If you've received an email since March of this year, there's a good chance it began with the following salutation:"Hello Jane! Hope you're doing well in these uncertain times…""Uncertain times," isn't that the understatement of the century? This year has been, well, crazy! You only need to scroll through TikTok or scan a meme or two to see that most of us have no earthly idea what to do with ourselves right now. We're "bored in the house and we're in the house bored," not-so-patiently waiting until noon to start drinking, and slowly trying to create a new normal in our "regular lives" that now include masks and social distancing (which I still think makes about as much sense as "jumbo shrimp").
The topic of fertility is particularly relevant for current times when we are all trying to find our way in the midst of a pandemic and develop life plans within great uncertaintyIn a previous post I shared how I started my podcast, eat.plank.live in March 2020. In episode 7, I spoke with Dr. Geraldine Ekpo, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist. We spoke about the various forms of fertility treatments and the way fitness and food influence reproductive health. Going into this conversation, I considered my friends and how they were dealing with their unique reproductive journeys as COVID-19 is still changing so many aspects of our lives.
On March 19th, our state's governor ordered all personal care services to close their doors until further notice. As the owner of a hair salon and extension bar, I feared the thought of closing our doors and losing income but felt it was the right and responsible decision to assist our community in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Never in all my thoughts did I think we would remain closed for three months.
In early March, stay-at-home orders were put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Suddenly people across the world were instructed to quarantine at home. For most people, inside the walls of their home is a place of security and solace. For others, home can be a dangerous place of abuse.In an instant, domestic violence victims around the world became isolated with their abusers causing domestic violence reports to increase by 35% in the United States, according to the World Health Organization. With social isolation and the stress of the unknown, the coronavirus pandemic started to breed dangerous situations at home where violence may have never previously shown its face. Domestic violence quickly became an epidemic within the pandemic.
About six years ago, some colleagues and I published research that indicated that increased time on the social media platform, Facebook, was linked to depressive symptoms among young people. The studies, which served as the basis for the article, were, of course, not conducted during a major global pandemic. So even during the best of times when the economy is booming and people feel relatively safe, they tended to suffer from mental health consequences as a result of spending too much time on social media.
As women, I believe that we are all familiar with societal pressures to "do it all." Some women thrive under this mindset during normal circumstances, however, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in all of our lives and added an unprecedented level of stress and additional barriers to normalcy. How can we, as women, now handle our "new normal?" How can we do it all, when that now means so much more and doing anything is more difficult than it's ever been before?
Last week, I scrolled and clicked. I clicked some more and more. Scrolled, paused to answer a Facetime call from my mom, and then got right back to scrolling. I added a total of seven dresses into my Ann Taylor cart. And then I paused and asked myself the following three key questions...
A "man ban" was not something I had tried to come up with as a resolution to a dating issue. I was 29, single, writing my first book, and just happened to go on one by accident. I was given nine weeks to hand in a manuscript, which required all my time and energy. I told my friends I would not be around for social catch-ups, rejected dates, and hookups (as painful as that was), and I simply focused on my work and myself.
Treating young girls like princesses and treating women with fragility have both been ingrained in our society. Today, princesses in fairytales are tough and strong, fighting away villains with the best of them; however, the old princess mentality still holds true for many women today.
We are in the throes of a global pandemic, which no one has any prior experience in. Yet, advice on how to deal with this crisis is everywhere: "Be productive, write that book, start that business, reinvent your business, do what you previously didn't have time for, work out, take on a hobby, use this time wisely, change the world," they all say.
I am a first-generation Mexican-American daughter of immigrants. Both of my parents were born in Mexico and eventually naturalized in Texas. I have been the first to hit many milestones in my family and life. I was the first to go to college, I was the first to go to grad school, I was the first in my family to enter the world of finance, I was even one of the first Latinas in my group at a Wall Street bank.
