Family & Relationships

I am a white woman who has several black female friends. Since the George Floyd murder and police brutality towards black and brown people, I’m feeling more and more alienated from my black friends and fear the divide is only growing. I am not sure if this is because I am white, or because I’m not doing something I should be? Or, maybe it’s all in my head. Whatever it is, I am very sad about it. What I can do to keep my friendships strong? I miss our connections and they mean a lot to me.

I'm the oldest of three adult siblings. My youngest sister, “Sue” was diagnosed with chronic depression, bipolar disorder, and within the past year, narcissistic personality disorder. Since the narcissistic diagnosis, she's stopped seeing her psychiatrist and stopped taking her medication. She's always had issues with pathological lying but I recently found out she has been lying to my other sister and parents about me for years - hurtful, relationship-damaging lies my family believed and she continues to tell to this day. My heart is extremely heavy because I'm contemplating severing ties with her. I know her behavior is largely because of her mental illness but I feel I need to emotionally protect myself from her. I'm at a loss for what to do.

My significant other doesn't believe me when I tell her I have a mental illness. It is really affecting our relationship as she doesn't respect me when I tell her I need extra time or space. How else can I show her what I am going through? 

Many of us are familiar with the concept of gratitude and thankfulness. Science says that feelings of gratefulness have many positive effects – from physical to psychological – making it the most popular topic for daily journals. At Nexus Family Healing, we see many youth and families who are going through difficult times and struggle to see the good in every day. That’s why we champion the practice of keeping a “joy journal.”

Conversation starters to get past the generic “I’m fine” response and learn more about how your family is feeling.

My husband and I have always been devout Catholics and we have been very engaged in all aspects of our religious practices. My husband just recently announced that he does not want to be Catholic anymore and has started to attend a local non-denominational church. At first, I thought it was just a phase, but he is serious and wants nothing to do with Catholicism. We have two children, ages 6 and 8, and he wants all of us to attend his new church. I have no intent on denouncing my Catholicism and I am just heartbroken at this divide in my marriage and in our family. I am not doing well with this. I don’t know how our marriage will make it through this.

A four-week journal to share positive notes with your family each day.

A 31-day calendar with daily activities for strengthening family well-being.

Some of my friends don’t believe in the vaccine. As a result, I feel like I am in a limbo when it comes to moving on to a new normal. How do I maneuver this situation?

I recently had a miscarriage and I am having a really hard time getting over it. People act like it’s not a big deal and don’t understand why I would be grieving. They ask me how many months I was pregnant and when they find out it was 12-weeks, they make it seem like I wasn’t that far along, and I should be fine. I’m starting to pull away from people because nobody understands. My husband is trying to be comforting, which is nice, but his family thinks I am just trying to seek attention. How do I help people understand the effect this is having on me?