This past holiday season I had lots of time with family. And while there were times that the noise and festive gatherings were a bit much for my social anxiety, it truly was a blessing. It was a blessing because family are terrific at challenging the lies of mental illness that tell you that you […]
I cannot say enough for the power of pets. They don’t judge you. They don’t expect you to be anything more than a warm lap and a filler of bowls, and even in the darkness, you can manage that. Especially in the darkness. Because when you are struggling sometimes all it takes is a snuggle […]
You may have noticed some people on social media posting photos of themselves from 2009 and 2019. I’ve commented on this before, but these 10-year challenges are an excellent chance to reflect. As such, here are my photos. Maybe it isn’t visible to anyone else, but behind those smiles I see very different stories. […]
My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family died when I was very young. I don’t remember him. His story was told by the living, by my father, who told me about his imprisonment in Cuba for opposing Castro. And he told me about how my grandfather’s absence shaped him. My father, who came […]
October started and ended with me fight through depressions. Yet, most of the month was actually fairly good. It was the longest stretch I’ve had without a depressive episode in a while, and, as an added treat, it was the best month for this site’s overall viewership, so thank you for that! Depression is a […]
Travel can be a challenge for those struggling with mental illness. It takes you out of the familiar and forces you out into the world. But it can also be helpful because it forces you to challenge your beliefs. This weekend I am traveling, but fortunately for me it is just traveling back to my […]
There are many tools one can use to fight back against their mental illness. One such tool, a tool I have not used, is gratitude journaling. The idea is simple. Mental illness creates negative, intrusive thoughts, and gratitude journaling creates positive thoughts. But like I said, I haven’t used it. I haven’t used it because […]
