Articles

What does it mean to be a father? Is it to stand tall in the face of adversity? Suck it up when things are hard? Smile through pain? Refuse to lose at all costs? Provide for yourself and your family while making it look effortless? Potentially. Or could being a father mean something different, something more expansive and colorful, something that offers more space, softness, compassion, and opportunity for connection with yourself and others?

During the month of June, I find myself thinking about the upcoming events that take place within the LGBTQIA+ community. These events bring members and allies together to honor its history, embrace culture and identity, and continue the fight for equal justice and rights.

"Codependent." It's a term frequently used to explain why someone remains in a difficult relationship, prioritizes another person's needs, suppresses their own feelings, or struggles to leave. But what if the label tells us less than we think? What if, instead of helping us understand the behavior, it causes us to overlook the context in which it developed? What happened that made this necessary? A child who learns that needs lead to criticism.

The term "self-care" has gained popularity throughout the years. It seems like everywhere we turn, we are being encouraged to practice self-care. These encouragements come to us in books, movies, or in conversations with friends and coworkers. But what really is self-care? How do we practice it and what's the end goal? Let's start with breaking down what self-care actually encompasses (hint: it's not always about treating yourself!)

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month is an opportunity to honor the long, complex, and deeply influential history of AANHPI communities in the United States. May was chosen for this observance in part to commemorate the arrival of one of the first Japanese immigrants to the U.S. in May 1843 and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in May 1869, a project made possible in large part by Chinese laborers.

At age 69, my mom received a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, and for the remaining three years of her life, doctor’s appointments, medication side effects, and ultimately metastasized cancer cells stole all that she loved.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are looking beyond the individual symptoms of child and adolescent distress. At The Family Institute at Northwestern University, we believe that relationships—past and present, however they are defined—are the center of life for everyone. As we look at the global shifts in youth mental health over the last five to six years, one truth has become undeniable: Our relationships play a most vital role in our health, our well-being,…

It’s a common question – and it rests on an assumption: that leaving is a straightforward choice. It also assumes there was full choice. It also keeps a dynamic in motion – one where responsibility quietly shifts inward. In many cases of narcissistic abuse, it isn’t.