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by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH Confession: I’m waking up from a nap to write this. Sometimes I take a nap before I go to sleep. I call it pre-sleeping. Really, it’s a way to separate my day and calm my mind before writing about today’s gratitude practice. Before I go any further, I want to mention that my course, 28 Days of Gratitude , is based on the book The Magic by Rhonda Byrne . Some people think it’s a “magical” practice, but the reason it’s called The Magic is because when you practice gratitude consistently, magical things really do start to happen. It could just as easily be called The Miracle or The Hope, because life often feels restored after completing 28 days of gratitude. I’ve done this practice several times, and each time I notice tremendous improvement in my life. Every day brings a new focus for gratitude. Today’s practice is about identifying the best thing that happened today. I am thankful for Sandjest for providing me with this butterfly tumbler to promote. I...

 by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH It’s Saturday night, and I’m sitting at home in my sweatpants and nightshirt. I’m relaxing in my chair after a day of doing laundry, walking, and trying to cut back on spending. I didn’t walk as much as I wanted because my knees hurt. My home still isn’t clean because I was tired and distracted,  and walking around all day increased my pain. I’m trying to spend less because I was recently transferred at my day job, and it’s costing me almost $300 a week just to get to work. I spend the first and last hour of every day working to earn money just to get to and from work. Did I mention my knees hurt? And it’s oddly hot in my apartment even though it’s fall. I have the sliding door open on this November night just to let in some cool air. Overall, I’d give today a six—it was peaceful. But I downgraded it because I had no one to talk to about what I needed to talk about. That’s one of the ways people try to control me. They say their “boundaries” mean ...

It's Homecoming season, so it's only natural that I would take some time to reflect on my college years. I loved my undergraduate alma mater as a student. So much so, I later went on to be an adjunct faculty member at that very school. I loved that school even until I graduated from there four years later.  Then, I started opening my eyes and really looking at how I was treated. At how some of those events negatively impacted my life and still do today.  When I was 19, I transferred colleges. The college I attended my freshman year was rumored to have financial problems, so I left and went to another small private college in Iowa.  I wanted to focus on school, make friends, and enjoy the ride — but instead, I quickly became the target of lies and cruelty that would follow me for decades. At a small college in a town of fewer than a thousand people, everyone knew everyone else. Early on, I asked a guy I considered a friend to a formal. He didn’t go with me, and his girlfri...

How Lack of Reliable Transportation Creates Barriers to Work, Health, and Opportunity Recently, I was transferred to a different work location in my day job. I didn’t feel like the move was optional. But there’s one major problem: I don’t have a car. And while that might sound like an inconvenience to some, in reality, it’s a barrier — one that touches every part of my life and wellbeing. When people say things like, “You should just work from home,” or “Take a closer, lower-paying job,” it may sound like practical advice. But it’s not that simple. Those suggestions ignore the reality that transportation is a social determinant of health — one of the essential conditions that shape how we live, work, and thrive. I had a car accident almost three years ago at Christmas. It put into motion a chain of events that created tremendous stress. My life has been impacted in ways that make daily activities difficult.  Transportation Isn’t a Luxury — It’s a Lifeline Transportation isn’t just ...

When people look at me now, they see an author of two successful books, a business owner, and someone who works full-time while still moving forward with dreams and goals. On the outside, that may look like resilience, stability, or even success. But what most don’t see is the road it took to get here—or the weight I still carry every day. What I have accomplished in the past five years is unheard of from most people… and unlikely for the insurmountable struggles I’ve had to face nearly alone. It’s grit and miracles all in one. I started my life over with absolutely nothing. No safety net. No local support system. No friends or family nearby to lean on when everything felt impossible. Starting from scratch is one thing; doing it with layers of trauma and PTSD on your back is another. Here’s the reality: for most people, research and lived experience show that it often takes seven to ten years to fully rebuild life after starting over with nothing. That timeline assumes you have at leas...

Financial abuse is when money is used as a tool of control, punishment, or humiliation. It can be restricting someone’s access to funds, forcing them to work under unfair conditions, sabotaging their career or ability to earn income, or making them feel guilty for spending even on essentials. It can also look like what I’ve lived: being shamed for the cost of food, being harmed over not having enough, or being told you should be grateful for bare minimum resources because you’re “less deserving.” Psychology tells us that trauma activates the survival brain. Financial trauma does the same thing. It can keep you in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode. Making clear decisions, planning ahead, or feeling confident about money can become challenging. It’s not laziness, irresponsibility, or a bad attitude. It’s your brain protecting you from danger — danger that feels real because it is real. For some of us, money isn’t just numbers on a page. It’s safety, survival, and sometimes, the very...

Some people say cruel or antagonistic things and then excuse it as “just trying to see what you think” or “just testing you.” I’ve had people in my life do exactly that—saying no one loved me, telling me I had no worth, or suggesting I should take jobs far below my ability. One even told me to go walk three to five miles in freezing temperatures. Their reasoning? They wanted me to argue back so they could see what I really thought or cared about. Cognitive dissonance and emotional investment can be useful teaching tools. However, they can become emotional manipulation and psychological abuse when used to trigger trauma.  On the surface, this kind of behavior might look like intellectual curiosity. In reality, it is manipulative—and it’s especially harmful to someone who has been psychologically and emotionally abused or who lives with PTSD. And it doesn’t just happen with “friends.” It happens at work, with family, and in all kinds of relationships. To understand why it’s so damagi...