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Dear Sisters & Friends -
The Co-Directors of the Institute for the Advancement of Women's Health (IAWH) extend this special message of encouragement and support at this time of uncertainty around the future of women’s health.
The past few days have left many of us feeling lost, confused, emotionally exhausted, betrayed, ignored, not surprised - but disappointed, like you can never do enough, and maybe worst of all, invisible moving forward, especially as women.
The stress and anxiety associated with losing autonomy, of not being seen, heard, listened to, and of being swept up into a current that is moving in a direction, not of your choosing, can be debilitating.
Many women have decided and declared that they are just tired and will be checking out.
For the long term, IAWH will be here to support you and to gently remind you to not let your reaction and response to the 2024 election lead you to engage in neglectful and destructive behaviors that can negatively impact your health.
Let’s protect our heart health by eating right, staying active, and monitoring our blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol.
Let’s work on getting better sleep! Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. A fan, earplugs, or a sound machine can help drown out noise. Try to avoid caffeine and alcohol in the afternoon and evening and give screens a break before bed. Sweet dreams!
Let’s remember to take medications as prescribed.
Let’s schedule our well-woman visits, our mammograms, OB/GYN visits, and colonoscopies.
Let’s ask for help with caregiving and child-raising; find a therapist (virtual or in-person) to help you find the coping skills and other tools to help make life more manageable.
Let’s make a plan to let go of the use of harmful substances used for coping, legal and illegal, that do not advance our health and seek help if we cannot do it alone.
For the sake of our emotional well-being and mental health, we may need to softly and skillfully rewire a bit of our long-held and traditional circuitry. Here are just a few easily accessible suggestions to start.
If you supported and still believe in the virtues of honesty, love, decency, respect for humankind, peace, fairness, justice, and accountability, remember and know that those core character traits are still very valuable and that you were and are not alone in thinking so and expecting the same from others.
Instead of slipping into self-prescribed social isolation, which is so very tempting right now, let’s make deliberate and intentional attempts to connect with, include, and reconnect with trusted persons in your personal community- text, email, call, meet up.
Instead of giving up political news entirely, let’s consider changing the when, the where, the way, and the frequency that we consume news. Perhaps we can forgo or eliminate the Adrenalin-inducing, cortisol-releasing, triggering electronic Breaking News alerts, whether on our phones or on television. Selectively gather and read the news at your self-required pace.
Instead of waking with the same dark worries on your mind, develop a new and meaningful first morning mantra, set of first morning thoughts, goals and final thought of the day routine. This can set the tone for your day, influence the choices you make during the day, and even reset the “earworm” - the music clip that runs unconsciously through your mind. (Cheryl: today my earworm is shifting from Freedom by Beyoncé to the theme from the Godfather movies and sometimes I can hear Unaccompanied Cello performed by Yo Yo Ma. Janine: I've incorporated a daily dose of "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou to inspire me to soar tenaciously, and reading Psalm 139:14 serves as a reminder that I am “fearfully and wonderfully made,” according to my faith.)
Instead of engaging in emotion-driven recklessness with your finances, learn how even a little savings or investment in your financial future can contribute to your emotional and mental health.
In the short term:
Resist the urge to check out. Please check in - family, friends, your faith community, civic orgs or social groups.
Stay connected with IAWH and share this message and introduce others to IAWH.
Participate in the virtual and in-person programs offered. Sometimes there will be a nominal cost to participate, but isn’t your health worth it?
Revisit and share past cost-free articles, newsletter, videos developed by IAWH on topics like:
Respond to and engage with IAWH periodic push polls.
Gather in the IAWH Forum (electronic bulletin board) for discussion and community support.
Make a financial contribution to support the nonprofit work of IAWH. DONATE
Women have always cradled the advancement of the world. Let’s put in the work required to cradle ourselves for a while to support our continued existence in this moment and as an investment in a future that better values women.
In Gratitude & Support,
Cheryl Thompson, MSPH
Janine E. Payne, MPH
Co-Directors, IAWH
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