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Crystal Jackson
10 Upcoming Events at the Madison Morgan Cultural Center
The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center located in historic downtown Madison, Georgia, is a hub for arts, culture, and community. It's not just a performing arts venue. It's also an art museum, a history museum, and a center for education for arts and culture in the area. You'll want to save the date for the following events and performances at the Center:
3 Things to Ask Yourself When You Feel Triggered
One of the most annoying aspects of having gone through trauma therapy is knowing that there is no finish line. I know that I don’t get to a point where I’m just magically healed from everything that’s ever happened to me. As much as I’d love to say that there will come a point where there is no more discomfort to process, that would be a lie.
How a Relationship Post-Mortem Can Improve Your Life
I was once accused of using my relationship history as fodder for another article. Someone else called me the Taylor Swift of writers and failed to see how that was a compliment. But I’ve never excavated my past purely for entertainment. I don’t conduct relationship postmortems in an attempt to gain attention, power, or money. I never did it for revenge. I only ever did it for the very best of reasons — to heal, to grow, and to make peace with my past.
Art Classes at The Hall on Foster Street in Madison, GA
Did you know that the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center offers art education classes for adults? These classes are located at The Hall on Foster Street, the historic event facility located behind MMCC. These are the classes currently available:
7 Practical Tips To Heal From Breakup Rejection
No one talks about how the worst part of any breakup is the crushing sense of rejection. Or maybe it’s just me. When you have a history of abandonment issues and an anxious attachment style, rejection sensitivity is already a problem. To compound it with the finality of a breakup is excruciating.
7 Ways to Know We’ve Crossed into Red Flag Territory
It’s reasonable to say that I think a lot about my history of relationships. I’m not holding onto the past, not anymore, but I am trying to learn from it. I don’t want to keep repeating the same mistakes and playing out the same disappointing scenarios. I want to do better.
3 Myths About Therapy Debunked by a Therapist
As a practicing master’s level mental health clinician, it might seem like I have a vested interest in convincing people that therapy is essential. After all, it’s what I get paid to do. But long before I was ever a practicing therapist, I was a client.
7 Takeaways as a Woman Reading Serial Killer Thrillers
I’ve always been a mood reader. As a child, I’d devour children’s chapter books, consume classics, and then wander my way through the world of romance, mystery, and science fiction. For a long time, I didn’t have a favorite genre. It all depended on how I was feeling at any given moment.
Falling in Love Requires a Different Skill Set Than Staying in Love
I was never good at falling in love. It required trust that I didn’t have and a belief that everything would work out. Falling in love needed wide-eyed wonder when all I had was skepticism. I was far too guarded to let myself fall, so instead, I took calculated risks. I waded in a little at a time while always tracking the shoreline.
I’m Too Busy: The Shield for Those Who Want Love But Don’t Know What to Do With It
I’ve decided that “busy” is a trauma response. While some of us just have a personality type prone to multitasking and productivity, constantly juggling the responsibilities in our lives creates quite the shield around us. Some of us are trying to prove our worthiness and earn a sense of love and belonging. Others are simply trying to mask the heavy emotions that would be present if we ever stood still long enough to feel them. Then, there are those doing both.
Impulse Screams “Fight for Love” But Intuition Whispers “Let Them Go”
He was breaking up with me. I could tell by the sudden shift in tone. We were laughing together, and then everything changed. My impulse was to stop him — to do anything and everything to prevent the thing I feared from coming to pass. I wanted to remind him that I loved him, to beg him to stay, and to somehow convince him of my worth. But my intuition had another idea entirely.
[OPINION] The Fascinating Truth About Social Media Stalking
The Internet changed our lives. We can have a random question and easily find an answer with a simple Google search. We have knowledge at our literal fingertips, and it can make us insatiable to learn more. But sometimes, the things we want to know can fall into the category of None of Our Business.
How to Protect Your Mental Well-Being This Election Season
I truly hate election years. The way people act feels gross — and that’s the only way to describe it. After reading political posts and seeing how human beings behave toward one another, I need a shower. I don’t know how other countries handle political disagreements, but the United States has descended into reality show-level drama. While it’s occasionally entertaining, it’s mostly just stressful to witness.
8 Great Granny Hobbies for Gen X and the Elder Millennial to Embrace
I grew up being told I was Gen X just to get shoved into the Millennial category before being insulting labeled as an Elder Millennial. We’re like the middle child of generational labels. But happily, we seem to be skipping right over the midlife crisis and going straight into our granny hobbies — and I’m loving it.
8 Inspirational Life Lessons Harvested from My Garden
When I got divorced almost a decade ago, I had one true goal. I wanted to be able to buy a house on my own for my family. I knew there would be challenges in being a single mother, but I was determined to put down roots. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to save up enough to even think of buying a house, but after seven years, I was able to do just that.
How DOOM Piles Can Help with ADHD Organization
Just over a year ago, a friend looked at me and said the words that would forever change my perspective. I was flummoxed. I had studied to be a therapist. I had practiced as a counselor for a few years. I’d been actively involved in therapy as a client. But I had never heard those four letters applied to me.
[Opinion] Not Dating At All is Peaceful
When people encourage me about future dating prospects, I can’t help but be amused. I don’t think people realize that not dating is surprisingly peaceful. I’m unbothered, hydrated, moisturized, and staying in my lane. It’s not just a meme — it’s a life.
How to Tell If the One You're With Is Wrong for You
It’s easy to get attached to the wrong person. Attachment grows with intimacy. It’s complicated by attraction. With all those messy emotional chemicals simmering beneath the surface, how are we ever supposed to know when someone we like is wrong for us?
Crystal Jackson
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Crystal Jackson is a mental health clinician and writer. She is the author of the Heart of Madison contemporary romance series. Her work has been featured on Medium, Elite Daily, Thought Catalog, The Good Men Project, and Elephant Journal. When she's not writing, you can find her traveling, paddle boarding, cycling, throwing axes badly but with terrifying enthusiasm, hiking, or curled up with her nose in a book in Madison, Georgia. Crystal writes about relationships, mental health, parenting, social justice, and more. Never miss an update. Subscribe to emails: https://crystaljacksonwriter.substack.com/
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