Caitlin Cunningham Teeter, MSW, LICSW

You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it.

The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.
~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

~ Art by Lucy Campbell

We can learn to love our bodies (or even parts of our bodies) even if the world has taught us that kind of love is conditional.

L.E. Bowman | Author of What I Learned From the Trees and The Evolution of a Girl.
Follow .e.bowman.poetry for more , , and on love, life, self-love, self-care, and more.

What does your body need?

Today I asked my body what she needed,
Which is a big deal
Considering my journey of
Not Really Asking That Much.

I thought she might need more water.
Or protein.
Or greens.
Or yoga.
Or supplements.
Or movement.

But as I stood in the shower
Reflecting on her stretch marks,
Her roundness where I would like flatness,
Her softness where I would like firmness,
All those conditioned wishes
That form a bundle of
Never-Quite-Right-Ness,
She whispered very gently:

Could you just love me like this?

✍️Wise and beautiful words by Hollie Holden

🧶 Incredible crochet art by Yulia Ustinova

In addition to these, there are also certain ages that are simply prone to more dysregulation and other ages that are prone to more regulation. A kid’s developing brain goes through cycles of being more generally regulated (able to cope with stress/upset without it becoming overwhelming) and then more generally dysregulated.

A handy rule of thumb to remember is that it changes every six months for the first few years of life, then it switches to every year.

12mo-18mo: generally more regulated
18mo-24mo: generally more dysregulated
2yo-2.5yo: generally more regulated
2.5yo-3yo: generally more dysregulated
3yo-3.5yo: generally more regulated
3.5yo-4yo: generally more dysregulated (often the most dysregulated part of childhood)
4yo-4.5yo: generally more regulated
4.5yo-5yo: generally more dysregulated
5yo-5.5yo: generally more regulated
5.5yo-6.5yo: generally more dysregulated
6.5yo-7yo: generally more regulated
7yo-8yo: generally more dysregulated
8yo-9yo: generally more regulated
9yo-10yo: generally more dysregulated
10yo-11yo: generally more regulated

More information can be found here:
https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/child-development/developmental-stages-the-roller-coaster-of-equilibrium-and-disequilibrium/?fbclid=IwAR1lpj75xNCKTG6StOMYmAkpilCiN_r3F4uzKkH1YJc8_FiwOTJqYJzCOL4

[Image description: The title of the image is "Reasons Behind Dysregulation". There are 3 generic reason categories given, which are Physical, Sensory, and Emotional. Each of these has an arrow leading to a circle where they are expounded upon in more depth. "Physical" can be broken down into: "Hunger, thirst, lack of sleep, illness, disorder, or infection, nutrient deficiency, lack of exercise." "Sensory" can be broken down into: "Sensory overload, sensory processing challenges, sensory needs, sensory triggers." "Emotional" can be broken down into: "Trauma, stress, anxiety, feeling unsafe or uncertain, change in routine, excitement, anger, other emotions or connection needs." End description.]