What’s your Enneagram type?

What are your Enneagram types?

Very rarely is any one thing all one thing ™, and also, these Types can tell us a lot about ourselves and our actions.

Even just the titles of my Type and Wing, say no more, spot on!

I work hard to be intentional about sitting with my emotions, as any of my clients will tell you we discuss in our sessions, and I also got a chuckle out of reading “never want to feel any kind of emotional pain or discomfort, so they do everything they can to keep themselves busy and having a good time.” Hiiiii!

Oppositional Defiant Disorder was defined in the DSM-III but wasn’t discussed in my case in the 90’s, and also, it was definitely part of my ADHD journey, defined or not. To call me a “Challenger” is basically the same as calling me, “Meg.”

I’ve been looking more into Enneagram literature and how having an understanding of our Types can help us gain insight into the Why’s behind our actions. Not necessarily to change, because our “faults” can be our strengths, and our “fears” can be energizing when we are intentional about our thinking processes.

What do you think of Enneagram Types? Have you taken the assessment? How have you used them in your own life?

Climb Out 2023 Official Schedule!

The official @kcclimboutofthedarkness2023 schedule has been posted!

Seriously, what a dream and a delight to be asked to do a LIVE episode of #ThePerinatalPodcast with @wholeparentfoundation for @psiclimbout and @postpartumsupportinternational. A treat!

Plus, I know my kids are going to FLIP for Bluey! Remember, it’s free to sign up, or just show up!

Can’t wait to see y’all there in person or here on my insta live!

My husband arranges a photographer every year for Mother’s Day, and while I don’t show my kids’ faces or names on my professional page, I couldn’t resist sharing this beauty.

Definitely got this one printed!

Hello, Evergreen State!

Hello, Evergreen State!

In honor of becoming licensed to practice in Washington, I found this, my favorite photo I took during my trip to Seattle, Sunnyside, and Woodinville.

I mean, where’s the lie, amirite? 😉

LeakyCon, here we come!

The Bibliotherapy crew have submitted our presenter profiles and our panel confirmation and are ready for August!

Presenting a @leakycon panel on mental health has been a dream of mine since we first attended the Dallas conventions more than a few years ago.

The Wizarding World has meant so much to so many, often giving a feeling of belonging when our own worlds may not feel so welcoming. Especially with recent headlines, we are excited to discuss how we can continue to lean on the community in supportive and inclusive ways.

I hope to see some of y’all there! Chicago, first weekend of August 2023!

Friendly reminder, team.

You do you, boo.

Let others do them, boo. 😉

Life is too short to muck around in other people’s weeds.

Sitting with the tension of more than one thing can be difficult. And you’re also very much able to do it, if you allow yourself the space.

Sometimes, when I feel grouchy about my kids’ behavior (see also, when I am in a complaining space), I feel that makes me ungrateful for my children, given all the hardships I had getting and staying pregnant, and also because others are still in their fertility struggles.

But feeling one doesn’t negate the other. We are complex, nuanced humans capable of critical thought and varied emotions.

Be easy on yourself today. Don’t “should” on yourself. 😉 Spend some time with all the feels.

April is #csectionawarenessmonth!

Be curious, not judgmental.

If you have questions about c sections, certainly ask them! But please never assume a c section is “taking the easy way out” of giving birth.

Recovering from a surgery that slices through 7 layers of tissue and muscle and fat with a brand new baby to keep alive is anything but easy.

And the fact that so many people who have had c sections feel the need to defend this is telling that our society continues to struggle with being judgmental.

My water broke with my son just after midnight on his due date. Labor stalled and, long story short, ended in a c section.

With my daughter, the c section was planned, and dare I say it, it was almost luxurious! But that’s another story for another day, because I have lots to say about it.

I am sad for the things I missed out on with a vaginal birth experience but am above all grateful my babies came to me safely. I’m grateful for the surgeons who took good care of me and my children as they made their way earth-side.

If you find yourself feeling judgmental of a person who had a c section, take a moment and ask yourself what is causing that line of thinking and if it is genuinely helpful in your life.

And for those fellow birthing people whose babies were Ziplocked out of them, as I like to call it, I salute you in April and in every month!

Not excited to wear my IU “fine academic regalia” because I am a Boilermaker through and through, but I am thrilled to be able to join my students as they graduate with their MSWs this May!

Rock Chalk, Social Workers! @kuschoolofsocialwelfare

A Conversation with a Somatic Sex Therapist

This week, Natashia Fuksman, MFT, CST, joins me to discuss paying homage to our bodies and our sense of self in relation to others, holding space and normalizing the differences in our bodies after pregnancy and giving birth, and steps to begin healing relationally.

Natashia is genuinely the boss of metaphors and providing different vantage points to look at and consider significant issues in a new way. This episode includes relating postpartum to puberty, toddlers learning what their yeses and no’s are and how that relates to sexual encounters postpartum, a way for non-birthing people to contemplate how a birthing person’s relationship with their own body can change, and generally, how to reconceptualize sexuality in its different forms.

I could have chatted with them for another hour and hope to have them back on again in the near future, but for now, please enjoy this Conversation with Natashia Fuksman, Somatic Sex Therapist!

Let’s Discuss! @feminist_sex_therapist

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-discuss-with-meg-duke/id1590957531

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6E9hFFnoBlenAkU5X25UYO

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1Id9G_-C-b3CtOrQkH8Qw