Blog: emotional triggers

Why are we Lonely?-by Heidi McLaughlin

Posted: May 7, 2026

“You don’t have an Apple watch?” With a puzzled scowl my friend looked at my empty wrist. “Nope I replied confidently, and I won’t be getting one. Let me explain. There are already too many distractions that take my attention from the important things right in front of me. I don’t need the pressure to respond to yet another message that can wait.” I believe that few things in life are that urgent. Yes, there are a lot of important things to attend to but most of them don’t need our immediate attention. I remember a time when we had one phone in our house and if you weren’t home to answer it. Oh well, you’ll have to try again. We were not prisoners of our digital devices, instead we made time to connect with our eyes and conversations. We shared meals, played games, stopped at each other’s homes for…

Posted in: all alone, alone, Covid-19, emotional triggers, empathy, Encouragement, Families, friends, Friendship, good conversation, happiness needs to be shared, isolated, isolation, laughter, loneliness, loneliness epidemic, loneliness Pandemic, make time for each other, praying with friends, relationships, rhythm, spiritual friendships, vulnerable, we are made for relationships, we need each other, we need heart connections

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Smells, Sights and Sounds of Grief-by Heidi McLaughlin

Posted: July 7, 2025

An emotional lightning bolt hit me on the golf course. I saw the backside of a man about Jack’s age, wearing a Puma golf hat, with black golf shorts and a blue shirt. That’s exactly what Jack always wore. My heart started to pound; I stopped and couldn’t take my eyes off him. I’m not crazy.  Of course I knew it wasn’t Jack. My brain knows Jack died a long time ago. But our grief saturated minds can play powerful tricks on our feelings. The desire to see our loved ones again is so powerful, our hearts become irrational with that deep longing. We’re not crazy we’re just sad. Some smells and sounds trigger emotional responses that are quite shocking. Jack and I had a favorite restaurant which is quite expensive, so we went there only on special occasions. Months after Jack died a family member (who didn’t now it…

Posted in: alone, ask God, breathing, brokenness, circumstances, cry, darkness, death, despair, disappointments, emotional recovery, emotional triggers, empathy, Encouragement, feeling bad, grief affects the brain, grief changes us, grief is lonely, grief is misunderstood, grief is unpredictable, Hope, live one day at a time, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Struggles, refining process, seasons of darkness, Self-compassion, special kind of love, suffering, take care of your heart, time doesn't heal, trauma, we need each other

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