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Gregg Popovich nailed what many Americans are feeling with Trump in the White House.

Gregg Popovich described with uncanny accuracy what millions of Americans have been feeling since Nov. 8.

The San Antonio Spurs head coach, one of the sports world's few high-profile critics of the president, offered a stunningly spot-on diagnosis of the national mood during a press conference before the May 2017 Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals — and he wasn't afraid to point fingers at one figure in particular.

Gregg Popovich lighting into Donald Trump about how he conducts himself: "It's a game show" https://t.co/kLyUYtg3Xi
— Anthony Slater (@Anthony Slater) 1494785953

"Usually, things happen in the world and you got your work, and you've got your family, and you've got your friends, and you do what you do," Popovich said. "But to this day, I feel like there's a cloud, a pall over the whole country, in a paranoid, surreal sort of way. And it's got nothing to do with Democrats losing the election. It's got to do with the way one individual conducts himself, and that's embarrassing."

"It's dangerous to our institutions, and what we all stand for, and what we expect the country to be. But for this individual, he's in a game show," he continued, without mentioning the president by name. "And everything that happens begins and ends with him, not our people or our country. Every time he talks about those things, that's just a ruse. That's just disingenuous, cynical, I think."

"Trump trauma" is real — and it's interfering with people's daily lives.

Therapists report their offices have been inundated with patients suffering from the "cloud" that Popovich described, manifesting itself in administration-related anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

"This is so monumental because we are not in normal anymore," therapist Randi Gottlieb, who heads the L.A. chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, told the paper in February.

Photo by Saul Loeb/Getty Images.

Meanwhile, for Trump opponents like Popovich, there's an additional culprit: the seemingly endless stream of news served by social media and cable TV.

"The constant state of emergency keeps people anxious and fearful," media psychologist Pamela Rutledge recently told Yahoo News.

There are ways for individuals to cope with the "cloud" that Popovich identified.

Mental health professionals on the Internet offer lots of good, free advice, like this piece from therapist Robin Chancer, which recommends things like accepting the current reality, making room for grief, and being mindful of proactive steps to take when it subsides.

"Each time the tapes of despair and anger play in your mind, doggedly shift your focus. The mind will wander, again and again. Each time it happens, we notice the anxious thoughts, and shift our focus back. The anxious mind will scream, 'How could our President cut Meals on Wheels? What a monster! Those poor people!' Then, shift focus back to the good, 'The program has seen a 500% increase in volunteers since the cuts were proposed. Maybe I could get involved!'"

In fact, taking action might be the best medicine.

Photo by Jason Redmond/Getty Images.

Going to a rally, writing letters to your elected officials, and making phone calls might not immediately change the current political climate and circumstances, but Chancer argues that doing something proactive is preferable to wallowing in either optimism or pessimism, both of which posit a future state that's unknowable.

President Trump may never change, but the world keeps turning under Popovich's "cloud," and it belongs to all of us.

Where things go from here will be decided by more just than one individual — even if that individual sits in the White House.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship

Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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money

Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

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Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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grief

Gregg Popovich nailed what many Americans are feeling with Trump in the White House.

Gregg Popovich described with uncanny accuracy what millions of Americans have been feeling since Nov. 8.

"Trump trauma" is real — and it's interfering with people's daily lives.

There are ways for individuals to cope with the "cloud" that Popovich identified.

In fact, taking action might be the best medicine.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

Trameka Brown-Berry was looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework when her jaw hit the floor.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

The assignment was real. In the year 2018. Unbelievable.

The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway.

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.