ACES Peer Facilitators Organization -APFO

“To Care is our Duty, To Help is our Responsibility”

10/12/2025

Happy birthday, Ma'am Jezza Faith Horlador Bitang !

It's hard to put into words how much we appreciate you. Your strength, your kindness, and your wisdom, they all shine so brightly and make such a difference in our lives. You have a way of making each of your students feel safe, loved, and inspired to become the best versions of themselves. Being under your guidance and care feels like a true gift from God. We in APFO are incredibly thankful to have you as our adviser, and we cherish every memory we've made with you. We're excited to create many more. Wishing you a birthday overflowing with joy, good health, and all the things that bring a smile to your face.

02/12/2025

Anxiety is not something you try to "get rid of" like a virus or parasite. It's something you regulate. There's a difference.

I’ve experienced anxiety to the point where getting up in the morning felt like an obligation, eating felt like a challenge, and breathing didn’t feel second nature. So I used to look for ways to “fight it,” “stop it,” or “get rid of it,” not realizing that anxiety can be a normal part of the full range of human emotion.

And yes, anxiety can become clinical when it’s persistent and starts impairing your daily functioning. But “feeling anxiety” on its own doesn’t mean something is wrong with you, and it doesn’t always need a diagnosis.

Negative emotions get demonized repeatedly, not because negative emotions are bad intrinsically, but because society was never trained to appreciate uncomfortable emotions. Everybody wants “good vibes” so badly that they start rejecting reality. They can’t wrap their head around how complex human beings can be.

So society interprets things at the most superficial level:

“Oh, you’re anxious? How ungrateful.”
Instead of: “Oh, you’re anxious? That’s totally human.”

That small shift in wording matters, because it changes what happens next. When you treat anxiety like a moral failure, you respond with shame and suppression. When you treat anxiety like a normal internal signal, you respond with regulation and responsibility. Full article here: https://open.substack.com/pub/dockili/p/anxiety-is-not-something-you-try?r=51z0p2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

25/11/2025

20/11/2025

Healing is not about the absence of triggers.
It is about what you do after they show up.

A common misconception about “moving on” is this fantasy version of healing where nothing reminds you of the past, and if it does, you should feel nothing. No intensity, no sadness, zero reaction.

That is unrealistic and non-scientific.

Your brain is designed to remember patterns of danger. Research on trauma and PTSD shows that even years after an experience, reminders of past danger can still activate the brain’s alarm system, especially the amygdala, which detects threat and prepares your body to protect you.

So if a song, a restaurant, an event, or a random photo of your ex suddenly makes your heart race, it does not automatically mean “I am not healed.” It means your nervous system is doing its job to guard your space: recognizing a pattern that used to be unsafe.

Healing is not a finish line where triggers disappear. Healing is developing a set of skills you practice daily to manage your triggers as you age.

What is actually happening in your brain when you are triggered? Full article here: https://open.substack.com/pub/dockili/p/healing-is-not-about-the-absence?r=51z0p2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web