Pragya Sharma Counselling Services

10/26/2023

slide one:
an invitation to notice

slide 2:
what happens in your system — your body, mind, spirit — when you read the next few slides?
maybe your stomach drops. maybe your jaw tightens. maybe your head and face feel hot and swollen. maybe your impulse is to cry. maybe it’s to fight. maybe it’s to post an angry comment, arguing with what i’m saying. whatever it is: try to notice.

slide 3:
some of us are experiencing genocide committed against our people. some of us are witnessing it. some of us are denying it’s happening. some of us are justifying it.

slide 4:
the state of israel has completely destroyed between 42-50% of the homes in gaza. at least 6700 people in gaza, including 700 children, have been murdered. israel has blocked palestinians’ access to food, water, and medical supplies.

this is genocide.

slide 5:
(still noticing?)

(take a moment here. breathe. what happens in your mind-body-spirit?)

slide 6:
if you support israel:
maybe you are angry. maybe you can’t see what is happening as violence against palestinians. maybe you fully believe that the state of israel has a right to exist. maybe you think i’m being anti-semitic. maybe you feel defensive of loved ones. maybe you feel attacked.

slide 7:
if you support israel:
i want to ask you: can you feel your heart right now? what has happened to harden you to the suffering of palestinians? what has made you believe in anyone’s entitlement to land in this way? is this safety for you? i refuse to believe that this is what your faith tells you.

slide 8:
if you support palestine:
can you feel your heart right now? what has happened to open you to the suffering of others? what has allowed you to see that no one is entitled to a theocratic state? how have you come to perceive safety, both for yourself and others? where does your faith, your hope lie?

slide 9:
i do not want to be the kind of human who can see an entire population wiped away and feel nothing. i do not want to be the kind of human who can see an entire population wiped away and somehow believe it’s justified. i refuse to lose my right to love.

free palestine.

10/26/2023

07/16/2022

07/16/2022

02/21/2022

Important post on therapy and neurodivergence!

01/13/2022

This is a great article and worth the long read.

When therapists assume that higher-weight individuals have a traumatic past, it adds another layer to the fat-shaming they’re already likely enduring.

12/31/2021

I was reading 's You Better Be Lightning, and was struck by their words, "...my tears like teenagers / hiding under the hoods of my eyes, / so committed they were to never falling / for the joke of astonishment."

The *joke* of astonishment.

In coping with trauma, in thinking they're working hard to keep us safe, our bodies switch from a relaxed state that experiences wonder in the every day, into a hypervigilant or shutdown state that cannot afford to be "wowed" by anything, lest be caught off-guard or made vulnerable by our ignorance. To allow room for astonishment often requires some type of safety; so maybe, if you can, just imagine it. Imagine you are in a body that carries deep knowing it will be held when it experiences the awe and wonder of the every day.

What would it take to be safe enough to experience this? What if maybe - just maybe - you are already safe enough?

12/15/2021

10/12/2021

Image description: black text on a gradient purple/peach background. Text reads: "your values clash with expectations of you and you're not sure what to do? Try placing your hand below your navel. Keep your eyes open. Notice your breath. Think about what's important to you: how do you want to move through the world? What kind of relationships do you want to maintain, foster? What does love look like for you. Keep breathing. Any clarity?"

09/12/2021

Thanks for visiting my page! If you don't know me, my name is Pragya and my pronouns are she/her. I am fat, q***r, and able-bodied. I hold a Master's of Social Work degree and am a Registered Social Worker, offering counselling services via telehealth to those in so-called Alberta. I live on Treaty 6 Territory, Amiskwaciwâskahikan / ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Edmonton). I am experienced in addressing a variety of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, addictions, life transitions, and identity exploration. I specialize in working with those experiencing traits of/diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, as well as marginalized individuals (ie., those who are racialized, fat, q***r, trans, disabled, or otherwise pushed to the margins). Click on "learn more" to check out my website for more information about me and my services.

09/12/2021