Nijiama Smalls's Blog, page 3

Tip #4- Protecting Your Peace During the Holidays

I���ve met people that mentioned that they suffer from anxiety as the holidays near. Some of the anxiety is caused by feeling as if they are required to attend dysfunctional family gatherings.

Holiday Healing Tip #3- Healing the Part of You That Feels Unseen

When I initially moved from my hometown in South Carolina to the DC area, I would return home for the holidays making sure that I was armed with all of my accomplishments and fancy job titles to share with my family. I ...

Pay Attention to Negative Emotions During the Holidays.

I'm so excited that the holidays are finally here! For many of us the holidays can bring various emotions during this season, particularly this year as we are faced with a pandemic. Weekly, I will be providing you with s...

What I Learned By Forgiving My Father

As a child, my father was in and out of my life. By the time I was a teenager, his presence was almost non-existent. I internalized my father���s lack of presence and it impacted my adulthood. It would take me over 20 year...

Are you sabotaging yourself?

There was a time in my life that I participated in self-sabotaging behavior. My reactions, overreactions, and overthinking controlled my life. This resulted in missed opportunities and created more unhealed emotional wo...

The Trauma of Black America

On Saturday evening, my family and I went to order take out for dinner. On the way home, we decided to take the highway (I-95 Southbound), which is typically faster. But on this particular evening, traffic was a bit hea...

Black Women and Emotional Trauma

My mother and step-father divorced during my high school years. As a teen, I had a front-row seat to this traumatic experience. Prior to the divorce, my step-dad had become like a father to me. He taught me how to drive...

What Do We Tell Our Children About Racial Injustices

My husband and I have always taught our school-aged children to demonstrate love, kindness, and forgiveness. As a black family, due to the recent racial profiling of Christopher Cooper and the senseless murder of George...

Therapy and Black Women

Growing up, I didn't hear of many people within my community going to therapy. However, I do recall seeing people demonstrate, what may be considered, symptoms of anxiety, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD...

What Are Your Emotional Triggers?

Recently, I had a disagreement with a woman that I sometimes work with on various community projects. During one instance, we spent over an hour on a call arguing and debating. Looking back, I realize what a waste of tim...