’re Loved This Christmas
A Guest Post by Cherise Young While driving, I heard a song I don’t remember hearing before. I say remember because there are way too many times I would drive with the radio serving only as background noise to the chatter in my mind and life. But this time, I heard the words, “So go ahead…
How To Beat Anxiety with Diet and Essential Oils
Now, let’s be clear: we all experience moments when we are nervous. Yet, we would say the individual who has intense, debilitating nervousness is one who suffers with anxiety. Regardless the reason for being anxious, there are some common symptoms each person shares: Fear, uneasiness Not being able to stay calm, or fall asleep Cold,…
A Wellness & Wanderlust Journal ― Candace Aliké Smith, Founded 2015 