Support Groups Blog

Just typing the words Toxic Relationships gives us the chills and not the “Oooooh Netflix just dropped the newest season of my favorite show” type of chills! It is the type of chills that comes from being either a survivor or a current victim and neither are cheer inducing. When you picture the word Toxic, what comes to mind? We picture trash, poison, the skull and crossbones image, and maybe chernobyl. Incidentally when we look back on our own toxic relationships, vastly the same images come to mind.

Our hearts break every time we see a member post about how they don’t feel worthy. Worthy of getting help and support, worthy of having a committed and healthy relationship, worthy of seeking a divorce, worthy or living a fulfilling and healthy life.

During the pandemic our baking and cooking skills have been refined and polished, usually we choose recipes that seem within reach, not too complicated and less than a dozen ingredients is usually what we are looking for. Failure is not something we aim for in life, nor in the kitchen. When we printed a recipe for a lemon tart the other day, it seemed doable. So we set out to make a homemade crust and lemon curd, not a problem, or so we thought.

Do you ever have a day, or even a few days where life is going really well? You are feeling like the support, therapy, self care and every other item on your “Operation be a better human” list is finally paying off. Your ducks are in a row and you are feeling pretty darn proud of yourself. The rose colored glasses are firmly in place, life is good. It feels like progress has been made. We all live for these times where life seems good, where we feel worthy.

If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.
–Eleanor Roosevelt

It is really overwhelming to read story after story in the news of preventable death because of guns, racism and hate. Over and over the stories begin to run into one another. This week a young white man in Atlanta took a gun and murdered 8 people, 6 of which were Asian American women. Hate isn’t new, racism isn’t new, gun violence isn’t new, genocides, holocausts and racial cleansings prove this both in History books and current events. However, in our enlightened society, it seems like something we could tackle successfully, but haven’t.