Category: Mental Health
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A Letter in Case You’re Having a Tough Day Too
Dear You, Life can be tough sometimes. I sincerely understand that life can be excruciatingly tough. There will be horrible days. Days filled with loss. Days coated heavily by sadness or depression. Days when self-hatred becomes strong. Days that follow sleepless nights. Tough days for whatever reason. This might be…
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Strategies for Socializing After Isolation
Mental illness can be tough. Becoming socially isolated as a result of mental illness is far too easy. Depression can cause us to push people away. Anxiety can cause us to doubt ourselves and our interactions. Agoraphobia can keep us inside our homes. Skin-picking can make us embarrassed to be…
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Winter can be tough but so are we
Christmas is closing in. I have done absolutely zero Christmas shopping and there isn’t a Christmas tree up in my house. Mental illness is tough sometimes. It’s easy to feel worthless It’s so easy to feel worthless this time of year. Sometimes it can seem like everyone has their act…
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Quieting the Mean Voice in My Head
I’ve been trying to quiet the mean voice inside my head lately. I want to tell you about it. It hasn’t been easy. You probably know this voice. It’s an unkind and relentless voice. This voice makes you think and say mean things about yourself. It has a lot to…
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Making Time For Grief
Hello everyone, Daisy, my service dog and best friend of eleven years recently passed away. I need to take some time off to grieve in my own way. It’s odd, I don’t have a customary job. I don’t work in an office. I don’t have a boss. I don’t answer…
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Support, Self-Care, and Superhero Capes
Some friends came over on Saturday night. We had planned to go out and visit various Halloween themed attractions. It’s our fall tradition and I always thoroughly enjoy it. But to be perfectly honest, my mental health wasn’t so great that night. I didn’t want to rain on everyone’s parade.…
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What I Carry for OCD
My husband took me to the cinema last night. On the way I felt a sudden pang of panic. I became worried that I might not have enough “OCD stuff” with me. I quickly opened my purse and did an inventory. These are the items I pulled from my purse;…
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What is Depression Like?
Depression is not the same for everyone. We might have shared experiences, but we are unique. No two people are exactly the same. We all have different needs. We all have different fears. We all lead different lives. Some of us are more different than others. We are all different,…
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When Guilt and Shame Follow Depression
Depression is tough, but this post isn’t about depression. This is about how guilt and shame often follow depression and how I cope with it. Depression can be exhausting and debilitating. A thick fog surrounds everything. It makes even the simplest of tasks seem insurmountable. When depression finally ends the…
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When Depression Numbs Excitement
The numbness I’m feeling is difficult to explain but it’s important so I’m going to try. During depression people often experience a lack of enjoyment in things that are normally enjoyable. This is my reality right now. My excitement has been stolen and replaced with foggy numbness. A time for…
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Dear You, Who Might Also Be Depressed
Some blog posts are planned far in advance while others spill from my mind and into my keyboard immediately for you to see. This one is spilling. This one is for the people who feel stuck. This one is for the people who understand depression. Dear You, Depression is real.…
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Coping with OCD at ComicCon
Comic Book Conventions give fans the opportunity to meet the celebrities they admire. It’s an exciting time but it can also be a difficult time for a fan that lives with a mental illness. I attended two Comic Book Conventions this month, both were enjoyable, but they also came with…
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Broken and Worthy of Being Put Back Together
I’m having a broken day but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be alright. I’m allowed to have broken days. I’ll put myself back together. I always do. One day soon I’ll have the energy and I will put myself back together. Like this piece of art by…
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The Unfairness of Posting Smiles When I Am Depressed
I posted this photo on a day in mid-November. It wasn’t the day the photo was taken. On this mid-November day I was struggling with depression, but you had no way of knowing. On that day, if you had looked at my social networks, you would have thought; “wow, she…
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How I Care for My Mental Health on Good Days
Many people only talk about caring for their mental health on bad mental health days. In the past, I was one of those people. Not anymore. I’ve finally realized that caring for my mental health on good mental health days is vitally important. I believe this is important for everyone,…
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When Mental Illness Makes Small Tasks Overwhelming
Overwhelmed and unmotivated aren’t typically terms that go hand-in-hand. But today I’m feeling both. I read a quote on a piece of art by Kelly Malka, and it sparked some inspiration, so I want to talk about it; “Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by everything I want to do that I’m…