IndigoBlue Magazine April 2022

Our daily lives can be so hectic and there is so much pressure for us to look a certain way, act a certain way, and feel a certain way. The stress of it can pile up and become overwhelming. There are times when self-care is just not enough and we need to reach out and get professional help. In this issue, our authors share their personal stories of struggling with serious mental health issues. We hope their experience helps others see they are not alone and that there are pathways to recovery. We hope you find the information inspiring and motivating. We remain committed to helping our readers achieve their goals, maintain their health and wellness, and establish lasting, healthy relationships.…

In-person communication involves a great deal of nonverbal communication or body language to convey our thoughts or feelings, but what about when we are communicating online? Since the pandemic, most of us are still spending more time communicating virtually than we do in real-life. The missing nonverbal element can lead to misunderstandings, conflict, or even the loss of relationships. Without hearing a tone of voice, or seeing facial expressions, meaning may not come across clearly in words alone. Even on video calls like Zoom, the timing delay, tech glitches, limited view of participants, and lack of genuine eye contact can interfere with our ability to process feelings and messages through body language. But what can we do? There’s just no way of avoiding the fact we are living in a digital…

I’m sober because of the TV series, Jersey Shore. And, no, this isn’t a joke. And it isn’t a sarcastic, judgmental dig at any of the cast members either. This is a completely true statement. Ten years ago, I was a straight-A high school senior at a private Christian school, and I was obsessed with Jersey Shore. I realize this is a bit contradictory. The series had just premiered, and my friends and I religiously watched each new episode on “Jerz-Days” to keep up with the outrageous behavior, partying, drama, catch phrases, and everything else that makes the show so iconic. As an adult, I am shocked the show didn’t have a bigger influence on me at that time. As naïve, insecure, and impressionable as I was in high school, I was…

All of us have experienced feeling completely helpless or stuck, like there is no way out and we just want to give up. If we experience stressful or painful situations repeatedly, we can develop learned helplessness, a concept well-researched in psychology. Learned helplessness means we believe we are unable to control or change our circumstances, so we don’t even try. Learned helplessness can quickly become habitual and even when opportunities for positive change become available, we are not likely to take them. Victims of domestic abuse for example often experience learned helplessness, finding it difficult to release themselves from the vicious cycle. How we learn to be helpless In 1965, psychologist Martin Seligman performed experiments giving dogs a mild electric shock. He wanted to study classical conditioning. However, what he surprisingly found…

I first realized that there was something distinctly wrong with me when I was 11. It was this strange sort of emptiness that I didn’t know how to describe, and it was certainly nothing I had ever experienced before. Up until then, I would classify my childhood as relatively normal. At least, as normal as it could be in a household settling into the U.S. after emigrating from China. I had depression, I later found out, along with a feeling of misplaced shame. Once, my mother asked why I was so down, and I found that I had no answer to give her. After all, I had a roof over my head, I had the privilege of getting an education, and I never went hungry. She was right. Why was I…

I put the spoon back into the empty ice cream tub. Next to it is a discarded box of chocolate biscuits, numerous scrunched up wrappers of cheap chocolate bars, and a half eaten strawberry Swiss roll. I am still chewing on a biscuit as I grab the mug of hot cocoa. Liquid is essential during such binges. Not too much. But just enough to help bring up everything I have shoved in my mouth over the last 30 minutes. I look down on my stomach. It is swollen and hurts from the onslaught of desserts and sweets I have subjected it to. Breathing in deep feels difficult. I get up and walk to the bathroom. On the way there I pass a mirror. My swollen face stares back at me. Chocolate…