People with chronic illness are often harmed not only by their symptoms, but by repeated dismissal, disbelief, and medical gaslighting within the healthcare system. Drawing from both clinical work and lived experience, this piece explores medical trauma, relational injury, and how healthcare providers can show up with greater care, curiosity, and humanity.

Joy is resistance—not because it ignores suffering, but because it refuses to let oppression define the full range of our humanity. This piece explores how marginalized communities have long practiced joy as a communal, relational act of survival and connection.

Sessions can be more affordable, but the level of savings is not proportional to the rate cut for providers. So when you pay for therapy, although you’re paying less, your money is going toward the company BetterHelp—its advertising, parent company investors, and overall profit, not toward paying your therapist. This will undoubtedly impact the therapeutic relationship, which is “at least as vital to a positive outcome as using the right treatment method” according to the American Psychological Association.

At this moment a new wave of anti-LGBTQ2S+ legislation is taking place in nearly every state of the United States. These 400+ bills have an enormous and dangerous impact on a vulnerable and diverse population. Read for a non-exhaustive list of resources for LGBTQ+ folks and allies seeking support and information.