00:00Hello, everyone. Thank you for tuning in to the Essence Wellness House Dr. Says segment.
00:10My name is Dr. Kendall Jasper. I'm a licensed clinical psychologist.
00:14I'm going to take this time to answer a couple of questions that were sent over by some people who
00:21were gracious and brave enough to participate. The first one is from Lisa from Jackson,
00:27Mississippi. Lisa says, I lost my job due to COVID. I have no savings and no hope for a job
00:34with two miles to feed, no money to feed my kids. I feel lost and hopeless, but people are telling me
00:42to stay positive. What advice do you have for me? Well, Lisa, number one, I understand that
00:50you are facing what many folks out there in the United States are currently facing. They've lost
00:57their job due to, you know, this pandemic, something that they could never predict in
01:02probably a million years. I think that part of the approach to addressing feeling hopeless,
01:11feeling like, you know, it's me against the world, is to stick to a routine, right? Stay connected to
01:19the individuals who provide you wonderful level of support. Lean on them for guidance, for support,
01:27for confidence, for words of encouragement, and also stay active. Just because you currently don't
01:34have a job doesn't mean that there are other opportunities that don't exist or won't present
01:40themselves. The other part of that is being able to engage in some pleasant activities to increase
01:46your mood. Those activities don't necessarily have to be ones that cost you any amount of money or
01:53money for you and your children. I'm quite sure there's a way to be creative or some events that
01:58you can engage in as simple as listening to music, you know, enjoying more time with your family,
02:05maybe going to a friend's home in the safest way possible, and talk to them a little bit about the
02:11things that you're going through. Now, of course, actively, I would continue to seek employment,
02:17look at maybe some potential educational opportunities that may exist, trainings and
02:22certifications that may make you a little more marketable and possibly employable. I also end
02:30everything with saying, if this gets to a point where you can't shake it, there are a tremendous amount
02:36of outlets and resources that exist for you to talk to someone professionally about what you may be
02:42experiencing. So I have one more question. And this question is from Sheree from Detroit.
02:51I continue to be in a toxic relationship, repeating my family cycle and picking the wrong partners.
02:59My friend told me a therapist could help. How can therapy help me? Well, my answer is,
03:05and not to sound cliche-ish, I think therapy can help everybody. You know, having the opportunity
03:12to talk to someone about all the different things that are going on with you, someone who's bound to
03:16confidentiality, it's almost like talking to a friend. But you don't have to be concerned,
03:21especially if you're talking about another friend, that therapist going and telling that friend
03:25what you said about them. So I think that therapy helps in general. But I think that therapy can maybe
03:31get you to a point that you better understand yourself and better understand some of those decisions
03:35that you're making and why you're consistently making those decisions. And then you also can
03:41sort of flush out what's the best process for decision-making and problem-solving when I find
03:48myself repeating the same ills from the past. Because emotionally, if you're able to admit that this is a
03:56toxic relationship for you, then you should be able to justify and explain why it's toxic for you.
04:02And understanding that why can lead you down a path of saying, no, no, no, I understand that this is a
04:09trigger for me. I understand that this is attractive in the short term, but long term, it's not going to
04:15lend itself to a healthy relationship. So I hope that answers the question. Thank you for the time.
04:22Thank you, Essence Wellness House. Have a wonderful day.
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