Whether your have been preparing for several years to be a parent or you were caught by surprise, first time parenting can be intimidating. You may not know what to expect because every one may be telling you different things. You may have been told conflicting things like infancy is exhausting or that it’s the easiest stage since all they do is sleep. One thing is for certain: you’re overwhelmed with love and other emotions
Sustaining Change When I Have Let Myself Down
Think about it: have you ever started something by saying to yourself I will just do half of this thing I really want to do and then tell myself I am not *insert negative self-talk here*. I don’t think so. So what stops people from finishing things they have started? Time, energy, mental space, emotional space, falling into old habits, familiarity, really the list is endless. What happens when you’ve let yourself down and you want to try to commit to a life change again? How can you overcome your self-defeating thoughts and behaviors to reach your goal?
Alcohol Awareness Month
Fortunately for us, April is National Alcohol Awareness Month! You may be thinking to yourself, “Okay, I understand what alcohol is, why do we need a whole month recognizing what it’s all about?” Well, when we think about alcohol in terms of how it interacts with our society, relationships, health, and processing—we would probably still be talking beyond the month of April.
The Practice of Gratitude
PFLAG: The Parent's Process
Wow. This is hard. Or maybe it’s not. But, it’s probably hard. If your child has recently come out as identifying on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, you might have said this is hard to yourself. Although we desire our children to grow up and live the way that feels right for them, we also create certain aspirations for them.