Midnight
Midnight
No wind, no waves
The empty boat is flooded with moonlight
Dōgen Zenji
Inner Sky
We walk through oak tree forests
Seek the rise so high
We scramble stones of granite
Find the big blue sky
What wonder pulses in us
Waiting for our eye
To look within and find it
And know the inner sky
World of Magic and Madness
Here we are in a world of magic.
Here we are in a world of love.
Here we are where birds can fly.
Here we all are side by side.
In this world
Is joy and beauty
Laughter sounds and
Children chime
Faces shining bright
In this world
So much madness
Is contagious
Preys on weakness
Strikes us
Divides us
Pain, despair claw
At our chests
Worries and concerns
Pile up like fresh
Manure
All this chaos
reigns, it’s true
Suicidality, self-compassion, and family caregiving
Suicidality in family caregivers is an underrecognized problem. Family caregivers often feel a profound sense of purpose, duty, and meaningfulness in the aid they give to family members. They try to be strong. They are better able to function in their daily lives than those they are caring for, but that doesn’t mean they don’t suffer. Rates of suicidal thoughts in caregivers of people with chronic illness are about 1.3x higher than the general population. Several factors contribute to this: physical burden of care,...
Peer Support is Essential
In collaboration with researchers at Dartmough, I recently published a state-of-the-art narrative review on peer support in the journal mHealth, which is freely accessible here. Peer support, or finding help from others in a similar situation, can be a very powerful way of coping when things go wrong. Sharing your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, helps you to feel less alone and realize that others are in similar situations. Peer support discussions can also provide different solutions to the problems that you are encountering...
