JakeOff

                What are you building?    by Dr. Jacoby Alba, DNP., APNP.,  PMHNP-C., CMH. October 30, 2020 From the moment two people start talking, they start building. It may not feel like construction. There are no blueprints spread across a table, no hard hats, no visible scaffolding. But with every word exchanged, every text sent, every shared laugh or lingering silence, something is being formed. Piece by piece. Choice by choice. And whatever they choose to build determines what it becomes in the end. Every Interaction Is a Brick The first conversation is the clearing of land. Curiosity breaks the ground. Attraction pours the concrete. Vulnerability frames the walls. Trust becomes the wiring that allows everything to function. Some connections are built quickly and lightly. Two people meet, sparks fly, chemistry leads, and by sunrise the structure has served its purpose. A one-night stand isn’t an accident—it’s a building de...

Friends with your ex? by Dr. Jacoby Alba, DNP., APNP., PMHNP-C., CMH Breakups are hard — emotionally, mentally, and often physically. After investing so much time, energy, and love into someone, letting go can feel impossible. That’s precisely why the idea of staying friends with an ex can be so tempting. But beneath the surface of “no hard feelings” lies a host of emotional landmines that can keep you stuck in the past rather than moving forward with your life.  1. It Prevents Emotional Healing One of the clearest reasons not to remain friends with an ex is that it often keeps you emotionally attached when you need distance. Psychology Today highlights that many people who want to stay friends are really trying, consciously or unconsciously, to hold onto the relationship or the hope of rekindling it — even if they claim they don’t. Keeping regular contact makes it harder to truly let go and move on.  The emotional pain of heartbreak, like any loss, needs time and space to hea...