NO MORE’s eighth annual NO MORE Week is March 7-13, 2021. Our goal is to inspire everyone to make change to help create a culture of safety, equality, and respect in our communities. Stay tuned for more updates, events, and information.
Friend,
Today is the first day of #NOMOREWeek. Each year, we’re proud to join our community of chapters, allies, businesses, survivors, and individuals around the world and say NO MORE to domestic and sexual violence.
The past year hasn’t been easy. COVID-19 disrupted every aspect of our lives, and cases of domestic and sexual violence increased across the globe. During NO MORE Week 2021, we want to increase awareness of the problem while bringing people around the world together to find and fuel real solutions.
This year, there are more ways than ever to get involved. From the NO MORE Virtual 5k Walk/Run, to the KNOW MORE Global Dialogue series, to the release of some important new research on the impact of COVID-19 on domestic and sexual violence organizations—this promises to be one of our most exciting NO MORE Weeks yet.
We’ll be in touch throughout the week with more information and updates. As always, we are grateful for the opportunity to commemorate NO MORE Week with you!
Topics will include:Sex traffickingTransactional nature of sexual abuse and exploitation Elevating male survivor voicesHow recovery efforts are blocked by unenlightened/flawed perceptions of masculinityPanelists:Nola Brantley, nationally acclaimed advocate who focuses on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking / Commercial Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenNicole Klasey, Psy.D., clinical psychologist who currently consults on programming for commercially/sexually exploited youth, vicarious trauma, and leadership developmentHost:Lee Friedman, vice president, MaleSurvivor Board of DirectorsHere is the webinar Zoom link—Live on Tuesday March 16 at 8:30 PM EST:MaleSurvivor WebinarTake time to review ourWebinars of RecoveryYou can view current recordings of these past events at:MaleSurvivor YouTube ChannelDonations of any amount are welcomed and highly valued:MaleSurvivor Donation
I’m so glad you’ve joined me this week for another edition of Weekend Music Share. I love music, all types of music, and can’t imagine life without music as a backdrop.
Have a great weekend!
Melinda
Welcome back to Weekend Music Share; the place where everyone can share their favorite music.
Feel free to use the ‘Weekend Music Share‘ banner in your post, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #WeekendMusicShare on social media so other participants can find your post.
I wish you could see the happy dance I’m doing right now after receiving my first COVID vaccine today. I’m so impressed with the University of Texas Southwestern for the professionalism and getting me out at rapid speed, under thirty.
I packed a tote think I would have to wait for at least 30 iTunes, I didn’t sit still until in the observation room, and then for only 15 minutes.
I know you are counting the days until you get your vaccine and soon we’ll all have a chance.
I was kindly gifted The Joy of Selfish by Michelle Elman from WelBeck Publishing Group for an honest review. The book was released earlier this month and the timing is perfect. This is a must-read for everyone.
When I saw the press release for the book I knew this book was going to be a great seller. Most people know that taking care of themselves is important but they don’t look at it as critical to their health. Well, it is. If you keep putting yourself behind others and the daily task you have, you’ll never get around to yourself. You have to plan and make yourself a priority, and most importantly is you have to buy in100%.
It doesn’t matter if you’re chronically ill, a mother of five, just retired or a college student you need this book. It’s never too late to set boudoirs for your life and create the life you want and envision.
About the Author
Michelle Elman is a five-board accredited life coach, award-winning activist, author and podcaster. In 2020 she was named one of the Top 50 most inspirational women in the UK and is respected globally for her work as a body positivity influencer, best known for her ‘Scarred not Scared’ campaign.
Michelle has over 300k followers across Instagram and Tik Tok and has been a guest on media outlets including Sky News, Channel 5 News, Loose Women and BBC Radio London. She’s written for publications including HuffPost, Grazia, Metro and Stylist. Recently she coached Emily Atack on her series ‘Adulting’ and appeared on Geordie OGs to discuss online bullying and its impact on mental health. She also featured in the BBC3 documentary Being East Asian which aired earlier this year. Michelle’s podcast, In All Honesty, is available on Acast. Her first book, Am I Ugly?, was published in 2018.
Blurb
The Joy of Being Selfish redefines selfishness as a positive act, allowing us to love ourselves and those around us authentically without apology, It explores the different types of boundaries, offers tip on how to start setting them, and helps with the quilt of felt after boundaries are put into place.
