Kate Motaung

The term body image has a simple meaning. It means the way that we view our bodies. The meaning is simple, but for many people, the term itself can elicit difficult thoughts and emotions. The image we have of ourselves is not simple. It is not simple because the image that we have of our bodies begins with the relationship that we have with our bodies, and the relationship we have with our bodies is complex. You have most

Have you ever had a situation with a friend where you felt that something was different, but you could not put your finger on it? They just don’t act the same. After each interaction or declined invite, you are left asking yourself if you did something wrong. Then, out of the blue, the communication ends or starts to trickle in, confirming your fear that something is indeed wrong. The friendship ends abruptly and, most times, without explanation. This is

You would think that with our ability to reach out across vast distances and communicate instantly with others, loneliness would be a distant memory. Billions are spent each year to enhance our ability to connect meaningfully with other people, but loneliness is still an issue we struggle to overcome. In some ways, the means we use to try and connect with others can further isolate us. Being lonely can have many consequences, and one of these relates to depression.

If you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), you’ve probably been labeled a time or two. Maybe you were the “hyper kid” in school or perhaps your parents threw around the label “lazy” about the lawn you were supposed to mow. Maybe your childhood report card mentions how easily distracted you were. The behaviors that you exhibit as a result of your ADHD are often misinterpreted by people in your life. It’s unfortunate that sometimes these misinterpretations turn into

Emotional regulation refers to the ability to understand, experience, express, and manage emotions in a way that is appropriate to the situation and facilitates goal-directed behavior. Conversely, emotional dysregulation describes difficulties in these processes. When you are experiencing emotional dysregulation, you may struggle: to identify or label emotions react intensely and disproportionately to emotional triggers have difficulty modulating the intensity or duration of their emotional responses experience significant impairment in daily functioning as a result of your emotional experiences

Marriage is a beautiful covenant between a man and a woman. When two people marry, they vow to stay together in sickness and in health till death. But illness can certainly try marriage and bring it to its breaking point. This can be especially true for people who have a mental illness. Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues have been on the rise since the onset of COVID-19. "Comfort", Courtesy of Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; Many

Few things are as painful as the heartbreak caused by an affair. We get married believing that something like that could never happen in our lives. The reality is that over recent years, there has been an increase in extramarital affairs. The good news is that there is a way to recover from this heartache. The basic idea of affair recovery is to navigate the process of healing mentally, emotionally, and physically. One way to start the process is to

In the thirteenth century, there lived a Christian philosopher and theologian named Thomas Aquinas. Due to his meekness and physical size, his fellow students called him “the dumb ox.” Unbeknownst to them, Thomas was compiling brilliant writings on faith and reason that continue to impact the Christian Church today. Thomas is revered as one of, if not the greatest, philosophical and theological contributors to Christianity as a whole. His ability to use reason to clarify complicated theological and philosophical problems

Empathy, the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings, is often described as “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.” While this saying may be used lightly in conversation or as a teaching tool, truly embodying empathy can profoundly impact our lives and relationships. Like any muscle, empathy requires regular exercise and strengthening. By actively engaging in practices that foster understanding and connection, you can develop your empathetic capacity and reap its numerous benefits. Understanding Empathy Empathy goes

Treating our Bodies like a Temple Our mental health is serious, and we should be actively taking care of it. It can be easy to split our lives into three separate areas: physical wellness, spiritual wellness, and mental wellness, but I am here to argue that they are all connected. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not

Does this sound like you? Your mind is plagued with a never-ending cycle of anxious thoughts. Do these thoughts look or sound like fear or self-doubt? Sometimes they can be accompanied by sweaty palms, a queasy stomach, and the feeling that you are going to vomit. There are days when you have life figured out, but then, you are blindsided by anxiety. You wonder if you will ever be free. Lies Spoken by Anxiety Anxiety tries to convince you

Regardless of how much work we have put into dealing with past trauma, there will come a time when we suddenly feel overwhelmed by emotions and memories connected to that experience. Our reaction might have resulted from a physical stimulus, like a song or a smell, or it might have stemmed from an emotional situation, such as being in an argument with a loved one. This is known as a trigger, and almost everyone who has been through trauma