My name is Catherine Morgan, I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. This is a blog about women's issues, health & wellness, inspirational thoughts, and other stuff too. If you like this blog, you will love BlogHer.com where I am also a contributing editor for Health & Wellness.
Find out all the places I blog at by going to catherine-morgan.com.
Abusive Relationships: Are you or someone you know in one? How can you tell? What can you do? — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)How do you know if you are in an abusive relationship? Do you know someone who is? What warning signs can you look for?
Since nearly one third of American women have been in some sort of abusive relationship, chances are that one of these women may be you or someone you know. So, what do you do? How do you help? I think having as much information as possible is a good place to start.
I was thinking about women I’ve known and come to admire. Sure, there are the ones we read about from history and hear about in the news. Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, Joan of Arc, Amelia Earhart, Isabella Bird and Melinda Gates are among women who enter my mind. Yet, who among the women you know truly motivate and inspire you? What is it about certain women that cause you to feel good inside?
If you or someone you know is in a physically or emotionally abusive relationship, there is a lot of information available and people that can help. Below is an article and links to help you understand domestic violence and abuse, and to find help. You are not alone.
Grieving For The Loss Of The Person You Once Knew — While Learning To Be The Person You Have Become – by Catherine Morgan
There comes a time in every fight, where you have to wonder what it is you are fighting for. In the case of chronic illness, I thought I was fighting to take my life back. I thought I was fighting to find a cure for myself. I thought I was fighting for the right combination of medications to help me lead a “normal” life again. I was fighting, fighting, fighting…..until that one day when I realized, I was fighting a losing battle. No matter how much I fought, I was never going to get my life back. No matter how much I fought, I was never going to be “normal” again. I actually fought myself at this time, to not give-up the fight. I thought that if I admitted failure, I was letting the disease win. But the truth is, that as with most fights, the toll the fight takes on you emotionally is much worse than the fight itself.
IN THE END, ONLY KINDNESS MATTERS — by Catherine Morgan
Jewel has a song, and in it she sings….”In the end, only kindness matters”. Those are very profound words. I would even say, that these are words to live your life by. Because, it is so true. In the grand scheme of things, we are here on earth only a very short time. Many of us spend much of this time being angry at people, making judgments on others, and generally just not being as kind as we could be. So, the question then becomes….How can we change that? How can we live a more kind life?
FOUR STEPS TO HELP YOU SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS — by Catherine Morgan
We all carry around stress and worries about problems in our lives, some of us more than others. If you are one of those people that can’t stop worrying about all the problems in your life, then this article is for you. Worrying about our problems only adds to our problems, and no amount of worrying about a situation is going to make it better. Letting go of negative thoughts and worries is an important step in our overall happiness. Hopefully these steps can help you get passed some of the problems that have been bothering you, and allow you to let go of the negative thoughts that block you from your true happiness.
Living In The Present Moment — by Catherine Morgan
Are you only concerned with adding days to your life, and forgetting to add life to your days? If so, you are not alone. This is a problem many of us have, and the reason we should all try to make a conscious effort, to live in the present moment.
When we are living in the moment, we are totally immersed in what we are doing. I’m not suggesting in any way, that we should attempt to live in the moment 100% of the time, as much as it would be great if we could, it’s just not practical. To do that, we would be setting ourselves up for failure. What I want you to do, is just make an “attempt” at living in the present moment, this is a positive start, and in the right direction. So, how can you start? Well, you start with “awareness”.
One of my favorite songs to listen to is, “I’ll Stand By You” by the Pretenders — you can play the song at the bottom of this post. I was listening to it today in the car (while riding home from my mammogram). I began to think about how nice it is to know that someone will “stand by you” no matter what. As a mom, I will “stand by” my kids no matter what…I think they know that (especially since I play the song all the time and tell them). The song always makes me think about how lucky people are when they know (really know) that they have someone who will “stand by them” no matter what.
Sometimes when we are feeling down, and life isn’t going our way, and we feel all alone…..That’s the time we find out who will “stand by us”. It’s sad in a way, that it takes tragedy, or pain to find out who the people in our life are that will “stand by us”, even in our darkest hours. The people who are like angels on earth to us–Connie. The people who were like angels on earth to us–Becky. The people that pick us up when we feel like we are in a never ending free fall of grief–Dawny. The people who save us when we just want to die–Vicki. The people who support us when we can barley support ourselves–Frances Ellen. I feel sad for the people who have perfect lives and never get to really find out who these people are in their lives. It is truly the one great blessing that comes out of our heartache and pain.
How do you know if you are just “blue”, or you are really suffering from depression? The following is from an article found at www.uihealthcare.com. Depression is nothing to be ashamed about, all of us will feel depressed at some or many points in our lives, and knowing when to seek professional help, can be what saves your own life, or someone you know. As with everything in life, being “aware”, is the first step in conquering the problem. This article has a lot of valuable information, in educating poeple about depression, and the different types of depression.
Tips for Happiness in Daily Life — by Remez Sasson
Daily life can be made happier. It is a matter of choice. It is our attitude that makes us feel happy or unhappy. It is true, we meet all kinds of situations during the day, and some of them may not be conductive to happiness. We can choose to keep thinking about the unhappy events, and we can choose to refuse to think about them, and instead, relish the happy moments. All of us constantly go through various situations and circumstances, but we do not have to let them influence our reactions and feelings.
FINDING EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ADVERSITY — by Catherine Morgan
When we are suffering it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see the “light at the end of the tunnel”. But, it is there. You will get through it. And, in time your wounds really will be healed.
Can something good come out of adversity? Often in the face of adversity, we are unable to see anything through our pain. The only thing we can think about, are questions. Why is this happening to me? How will I go on? How will I survive? These are all reasonable questions, and in the depth of your pain you will ask them, and more. But, there are no answers to these questions. Only after you realize this, will you be able to go on, and let go.
When we are angry at people in are life. When we aren’t talking to people in our life. When we hate people in our life. When we are doing these things, we are weakening ourselves, we are hurting ourselves, we are hating ourselves. That is because, when we don’t forgive, we are allowing our heart to be weighed down with negativity. But, we already know that. So why do we do it? Why don’t we forgive?
My theory is; that we really don’t know how to forgive. I mean, saying you “forgive” someone, isn’t really “forgiving” them, is it? What if there were actually steps you could take to forgive? Kind of a “12 step” program for forgiveness, only with less steps. See if this works for you. Because, when you forgive someone, you are pushing anger out of your heart and making more room for love to get in, and love is what really matters.
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