Tag: mental health
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Avoidance Creates Anxiety
It started out relatively small. For reasons related to trauma, I have harbored a deep-seated distaste for country music and a hatred of Valentine’s Day, both of which have taken ownership of significant chunks of my life. How did something so little grow to consume such a big portion of my life? Easy…the answer is…
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Self-Discipline ≠ Punishment
Years ago, I horribly injured my foot hiking a local trail. This was a hike I had hiked countless times without issue. And yet, I headed up that slope without stretching and came home barely able to walk. If I had any commonsense, I would have gone to a doctor and taken appropriate measures to…
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It’s the Least Wonderful Time of the Year
Dreadful January. After all the cheery decorations get packed away, the friends and relatives end the revelry and return to their respective homes, and we all stop eating special foods to celebrate every single holiday, we are faced with a sobering reality. With its bills piling up and short daylight hours, January strips us of…
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Now You See It. Now You Don’t.
With so many speaking up about mental health struggles, the world is trying to raise awareness and fight the stigma. This blog joins a cacophony of voices that speak candidly about depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health struggles. As the conversation unfolds, as we continue to call attention to this very…
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Change the Narrative • Save a Life
One of the most difficult (and depressing) things I faced as someone struggling with clinical depression was the stigma surrounding reaching out for help when help was most needed. It boggles my mind how often people question whether a diagnosis of clinical depression is legitimate and whether or not medication is necessary. It blows my…
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Lessons Learned
This year has been a year of intense learning, not just in a formal education setting as I pursue my Master of Social Work, but also through revelations in the day-to-day as I sat silently, prayed, listened, and reflected. I am a work in progress. I love lifelong learning. So each lesson means the world…
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Boundaries Matter
As we stare into the vortex of peak chaos that we call the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the start of a new year…), chalk full of festivities with friends and family, allow me to be the first to reassure you that your boundaries matter. Your feelings matter. If no one else will validate…
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Drowning in Sorrow
There is a part in a book by Lewis Carroll called “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” where the main character, Alice, is so distraught, she begins to cry. Her adventures have been too taxing, too bizarre, too isolating, too frightful, too difficult to bear that the tears well up in her eyes and spill over, splashing…
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This Imperfect Life
I was watching Moulin Rouge with my husband on Saturday night. I’ve seen this movie countless times before and appreciated it for its artistic approach to storytelling. I have never had an issue with this movie, so I immediately chose it when it popped up as an option. The movie started as usual. There are…
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Rage Hurts; Words Heal
In the aftermath of experiencing a traumatic event, survivors go through stages akin to the grieving process. Trauma leads to anguish and grief because it almost always stems from a loss – of autonomy, innocence, or health, to name just a few – and so, grief sets in. The grieving process is chaotic. The stages…
Wisdom from the Trenches 