As Ramadan begins, Embolden is working with several DC area schools and school systems, as well as offices/businesses, to create understanding and comfort for Muslim students and professionals who are fasting or participating in other spiritual activities. Muslim individuals differ in every possible way. The Muslim community has a rich variability that is a complex…
adolescents and young adultsparenting
Psychologists have studied pranks for years. Humor, in general, is good for us. Neuropsychology research has shown that laughing improves well-being. Humor and laughter release endorphins and oxytocin, neurochemicals that are associated with happiness and social bonding. But why are practical jokes or pranks even funny in the first place? From clinical psychology, a summary…
General
When we feel uncertain or insecure, our brain tries to rescue us by activating our dopamine systems. This dopamine craving encourages us to seek rewards, making temptations more enticing. Avoiding depletion is investing in yourself. It’s making personal deposits consistently to weather hard times. Presence is: -What you have in your refrigerator -How you talk…
strategies for self-care
Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe: two incredible and talented women who formed what was considered to be an unlikely friendship in the turbulent early 1950s. However, they had a lot in common. Both had experienced difficult childhoods punctuated by poverty, abuse, assault, neglect, and lack of stability, as well as a determination and courage to…
General
My uncle taught me how to salsa and dance the Latin hustle, took me to my first rock concert, taught me how to drive stick though I turned his hair gray and ground his gears, provided a shoulder for heartbreak tears when my parents divorced, listened to to my romantic travails, watched my favorite television…
General
I read a poem every morning and frequently encourage clients to include poetry as part of their self-care/healing routines. Poetry has an emotional force that evokes basic human empathy. In a few essential words, it can express grief, longing, resolve, hope, and anger. Poetry can provide comfort and boost mood during periods of stress, trauma,…
General
People may feel numb, bewildered, or helpless. It’s a familiar and understandable human feeling in the face of terrible catastrophe or fear. Six things you can do to help: Educate: as a family or individual, learn the data about what’s happening. Empathize: as of January 2022, the world health organization (WHO) statistics on world depression…
General
Schadenfreude, the experience of pleasure at the misfortune of others, is a very common emotion. It may seem mean-spirited, vindictive even, but Schadenfreude is the result of several deeply-ingrained processes that the human brain spent millions of years evolving. Schadenfreude is a German term that translates to “damage” (schaden) “joy” (freude). Research in neural science…
General
Psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos teaches about happiness at Yale. Her research lab has summarized the voluminous data on what actually makes us happy. The main themes: developing a sense of meaning or purpose connection with other people meditation and reflection taking time off/resting if you are overwhelmed (avoiding burnout) sense of belonging overcoming impulses in…
General
Olivia Hooker, PhD (1915-2018) As a child, Dr. Hooker survived the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. She and her siblings hid behind a kitchen table while watching the destruction. She described the trauma as life-long, but it didn’t hold her back. Dr. Hooker was the first Black woman to enlist for active duty (Coast Guard)…
Generalrace and mental health
Combined with psychoeducational testing, it helps provide comprehensive information and recommendations to help children and teens six and up.
