How Lewis Capaldi Made Me Feel Less Alone in My Mental Health Journey

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By Erin Gabriel

My sister has the biggest crush on Lewis Capaldi, the Scottish singer-songwriter who first gained attention in 2017 with his debut single and viral hit Bruises. If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who he is (I am speaking to my 30-something millennial cousins who had no idea who he was) here is a photo for reference:

Sex icon, amiright? At this point, my sister would quote the viral TikTok sound, “That’s mine. I’ma stick beside him.” Anywho, I regress…

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The Safe Slut talks herpes awareness and making memes

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By Sophia-Joelle McDowell 

When Tricia Wise, or Safe Slut, was diagnosed with genital herpes in November of 2019, everything changed. Shut down your unconscious biases here, because things changed in an unpredictably positive way.   

Like most of us, Tricia didn’t receive any education about STIs growing up, apart from the common lecture that they’re the worst thing that can happen. After receiving the news of her herpes diagnosis, she spent days in bed and thought her sex life was over. 

These days, Tricia believes getting herpes was the best thing to ever happen to her. 

That diagnosis forced her to advocate for herself and have vulnerable conversations. It took her on a transformative journey of self-love and reclaiming her sexuality. She was even able to work through previous sexual trauma from past relationships and experiences. 

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A Look into Clara Baldwin’s domestic violence non-profit Peace Over Pieces 

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By Sophia-Joelle Oswald 

CW: Brief mentions of abuse

Clara Baldwin, chief executive officer of Peace Over Pieces, is the daughter of an immigrant from Thailand. Her mother raised her and her siblings while facing abuse from Clara’s father. And while Clara was stuck—forced to witness her mother’s abuse for the first 18 years of her life—Her dad also relayed that abuse towards Clara and the rest of her family. Nothing changed until Clara, her mother, and her brother were able to leave, and never go back.

Clara’s past experiences inspired the launch of Peace Over Pieces, a non-profit for domestic abuse survivors. 

Through this non-profit, Clara is able to talk one-on-one with survivors and share their stories through the Peace Over Pieces Domestic Abuse Survivor Podcast. The Peace Over Pieces website also provides resources and collects donations, with the option of either selecting a specific individual that they’ve watched or a general donation to the Peace Over Pieces Fund designed to cover a range of needs. 

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Screaming your way to a spiritual awakening

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By Erin Gabriel

Candice Wells screams for a living.

No, we’re not talking about screamo music. We’re talking about breathwork. As the owner and facilitator of Screamwerk in Denver, Colo., Candice is a breathwork facilitator, energy worker, yoga teacher, and entrepreneur who guides individuals to scream their way to a spiritual awakening.

When most people think of breathwork, yoga breathing patterns to calm the nervous system or active breathing techniques like what you see on apps like Calm or HeadSpace may come to mind. But Screamwerk utilizes a form of psychedelic or somatic breathwork, which is more focused on the body. 

“As I taught breathwork classes, I recognized that a primal scream timed at an integral moment of the practice helped to fully release pent-up feelings,” Candice says.

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Get Intimate with Intimacy Coach Beth Darling

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By Nicole Mitchell
Design by Whitney Young

After spending 15 years as a divorce lawyer—dealing with marriage counselors, understanding affairs, and finalizing relationships—Beth Darling decided it was time to change. 

When Darling’s own 20-year relationship ended, she decided her new goal was to help couples stay together and keep their love alive. “Rather than trying to make the journey of separation an amicable one,” Darling shares on her website, “I wanted to help couples stay together. I wanted to see love not only survive but thrive.”

In her new book, The 5 Kinds of Intimacy: How to Keep Your Love Alive, Darling shares a no-bullshit approach to creating a happy and satisfying relationship. Coming from the eyes of a hopeless romantic with a background in law, this book is a must-read for anyone in a relationship—whether you’re struggling to keep the passion alive or you’re still in the honeymoon phase. We did a Q&A with Darling about what she’s been up to.

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