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2021 has been a savage straight out of the gate and I’m not sure we're here for it.
Yesterday, in America, things started out kind of good.
TLDR: The Georgia run-off elections nominated the two Democratic candidates, successfully flipping the Republican senate blue and making so much possible for the Biden presidency … if he chooses to like, do anything significant. This also ended the reign of terror of Mitch McConnell as majority leader of the Senate, the sleeper agent in so much of the horrible things accomplished over the past four years.
This major effort was, of course, spearheaded by Black women and radicals — where would we be without their years of work? …
Welcome to Flourish Mag’s new Medium Newsletter BLOOM!
Why the name bloom, besides sticking with the theme, because no matter where life may find us, we should be forever cognizant that we should bloom, and then continue to flourish wherever life plants us.
I’ve been holding to that philosophy more and more each day as life in 2020 remains in a constant flux of activity. I’m sure this resonates with you with everything we’ve all experienced since 2020 began. It made me think of the pursuit of happiness lie society has brainwashed us into.
Right now I cannot say that I am happy because there is a myriad of things I’d like to change about my life and I’m not satisfied with where I’m at but in the midst of that dissatisfaction, I am committed to blooming and flourishing where I am, so, I can grow beyond this point. …
It’s an arduous task but someone has to do it
The opening verse to Bob Marley’s War begins, “Until the philosophy, which holds one race superior and another, inferior, is finally, and permanently, discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war.” He was undoubtedly correct and those lyrics continue to ring true today because until the color of a man’s skin, is of no more significance than the color of his eyes, there will be war.
I promised I wouldn’t write about the current racial war that is going on because I’m bone tired of hearing about my brothers and sisters being slain because we have more pigmentation than our Caucasian counterparts. …
Hey there readers!
In the last two months, I’ve taken a hiatus from writing on Medium. As such things slowed down here at Candour but we still managed to get some notable stories from some very talented writers.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent the last months convalescing during self-quarantine. In my country, The Bahamas, our government had us on a 24-hour curfew and each weekend we locked down and was unable to leave our homes in a bid to stave the climb in COVID-19 cases. It worked, we only have 101 cases and the number of deaths remains under 10. …
What it’s like suffering from antidepressant-induced female sexual dysfunction
I inadvertently sacrificed my libido on the altar of my mental health and I don’t know how to feel about it. I’ve been on antidepressants for the last 4 months and they’ve muted my libido completely.
After years of suffering from repressed trauma that had turned cancerous and ate away at my relationships with men, I said enough was enough and decided to reset with celibacy and lots of masturbation. I faced my traumas head-on, worked through them, and healed myself sexually.
I was ready to have healthy relationships but excavating all that trauma left some residue and my mental health wobbled. I sought help from mental health care professionals and was placed on antidepressants to regulate my moods and combat major depression and panic disorder. …
You don’t have to wait for life to resume its natural course; you can have a taste of wanderlust right from your living room.
Tuesday, March 25, 2020, I had a flight booked from Nassau, Bahamas, where I live, to Austin, Texas to visit a dear friend. I’ve never been to Texas and was looking forward to this trip for a myriad of reasons.
Thanks to COVID-19 however, I was grounded to my family dwelling in a 24-hour lockdown ordered by our Prime Minister to mitigate and stop the transmission of the virus that has rocked the foundations of our collective societies.
I’m sure I’m one of many that had to put a pause on anticipated travel plans to help stave the transmission of the coronavirus. But we don’t have to sit home twiddling our thumbs and burning up from cabin fever. …
#1 The same support system I had while I was living at home.
It is an intoxicating rush when moving to and exploring a new country, culture, food, and language. At least it is, in the beginning, an immensely enriching experience until the everyday stresses of life, work, and assimilating begin to take their toll and you fall into a crippling depression for weeks, and sometimes months on end.
I’ve experienced the very real phenomenon of expatriate depression numerous times, as I’ve lived in five countries other than the one I was born into but, it was much worse in 2017, after spending a year and a half in France. …
If you’re allowing someone to control how you think and behave then you’re more reactive and here’s why you need to be responsive instead.
Engaging in a conversation where there is a dissent can be a lot like playing a tense game of Jenga. As you build on your argument, one wrong response can lead to an explosion of negativity from the other person, shaking the tower, and your reaction versus your response decides whether or not the tower remains standing or if it topples into a mess.
Recently, I found myself in a conversation over the belief, or lack thereof, in a supreme being. I was talking with a guy my friend is currently interested in. He asked me why I identified as an atheist. …
Having sex after experiencing traumatic sex can lead to further trauma, so, it’s best to be open and honest with a new partner as part of your healing.
When you read the term sexual trauma, I’m sure your first inclination is to think about sexually violent acts like sexual assault, molestation, groping and rape.
However, sexual trauma doesn’t have to be relegated to the extreme cases of violent sexual acts. We can sustain minute trauma at any given point of our sexual history, especially from the first time we’ve had sex and even first-time sex with a new partner.
Therefore, sexual trauma can exist on a scale from the very mild but embarrassing to the severely traumatic and violent. Either way, most people have had a sexual event that may have left them feeling a gamut of emotions like guilt, shame, and anxiety. …
On the higher prevalence of mental health disorders among bisexuals compared to heterosexuals and other LGBTQ members.
If I’m honest, I’d tell you that I first knew I was attracted to girls from the first grade. My body was explored by one of my best friends underneath a tree nestled on the Eastern side of the school. We were shielded from view, by the fronds of the short, lush palm tree and touched each other at leisure.
I’m not sure if I was aroused in the physiological sense but I was mentally and emotionally. I liked feeling the soft touch of her hand and I liked touching her too. …
