Monday Matter: Losing sleep, ghazals and global feminism

Your weekly Foreign Bodies roundup

Every Monday, I send subscribers and gift recipients of immigrant mental health and storytelling newsletter Foreign Bodies stories I recently inhaled and adored. This is also a chance to do some housekeeping and give shout-outs and all that jazz.

First things first

A little housekeeping

Losing sleep

Good Monday afternoon, Foreign Bodies readers. I haven’t had a restful sleep in a few nights, and its unfortunate consequences have been creeping into my waking hours in a few different ways. One, the brain fog sets in earlier than the usual 3 p.m. brick wall. Two, I am compartmentalizing unaddressed secondhand trauma (shootings, shootings, shootings) more than I typically do. I am not a fan of doing this because I vividly remember where my mind has wandered during my breaking point in the past. And lastly, I am feeling overwhelmed, unstable, and like I’m losing my footing. Learning to be grounded—that is, finding and making a home for myself, knowing my place on a piece of Earth, feeling confident in my footprints—that was all essential to my recovery once upon a time. I hope to lay my head down on my pillow tonight and wake up to a little clarity and willingness tomorrow. In the meantime, a handful of things, moments, people that have put a smile on my face in recent days:

• your lovely reading recs

• pool weather

• brother’s back in town <3

• having all my living grandparents under one roof

• Inositol for helping regulate my hormonal imbalances

• Prozac

• the newest season of Stranger Things

• my neighborhood crush

• open and honest and inevitably messy communication

• Lady, Billie and Scamper

• when my friend Najja told me she feels rejuvenated and at peace, like she’s been at a spa, after leaving my house

• drunk texts and impromptu date nights

• the growing love and appreciation I have for my body and all of its so-called flaws

A musical start to your Mondays 🎧

One song to groove to, cry to, drive to and share

My brother and I were just talking about how much we love that the world is buzzing about Kate Bush’s 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill” after the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix. Forever a favorite.

Resource(s) of the week

Something helpful and interesting and cool (*storytelling opportunity)

• Sista Afya: A Chicago-based community mental wellness organization that provides low-cost care centering the experiences of Black women. Sista Afya therapists are currently accepting new clients on a sliding scale! More information about therapists and their services here.