Awaken to Action: Recognizing Immigration Stories

By Nancy G. Hall, MA, LPC

Spring is in the air! And The Awakening Center’s advocacy mission continues.

March marks the start of our focus on immigration stories. 

Unless you are 100 percent Native American, your ancestors came from someplace else. Some of you might be new to the United States yourself; while others can their trace forefathers’ and –mothers’ journeys back many generations.

And we can’t talk about immigration stories without acknowledging that many African-Americans don’t have immigration stories in their family history. Instead, there is the reality of enslavement and kidnapping.

Nearly all of us have roots elsewhere. And even for recent immigrants, the journeys aren’t easy. There is something different about a person who decides to leave everything behind and venture off to a new country. There is an internal optimism needed to take that leap of faith. And those whose families survived enslavement or indentured servitude have a strength that is awe-inspiring.

This month we Recognize Immigration Stories. The richness of all of our histories and cultures. The “tossed salad” that is the United States.

Throughout the month, visit our Facebook page (“Like” us if you haven’t already) and participate in the challenges that will be posted. Stop by our office and look for more information on the bulletin board along the stairway.

Most importantly, connect to your curiosity and explore the stories around you. What are your family stories? What about your friends? Do some reading and reflecting. Share your stories with us!

If you have an immigration story you’d like to share on our blog, email me at nancyhalltac.gmail. We’d love to hear from you!

Nancy is a staff therapist at The Awakening Center. In addition to seeing clients for individual therapy, she facilitates the adult DBT group and the Eating Disorder Therapy Group. Like her on Facebook and subscribe to her personal blog.

Handling Transitions

Transitional periods in time are about as much fun as a trip to the dentist. You don't always know exactly where you are going to wind up on the other side of the transition, you don't always know exactly how to make it to the other side, and just like the dentist there may be some slight discomfort. Learning how to manage the discomfort during these periods of transition can be quite helpful and the transition more smooth.

One way to deal with the discomforts or awkward periods of transitions is learning to sit with the emotions that you may feel during these times. Just as all transitional periods in life come to an eventual end, so do emotions. Knowing this simple fact can make sitting with less desirable emotions more endurable. Like strengthening a muscle though, being able to sit with these emotions takes time. At first you may only be able to sit with an emotion for thirty seconds before choosing your normal way of coping with the emotion. Focusing on gradually lengthening this time, you will eventually build this skill to the point where you will be able to sit with the emotion until its end.

While sitting with your emotion you may find it beneficial to introspect on how you are feeling during this time. Where in your body do you feel this emotion? How does this emotion physically feel? Recognizing things like this can help you manage the emotion from the immediate onset.

Following the decline of this emotion, I find it important to look back on the situations leading up to this feeling. What brought me to feel this way? By pinpointing specific patterns, I can prepare myself in similar situations to handle the emotions that may occur as a result. Having a plan in place can also help me reduce the intensity of these feelings making the discomfort more manageable.

A high school English teacher of mine once said that in life you must experience discomfort in order to grow and progress as a human being. Transition can be filled with discomfort, but knowing that it leads to something better can help you reframe the entire experience. Sitting with your emotions during this time, understanding your emotions and being prepared all can make this period of transition much smoother.

Katie Infusino

Katie is an undergraduate intern from DePaul University. She co-leads the Tuesday night Drop-In Support Group. Katie will also be leading the event "Breaking the Cycle of Silence" April 15th which will focus on the silence surrounding sexual assault and abuse in our society. For more information on the event she can be reached at kainfusino@sbcglobal.net