Latest Blog Posts

Worry and anxiety often show up during uncertain times. Our mind can feel noisier during times of political unrest, or anything that stirs up what we’d rather forget. While we all cope in our own ways, one thing that connects us is the shared experience of feeling overwhelmed.

The road to navigating relationships is rarely a straight line path. When we bump up against different personalities and familiar dynamics, often our unresolved hurts from the past can surface. The way we react in these moments serve as defence mechanisms, making it more difficult to find and sustain meaningful connection.

Change is something we are always guaranteed in life and often many emotions come to the surface as we move through a new beginning. Whether it’s changing careers, breakups, or moving to a new city, some changes can be a positive cause for celebration, but the loss of what we’ll leave behind can hit us with heartbreak and grief.

It’s common to reflect on what we hope for ourselves as we step into the new year. Many of us have felt the impact of work, family, and societal pressures, or inundated by news or digital noise. This all can cause us to lose touch with ourselves and what truly matters to us. In times when we feel lost and stuck, it can be helpful to reflect on our values.

While rejection is a universal experience, it can also rock us to our core. The impact often goes deeper affecting our sense of self worth. The emotional fallout can feel even more intense, turning stressful moments into overwhelming heartbreak

We all encounter family conflict and we know how messy and complicated it can get. Tensions can come from many places such as clashing values, unspoken expectations, or unresolved emotions. Communication often breaks down, and for those of us in bicultural immigrant families, the layers run even deeper.

No is full sentence, yet one that is hard to say within our family systems. It can be especially challenging in cultures with filial piety, where going along with the wishes of our elders and avoiding conflict at all costs is a cultural expectation.

Have you ever dodged a hard conversation, held back tears, or felt numb inside? Avoiding or downplaying your feelings is a form of emotional suppression and something many of us experience as a way to cope with the expectations of culture, family, and the world.

It’s not okay to be discriminated for who you are. Identity-based trauma is a painful reality many in the BIPOC community know all too well. The same is true for those of us whose gender, sexuality, religion, or abilities fall outside dominant norms. As an East Asian woman, I’ve faced this more times than I can remember.