December and January were tough months for me. Family emergencies made it hard for me to cope. I did what I could and tried to distract myself from the hardships, and while that helped for a bit soon enough I was triggered again and fell into a frightening depression. I started feeling like no matter how hard I worked to improve life for myself and my family, the pains of generational trauma wouldn’t let go of its grip.
Luckily, I had sense enough to reach out to others during this time, which isn’t usually my first thought. Too many times in life I’ve felt rejected or misunderstood after sharing my hardships so I’ve become cautious. But in this case, sharing helped me build myself up again. I felt heard and affirmed.
Slowly by slowly with the help of loved ones, helpful books & videos, and therapeutic support, I was able to scoot, crawl, and finally walk out of that dark place. I was reminded of the importance of holding boundaries with people for the sake of my own sanity, I was reminded of the practices that help to center me, and I remembered that I must go at my own pace not the pace of others.
While some people would see starting over as a failure, on this 36th year of birth, I am grateful to have a chance to reset myself and restart from a place of grounded wholeness rather than continuing on in panic, competition, and fear. Sometimes a breakdown is what you need to stop, take a look at yourself, and move forward.
Social Justice Action
The Boston Liberation Center is a new working-class community center on Blue Hill Ave in the heart of Roxbury that will bring workers and oppressed people together to struggle around the most crucial issues that we face — from racist police brutality, neverending wars, and skyrocketing rents that push us out of our neighborhoods, to poverty wages, union-busting, and disrespect on the job.
They believe in the power and importance of equipping ourselves with the history of movements past and present in order to absorb the lessons of those who have fought before us and to understand the nature of the system we live under so we can change it.
The Boston Liberation Center will be an organizing hub to work towards transforming society into one for the many, not the few.
To get involved call: (617) 329-6204
Self-Care Resources
National Suicide Hotline: If you are struggling with deep depression or thoughts of self-harm and feel you don’t have anyone to turn to please call the National Suicide Hotline: +1 800-273-8255
Radical Joy Inc is now offering therapy on a sliding scale based on your income. If you are interested in signing up please respond to this email. There are limited slots available.
Updates & Upcoming Events
Wellness Event at Blue Rock Restaurant, Tottenham, London, January 23rd, 2022
Self-Love Wellness Event
Morningside, Johannesburg, South Africa
February 13th, from 2 pm – 4 pm
Meditation, Mindful Eating, Joyful Art Activity
Respond to this email to sign up
Session 2 of Blue Rock Wellness Series
344 Lordship Ln, London N17 7QX
February, 27th, 2pm – 4pm
Stress relief & Mental Health
Respond to this email to sign up
Self-Care for Educators for E4E
Boston-Online
March 8th, 5pm – 6:30pm
contact asantilli@e4e.org to sign up
Self-Care for Health Care Students at Mass General Hospital
Boston-Online
March 3rd, 1 pm – 3 pm
Self-Care, Social Justice, Healthy Boundaries
This is a private event for MGH students
Happy Birthday to Me!
Help me to celebrate my birthday by doing one of the following:
Donate to Radical Joy Inc as a whole or to a specific cause we are fundraising for here
Buy our hats, t-shirts, or hoodies here. Items ship internationally.
Buy a How to Be a Social Justice Advocate book
Book us to do self-care or social justice workshops & consulting for your organization.
Thank you to everyone that has already supported!
Engage with us
Help me to celebrate my birthday by doing one of the following:
If you have a helpful self-care or social justice resource that you would like us to share, just reply to this email with your idea! You can also follow and engage with us on social media:
Instagram @radicaljoyinc
Peace and Positive Vibes,
A. Rahema Mooltrey, LCSW, M. Ed.
www.radicaljoyinc.org
Radical Joy Inc
Self-Care & Social Justice
We believe that taking care of our mental health is a form of social justice. In this newsletter you will find a self-care tip, social justice action to take, and additional resources to support mental health, activism, and joy.
Self-Care Tip
I don’t know about you, but life has been a bit rough as of late. It seems like emergency after emergency has been popping up and it hasn’t been easy to stay positive. In case anyone else has been feeling the same, I wanted to share something that has helped me lately.
Remind yourself of anything that is working fairly well at the moment. Maybe your body is working well, maybe you ate today, maybe your child laughed, maybe your electricity and water are working, maybe your home is warm, maybe you have one friend or family member you can turn to, maybe you made it through a tough day. Close your eyes and take a breath as you think about how that one thing that is working is a positive sign that not all is lost. Life sucks sometimes but doing this activity can help recenter us and remind us that the problems we encounter in life don’t have to ruin us entirely. Sending you healing and resilient vibes on this bumpy journey called life.
Social Justice Action
Most of us know that the social justice system is extremely flawed. From unprovoked police shootings, corrupt police behavior leading to unfair incarcerations, to biased laws and policies, many of us are negatively impacted by the legal system as it exists today. Sadly, my uncle is an example of this. He has been imprisoned since I was 11 years old and has yet to receive a fair trial due to a lack of adequate legal counsel and alleged police corruption in his case. With social justice, it’s important to start with our own communities and families and thus the social justice action is to sign his petition which already has over 4,000 supporters, and if possible,donate to a fund to raise money to get him proper legal representation as he attempts to appeal his case.
Self-Care & Social Justice Resources
Self-Care Resource: If you live in Massachusetts and are seeking a therapist of color, reach out to Community Caring Clinic to get connected. They accept most forms of insurance including MassHealth. If you happen to be a mental health professional they are also hiring therapists and therapeutic mentors.
Contact mohamedcommunitycaringclinic@gmail.com if you are interested.
Social Justice Resource: Check out my “How to Be a Social Justice Advocate” book, which gives historical context on economic, health, safety, and education systems and practical ways to get involved and stay involved in activism.
Updates on Our Work
We led a self-care workshop for BIPOC Brandeis Undergraduate students.
We have been contracted to do 3 Self-Care as Social Justice sessions for BIPOC Brandeis Doctoral Students.
We will be leading a Virtual Self-Care workshop with Black Educator Things, November 10th from 6pm-8pm. There is still space to sign up here.
We are in phase 2 of rebuilding the school in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, after retrieving funds that were being withheld by “volunteers” for years!
Support Our Work
You can book us to do self-care or social justice work for your organization. If interested simply reply to this email.
You can purchase our hats, t-shirts, or hoodies here. Items ship internationally.
You can donate to the organization as a whole or to a specific cause we are fundraising for here
Engage with us
If you have a helpful self-care or social justice resource that you would like us to share, just reply to this email with your idea!
Keep taking care of yourselves folks, you deserve it ??
Peace and Positive Vibes,
A. Rahema Mooltrey, LCSW, M. Ed.
www.radicaljoyinc.org
