Absolutely, discussing myths about organ donation can be crucial for dispelling misconceptions and encouraging more people to become donors. Myth: Organ donation is against my religion: While beliefs about organ donation vary among different religions, many major religions actually support or permit it. For example, in Christianity, many denominations view organ donation as an act of charity and love. Similarly, in Islam, there are different interpretations, but many scholars agree that organ donation is permissible under certain conditions. It's essential to research and understand how org ..read more

As we continue to dedicate our attention to raising awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence, we must discuss one crucial factor: Consent. Historically, discussions surrounding consent have often been ambiguous or misinformed. This has contributed to the perpetuation of harmful misconceptions and victim blaming.  So how do we define consent? At the most basic level, consent is a freely given, mutual, and verbalized agreement between partners, used to express what each person is and is not comfortable with. The acronym “FRIES” is a useful tool for understanding and practicing con ..read more

For many years, working through grief was thought of in stages. The assumption was that if completed the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), you would somehow come out on the other side as healed. While these feelings certainly arise during the grieving process, it is more widely recognized now that grief isn’t so linear. Since the Stages of Grief was introduced in the 1950’s, more fluid models of grieving have been developed, such as the dual process model of coping with bereavement. Essentially, this model considers the idea that a person oscillates among ..read more

The buzz around mental health and well-being is increasing, and for good reason! Women’s mental health in particular can have a significant impact on relationships, career, self-esteem, and physical health. It can be helpful to understand the signs to know how to address them. Statistics While women and men are likely to experience similar mental health issues, some of these issues occur at a higher rate in women than men. These include: • Depression: Women are twice as likely than men to experience a depressive episode in their lifetime. This can include perinatal and postpartum depression ..read more

If you forgot your lunch, didn't have time to make one or knew that you were going out for lunch today, this blog will help you to keep your goals on track. Did you know that 72% of Americans usually visit a quick service restaurant for lunch on a weekly basis? Although brown bagging it can be healthier because you have the control over ingredients, dining out can be enjoyable and relatively healthy. Here's some tips. Don't supersize! This is just a way for the food industry to make money off of you. The regular size meal contains more calories than you actually need and supersizing anything i ..read more

First, congrats on making it to the weekend! You've lived that healthy lifestyle all week but might feel as though the weekend can derail you. Don't let it! We aren't talking diet here, because that's not what this journey is about, it's about wellness. We tend to do much better at living healthy during the week because our time is structured. We might see the weekend as a reward-which is fine-but we don't want to lose how far we've come. Here's some tips to keep you on track! 1. Stay focused and stick with your usual routine. If this is difficult, create a weekend routine. Here's some example ..read more

The word “self-care” usually creates images of nail salons, spa days, shopping experiences and various other retail therapy type activities. Of course, these activities can be included in your self-care routine, granted that these activities don’t bring about staggering debt or create additional appointments that you don’t have time for! However, self-care doesn’t begin or end at the mall and involves six dimensions, including emotional self-care which is covered in this blog. How can I tell that I need to do some self-care? I’m glad you asked! Simply put, if you are experiencing stress (who i ..read more

It is estimated that over 100 million Americans are living with chronic illness and that number is expected to grow. The spectrum of chronic illness is broad and ranges from those who have only one condition to those who have multiple conditions. Some of the illnesses are simple to manage and others are much more difficult to treat. You may find yourself starting out with an illness that starts out easy to manage and then snowballs into something entirely different. The ability to manage the disease involves a variety of elements including: the Individual's perceived ability to manage it, the ..read more

You can start living better today. Often times chronic pain is managed from a medical standpoint and the effects on social and emotional functioning are ignored. Psychotherapy can help to bridge this gap. While psychotherapy cannot cure chronic pain, it can help you to manage your chronic pain, the situations that increase the intensity of your chronic pain and get you on the way to living a more enjoyable life. For starters, a good therapist can provide a safe place for you to explore the emotional pain that comes along with chronic pain. You may be waiting to see a doctor to start medical tr ..read more