Learn how to deal with her of being disliked, common responses to boundaries, dealing invitations, block/mute/delete-how to limit information, learning to express yourself-and most importantly using you inane power to start a new life.
My Thoughts
The idea of taking care of ourselves is being selfish is outdated and ridiculous. If we do nothing but give until we are depleted who is going to take care of us let alone our loved ones. I can’t agree with Michelle more on this message. Self-care is not selfish and if so then get selfish.
In 2015 Michelle was a Life Coach at crossroads in the direction of her career focus. She decided to see a Business Coach. Little did she know this chance meeting would make her future very clear and she set out on a mission to accomplish her new goals.
The Joy of Selfish is a tool for anyone who needs guidance in setting boundaries. dealing with guilt, self-sabotage, and help with dealing with the outside influences that try to throw you off track.
The Joy of Selfish is a book for everyone, every age, every gender. We can’t be our best selves for others if we don’t take care of ourselves first.
WelBeck Publishing Group
We are Welbeck Publishing Group – a globally recognized, independent publisher based in London. Our mission is to deliver talent-driven publishing with leading authors and brands worldwide. Our books and products span a variety of categories including, fiction, non-fiction and stationery and gift. We are renowned for our innovative ideas, production values, and developing long-lasting content.
Welbeck’s amazing product comes to life for adults, children, and families in over 30 languages in more than 60 countries around the world. We have collaborated with many of the world’s leading institutions and licensors including – Disney, Universal, Paramount, HBO, Queen Productions, FIFA, International Mensa, Roald Dahl Literary Estate, the Science, Natural History and Imperial War Museums, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
This is a photo of the White House taken in 2015. I had to funk up the colors but not too bad. Life was very different 2015 or so it seems. We’ve had our share of challenges as a country since the beginning of time but right now it seems every day is an uphill battle. I pray we can come together as a country, lessen the divide and make America the shining star I know it is.
The facility close by has finally received vaccines and I have an appointment on Thursday for my first dose! I can’t tell you how happy I am. I had no idea when my time would arrive and was so shocked when I found out today.
Keep your chin up your day will soon arrive and you too can get protection for this killer virus.
By JUWON PARK, Associated PressPublished: February 16, 2021, 6:11am
They work to raise awareness about mental health issues
SEOUL — K-pop star Eric Nam was having a meeting in New York when he suddenly felt a pain in his chest.
“I thought I was going to have to call 911,” he said, recounting the experience from 2019. But instead he remained sitting and “had to quietly breathe my way” through the meeting, he said.
Similarly, Jae-hyung Park, better known as Jae from K-pop band Day6, was in a cab returning from a music video shoot in Seoul last year when he experienced what felt like a heart attack.
At first, he put it down to stress, saying that for years he had dealt with “out of place” and “weird” feelings. But he realized he couldn’t ignore the symptoms, and in the “calmest voice” asked the driver to take him to a nearby hospital.
“I’m … feeling like I am going to die, I am going to die, I am going to die,” he recounted.
Park and Nam said they later found out they had suffered panic attacks.
Many recording artists struggle to cope with the trappings of fame. In South Korea, as in many cultures, talking about mental health issues is seen as taboo, causing K-pop stars to grapple with depression and mental illness on their own.
Nam and Park have joined other Korean American K-pop artists in raising awareness about mental health beyond the K-pop community by publicly sharing their personal journeys.
Nam moved from his hometown, Atlanta, to Seoul in 2011 and launched his music career after competing on a Korean music television show. A Boston College graduate, Nam said the racism he endured growing up in suburban Georgia left deep scars on him.
He explains he was bullied and even spat on by a classmate. “It was one of the most degrading, embarrassing, infuriating moments of my life up until that point,” Nam recounts on the first episode of MINDSET, a paid podcast series he’s just launched to promote conversations about mental health and wellness. “And I think still to this day that is a topic that I never feel comfortable speaking out about.”
Nam said he also struggled with an identity crisis as a Korean American, being treated as an outsider in both South Korea and the U.S.
“It felt like I didn’t belong anywhere,” he said.
Park, born and raised in California, said he had difficulty navigating between two vastly different cultures. And the intense competition in the industry also affected his mental health.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” Park said of K-pop.
