Bubble and gurgle Boil and spout These ugly feelings Want to come out Warm acidic pressure Tight eyes and sealed lips it's a wonder they can't tell I'm near falling to bits A quick action A thoughtless mistake Killed all good vibes Quiet animosity overtakes Shut my mouth Glue close my eyes But not my [...]
Four words you never want to hear: ‘I want to die.’ Or, the other variation, ‘I want to kill myself.’ Living with two children with serious mental illness who were diagnosed very early (age 7/8) who also have pretty constant suicidal ideation is, just frankly, stressful and heartbreaking. I can remember when my now nineteen-year-old [...]
The Stigma of PMDD I love being a woman. I love my body and everything it can do. I love feeling maternal and being in touch with my emotions and utilizing my intuition as much as my logic and any other skills I have. I love my jeans and boots and sneakers, but I love [...]
For me social anxiety is like this: It’s not wanting people to look at me when I’ve put on makeup because they might see my flaws, but then not wanting them to ignore me either because that hurts my feelings as a highly sensitive person. It’s not wanting to feel their eyeballs on my skin [...]
When someone says they “literally had an anxiety attack” when something stressful happens, try thinking about this next time. An anxiety attack is two words I would love to never say again, never have again, and it hurts when you hear someone use a term that is utterly devastating to you as a joking phrase. [...]
I was always diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (along with a diagnosis with PSTD). I was okay with that. It took some time, but I was okay with my diagnosis. I wasn't always. I went through stages. At first I was made at the defect that I was born with. Then I was sad, because I [...]
I've fought my battles with mental health for years. I never really stepped back to take a look at what was going on because I never thought about having a mental health disorder, no matter how I felt, because it wasn't something that people spoke about openly. I knew the symptoms for a flu, I [...]
I have always been the girl with a pen and a pad of paper on hand. I'm a writer. I used to write fiction, but as I grew older I realized that I could write about my emotions too. My diary became my closest companion. For a while I tried to write eloquently, but eventually [...]
For the past 25 years I was oblivious to the fact that what I have been living with is considered a mental health condition, instead I went about my days thinking the others around me were strong and confident individuals whereas I believed I was just not. As I grew up I came to learn [...]
My daughter saved my life when I was 15. The thread was cobalt blue, and after I finished, I admired my work. At only thirteen, my embroidery was sloppy, but pride still swirled in my gut. The pride stemmed from accomplishment and mastery. Not a mastery of sewing skills, but as I stitched the letters [...]
