Divorce Stress Is Real: Gayle King’s Story Hits Hard  Gayle at the Met Gala 2026 Listen below now or on your favorite streaming platform ! In the list of life's most stressful events, divorce ranks second, right behind the death of a spouse. Now, everything that leads up to that can ramp up the stress meter. In Gayle King’s case, catching her husband cheating red-handed definitely ramped things up a bit. She recently shared during her appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she got home and caught her husband fresh out of the shower with someone she thought was a friend.  Not only was Gayle King dealing with the shock of this man, William Bumpus, cheating, but she also had to learn that it was with another person she had some level of trust. They had been married for 11 years and, eventually, they did end up getting a divorce. What got her through that ordeal was reaching out to friends and having people to lean on. Of course, she talked about immediately calling her B...

Stress and your Respiratory System When people ask about stress and the body, they are almost always thinking about stress in a negative way. However, as a reminder, there is such a thing as good stress and purposeful stress. Actually, any change that the body has to react to is considered a type of stressor. Does stress have an effect on our body? Of course, it does because something has occurred that we have to react to.  One form of stress that affects our respiratory system is exercise. Regular exercise should be included as part of your stress management program even if it is as simple as taking a 30-minute walk a few times a week. Exercise helps to strengthen and improve your lung capacity. This is a good form of stress for your breathing because by engaging in regular exercise you are training and strengthening your respiratory system.  Conversely, exposure to chronic stress symptoms can take a toll on your body’s immune system as well as exacerbate underlying respirato...

The Benefits of Routine in Stress Management Life does not always go the way one plans and when it does there are inevitable detours, twists, and turns that can sometimes make us feel off-kilter and out of sorts. That feeling tends to create anxiety that is sometimes accompanied by uncertainty. That uncertainty has the potential to lead to fear, kicking off a cycle of anxiety and stress. Now, mindfulness and awareness and a stress management program can assist us with understanding and channeling that nervous energy which is usually an indication that our stress response has been activated.  Our stress response does not have to be a bad thing. Remember, our stress response is there to help us get through these challenging times. It is there for a reason. We can use it to get us to the next level. However, sometimes when you are in the middle of it, understanding that and doing what is needed can be hard to put together.  With consistency and reps and routine you're going to ac...

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements. -Napoleon Hill We all have a vision of what we would like our lives to look like. I am not talking about what you think about if you hit the multimillion-dollar lottery ticket. We of course have those as well. The lavish, even materialistic lifestyle we imagine when we allow ourselves to take a break from the everyday. I am talking about what we think about when we imagine a better life for our family, a better living situation, a better job, or even a better relationship with someone. Those visions are important.  I want to implore you not to toss them aside but to make a plan. What would it take to make that vision a reality? Break it down into small, attainable steps. Make it realistic for where you are in life. You are worth the effort. I am not saying it is going to be easy by any means. It will require hard work from you, but it is work that is...

Sometimes we need to reduce our lives to the least common denominator in order to see what is really important so that we can keep moving forward. I wrote the above sentence over eight years ago. It was from a blog post that I intended to write but never finished published. Funny enough, this seems like the most appropriate time to address it. Right now it absolutely feels like my life has been reduced to the least common denominator. I imagine other people must feel the same way being that we are in this social distancing phase and many of the distracting things we use to do are somewhat off-limits. Lead a simple life. First reduce your greed. Then reduce your need. -Ritu Ghatourey Right now, I work, eat, and sleep. Oh and I watch a lot of television and/or streaming. I will admit that I find myself taking a trip to Walmart or Publix just to have something different to do. In doing so, I start thinking about all the things I should be doing or all the things I could be doing. A...

These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them. -Rumi Gerd Altmann The body does not lie; however, we may not listen. When I worked as an emergency room nurse, I would care for people that came in with pains and aches that they have avoided for quite some time. Some of those folks would leave with a manageable diagnosis and some would have to be admitted because the disease progressed further than a quick ER visit could address. Regardless of the outcome, the story is usually the same, a pain that started out as more of an irritation or one that wasn't so bad at first grew until it was unbearable. Why do we ignore our bodies? I am equally guilty. When I was first diagnosed with lower back pain due to some bulging discs, I did not go into the see the doctor until I could not bear it any longer. I had allowed myself to get to the point when it basically hurt to move. I am pretty sure that my body had been communicating to me for a while that something was going on. Now, I...

Roses by Gashi (who sounds like Post Malone or Post Malone sounds like him IDK 😄) is this hot track that I recently added to my 2019 playlist. I have a thing for smooth laid back beats and melodies. At first, it really sounds like a sexy joint. The lyrics though had me thinking about how people find themselves in a repeating cycle of hurt and pain in the name of love. I think the title is on point because it correlates with the roses (honeymoon) phase in the cycle of abuse. Are we not allowing ourselves to be abused emotionally when we continually allow someone to hurt us and when they come back with apologies, roses, and gifts we forgive them and let them back in only to do it all over again? http://www.safetynetnipissing.ca/what-is-abuse/ The theory behind the idea of falling into a cycle of abuse is that there are three or four periods. Boy meets girl and it's great, lovely and all is right in the world. Then at some point, an incident happens. Sometimes it starts smal...