Park was offered counseling from his record label, but said he found it difficult to connect with his therapist and eventually took a break from his career last year, when his band went on a hiatus.
He took part in Nam’s podcast series as a celebrity speaker.
Nam is hoping the shows can address stereotypes and stigmas surrounding mental illness.
“I never thought that I would need, I would want to talk to somebody about my mental health,” Nam said. “But once you’re in that position, I just didn’t know really how to deal with it. And so I remember those very isolating kinds of moments that I had had earlier on in my career.”
This was one of the most popular posts last year and I felt it was time for an update since my routine has changed somewhat. New Year’s Resolutions or goals as I call them, can start to lose their luster at the end of the first quarter of the year.
The key to lack of motivation is to look at the root cause, maybe it’s time to shift your thinking to realign the goal with where you are now, today, not three months ago. We have to constantly reassess as life and our health changes, hard and fast resolutions don’t work for me. They don’t allow for changes.
Despite having Chronic Lyme Disease, Fibromyalgia, and Hypogammaglobulinemia., which is an Immune Deficiency Disorder, I’ve been relatively healthy for the past year or so. I count my blessings and chalk it up to some big lifestyle changes including learning to forgive myself. If I get off track, I can’t beat myself up or if I need more naps than I think, I have to take them without quilt.
I believe self-care is the things we do every day to stay healthy, not just the special moments we spend taking care of ourselves. I’m learning more every day about the importance mental health plays on physical health, they are intertwined.
Below are the simple but important steps I work to accomplish every day, there may be a day or two where I don’t get outside or go to Starbucks but as a general rule the outline is my daily schedule.
Every Day
We go to the Starbucks drive-thru for a coffee. We have a huge container of Clorox wipes and have a routine we go thru before leaving the drive-thru to ensure we don’t get the virus. We take the dogs with us and it’s like a family outing. When the time allows we take them for a short walk at the park. This is where I get my exercise in each day, or however many days a week I can.
Taking all of my medications is critical to my physical and mental health.
Women’s over 50 Multi-Vitamin with Calcium.
Biotin for healthy hair, this step also boosts my self-image.
Calcium 1200mg.
Vitamin D with K-5000 IU of D3 and 180 Mcg of K2 MK7
Probiotics 100 Billion CFU
Nicotinamide 300mg-Recommended by my Lyme doctor to help improve the immune system at the cellular level.
Reduce stress by meditating several times a day for at least 5 minutes. Nothing fancy, no special location in the house, just in my chair or wherever I’m sitting.
Only watch one hour of news, 30 minutes local, and 30 minutes national per day!
Light an aromatherapy candle, placed somewhere I won’t forget it’s burning.
In spite of COVID, I still schedule critical doctor’s appointments and lab work.
Getting outside for fresh air even for 10 minutes. Just hearing a bird call can change the outlook on my day.
There are several bird feeders and a birdbath at the kitchen window that my husband takes care of for me. I can not tell you the enjoyment I get out of seeing the birds, woodpeckers, and squirrels every day.
I spend multiple times a day with my dogs, one on one attention and training. It’s rewarding to watch them grow and learn. The love I get is unconditional.
Bedtime Routine:
Go to bed 1.5 to 2 hours before bedtime. During that time, there is no sound, no computer, no phone, nothing. I lather up with my CBD creams and favorite hand lotion and a touch of aromatherapy oil. Sometimes I’ll turn on the diffuser.
That extra time gives my mind a chance to wind down, get all the ramblings out, and let my mind completely calm down. At bedtime, I take my sleeping meds and another round of CBD cream. I’m now ready. Rarely do I have trouble going to sleep.
I don’t accomplish these every day, it’s impossible to always have the motivation to do what’s best for our health. Looking at the big picture each week I can see if I’m focused on the right things, if not I have to ask why. Sometimes it’s just that life got in the way.
There’s no one size fits all to have the best healthy life but we all can take steps every day to push ourselves forward. What small steps have you taken each day to improve your physical and mental health?
Topics will include:Sex traffickingTransactional nature of sexual abuse and exploitation Elevating male survivor voicesHow recovery efforts are blocked by unenlightened/flawed perceptions of masculinityPanelists:
lookingforthelight.blog 