The spread of the current pandemic and the resultant quarantine is affecting all of us at the moment, and for each person its effects are unique. Something I know I've been struggling with in the midst of this change is holding onto my creativity, and somehow I don't think I'm alone in that fact.
had just finished putting my toddler down for a nap when my 3-month-old cried out from the next room — hungry. Again. As I slowly backed out of the room so as not to disturb the nap that took five diligently-read books to achieve, I glanced at my watch — just five minutes to spare before my scheduled Zoom meeting.For working parents, the juggle is real has become our rallying call.
On December 11, 2019, I opened my first New York City restaurant, The Banty Rooster, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. The road to opening had been long: I sold my first successful restaurant, Work & Class, in Denver in October 2016 and moved to New York City six months later. I knew virtually no one in the city, but I was determined to take what I'd learned and pursue my biggest dream.
Earlier this year, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economics Security (CARES) Act was signed by President Trump in order to provide emergency assistance and healthcare response to individuals, families, and businesses that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Small Business Administration (SBA) was given the funding and authority to modify existing loan programs to assist small businesses nationwide.
I had never worked in such a difficult environment; it was challenging to see a disease destroy patient's bodies and not have legitimate ways of treating them. As a nurse, I so deeply desire to help people and see them to recovery, something that has hardly been happening in the face of COVID-19.
I've been talking about trauma and loss for a long time, so I want to talk about complaining. We are experiencing a loss of freedom, lack of connection and increased fear of economic fallout during this pandemic. We are not used to this kind of prevalent, lengthy. and collective grief in the air.
I've been in extended isolation before with nine months of temperatures hovering around minus 35 degrees, blizzards, and months of inescapable darkness. The lack of privacy, the mundane nature of the days, and the interpersonal pressure of living with 17 other people was extraordinary.
Our world has changed so much these past few months. But Fresh n' Lean, the pre-prepped organic meal delivery company I founded in 2010, has remained open during the coronavirus pandemic after being deemed an essential business. Operating amid the spread of COVID-19 has been a humbling, challenging and profound experience. We've ramped up our safety measures in order to protect employees.
To be a female psychologist studying death and technology is to be totally out of your lane. In fact, if that describes you, we've probably already met. That's how few of us there are. But with coronavirus changing how we are all able to mourn, this specific expertise just got a lot more relevant.
As people are making sacrifices to shelter in place and help to slow the spread of the coronavirus, there are hidden costs that we may not have realized. Domestic and sexual violence, along with child abuse, all thrive in sectors of silence. More often than not, the abuse happens at the hands of someone the victim knows, usually a caregiver or household member. At a time when people are required to stay at home, they may be at unintended risk of violence while trying to keep safe from a virus. Police departments across the country are reporting an uptick in domestic violence calls.
Amidst a global pandemic and growing research which suggests women are severely affected by COVID-19, it's an opportunity to make big strides in our effort to address larger societal issues such as equality and justice, reproductive rights, poverty and domestic issues like financial abuse, as well as income security and retirement. It is estimated that 46% of women are "not too confident" or "not at all confident" about their ability to live comfortably after retirement, compared to only 31% of men who feel that way.
Our brand all started because of our community. Each and every product and formula has been created alongside our co-creators. They help guide us to figure out what is missing from the market and help outline what people actually use. That's why our relationship with our community is so important to us at Alleyoop, they helped build our company in more ways than they may realize.
Budgeting is already difficult enough when the stock market isn't fluctuating aggresively every other second. Amidst the continually unfolding economic tribulations due to the coronavirus pandemic, you may have to put in a little extra legwork to manage your finances than you did before.
I close my computer screen, but the headlines remain etched in my mind like the voices of my father and mother when they told me I had to follow their beliefs, or I would not be saved when the fire rained down from heaven When I let in the onslaught of social media and voices of worried friends and neighbors, it brings me back to a frightening time. A time when I grew up with a looming dread of Armageddon. Listening to how people talk about the pandemic has triggered these memories.
I have been a single mom for the better part of my 20-year-old son's life. And for the past 10 years of it, I have had virtually no help in raising him. I made this single mom thing work by prioritizing my son and his needs above all else. Next came the job, because, well, I had to pay the bills, and lastly came me. Always.