The latest journal article I read from Psychology today helps to put a different perspective on self-esteem and behavior.  The abstract for "Letting the Steam out of Self-Esteem" by Theodore Dalrymple is as follow- The behavior of some people leads them to develop poor self-esteem. People should not have the attitude that they should always have high self-esteem, regardless of their behavior. Self-esteem allows people to become familiar with their real self instead of their perceived self. The first question the article asks is, "have you ever considered the possibility that your very own behavior might - just might - be causing you to have a low opinion of yourself?" Actually, no. I have not considered that. In my mind self-esteem was based on my inner thoughts about my self and how the world must have harmed me in some way (major or minor) to cause this. That is how I think when I hear about little girls that have low self-esteem or kids that are being bull...

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee. - Michel De Montaigne Ever find yourself stressing about everything under the sun and that in turn causes you to be immobilized. Sometimes people will try to help and they tell you that, "life goes on" as if you just have to deal with it. It's almost as if they have nothing left to say. I can appreciate why they say it even if it is not at the right time. Life-goes-on basically sums everything up, whether good, bad or indifferent. What can one really say in response to, "Life goes on?" There is nothing to say as a good rebuttal to the statement life goes on, and while it may very true, it can also be infuriating. Life goes not is like a double-edged sword in that if you are living it should force you into action and if you have lost a loved one, it at times seems hurtful to move on. That is why I love the selected quote. It emphasizes living in the moment because everything else is beyond ou...

“Stress is caused by being 'here' but wanting to be 'there'.” ― Eckhart Tolle And there is nothing wrong with that. There are many different reasons why stress exists in our lives. The most popular message about stress is that it is bad for you. I do not want to completely contradict that but angle our notions from a different perspective. Unmanaged stress can lead to chronic stress which tends to contribute to unhealthy conditions in our lives. The stress we regularly experience is not necessarily bad. It is a part of our lives. Stress is what happens when we have to shift our thinking and go in a new direction. Stress happens when we have to meet a deadline. Stress happens when we have to run for our lives or plan for a dinner party. Can you imagine life without a little bit of stress? I am already a master procrastinator, and without the energy I get from my stress reactions, I may sit on my butt forever and never put my plans into motion. I love Tolle...

Scattered fragments of my overwrought emotions escape my control until I take time Overthinking things seems to be my specialty. Overthinking inevitably leads to worry and worry leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to stress. In other words, I am a stress magnet, inviting unnecessary stress into my life on a regular basis. If I did not actively combat my thoughts of worry, I would certainly be a walking trainwreck. I know I am not the only one. Chronic stress is a plague on not only the US but globally as well. How can we have an impact on the amount of chronic stress that we have to deal with? We start by better handling acute stress. Acute stress is the day to day stress. Acute stress is life. The goal is not to do away with stress altogether. That is not at all realistic because any change that we have to adjust to causes a potential for stress. Therefore, we have to work on how we use the energy from that acute stress. In order to first use that nervous, stressful ene...

photo by Dawid Zawila Embrace  the gentle kiss  of the wind, reminding  us that in stark stillness remains  life’s breath We can easily invite unnecessary stress into our lives by worrying and overthinking certain details. There are times that a person can be dealing with a stressful situation and she allows it to consume her entire being. It is so easy to unwittingly find ourselves caught in the cycle of stress. It is in those moments that we need to step back and appreciate the smaller things. It is in those moments that I encourage you to stop and breathe.  It’s not just about the breath. I want you to take that moment and think of the smallest things that we take for granted like your feet for example. Most importantly, I want you to remember in that moment that you are alive and can feel and can take action. Think of nothing else but your potential. Just breathe and be thankful or just be.  At some point, you should write down...

Stress is a Curse? “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” ― Leonard Bernstein I read an article and the opening line was describing how stress is the curse of the 21 st century. Really? If stress is a curse then so is living. Stress is unavoidable. Stress is a part of life; it is a necessary part of life. Stress is many things but a curse is not one of them. Stress is a driving force to get us from one state to the next. Stress is the reaction we have to stimulants in our lives. Think of it as generating the fuel we need to get through whatever situation we are dealing with.  The message that I want to convey is that we must use our stress energy. We must be mindful of what is going on in our lives and address it in a constructive, forward motion manner. If we use the energy, transform the energy then we have taken control of our stress levels and not allowed it to control us. What we want to avoid is allowing our stress...

Stress is a sneaky little bugger. It can start off as a great motivator but left unchecked and unmanaged it can lead to chronic stress that we may not even be aware of. We end up reacting to the consequence such as increased health problems, shorter tolerance and even trouble with relationships. It is important that we manage stress and are aware of it's affect at all levels. When we have an awareness we can then work on improving situations in our life that will help to relieve stress. Good friends are just one of the things that can help combat the negative impact of stress on one's life. Web MD and other research sources site multiple benefits to a good friendships. Friends can be great motivators for healthy behavior. Positive and happy friends are infectious. Fellowship with friends help fight off depression. Keep in mind thought this is not about toxic people. Toxic "friends" can drain you and add even more stress. Be mindful of the people in your circle. B...

I get by with a little help from my friends. - John Lennon Tyrese Gibson is having a public melt down. I am not going to post the video but if you do a search, you will easily find several postings of it. It seems that he has been having a slow melt down for quite some time now and it is a serious testament to the importance of having a support system and taking care of our selves and well being.  People have been commenting about why is a grown man crying. Please there should be nothing wrong with this. Men need to release their emotions as well. He is going through a tough time and cannot keep it bottled in. I think the main issue is why is he doing it all over social media. I understand that he is in the public eye and has been going back an forth with his fans and enemies in this arena for a while; however, in his time of need (whether self induced or not) he turns to the cold, brutal place of social media?  Where are his friends? We need those people that...