Something happened to me a while ago and I can't remember it. It wasn't an insignificant something. It was an impactful something but I can't recall it. It comes in bits and pieces like when it rains and then abruptly stops. I have tried to remember the whole story, but only tiny details pop into [...]
When I was a child my mother’s drug addiction was a prominent force in her life and that also meant that it was a big part of mine. It became one of the major causes of our unending, toxic, family dysfunction, but her crack-cocaine addiction and polysubstance dependence couldn’t hold a candle to her mismanaged [...]
One of the challenges that I have in my life is knowing when to give people space to process their own feelings. I want to be involved in helping my friends and loved ones. My inclination is to provide them with helpful solutions so that they can better more through their pain. I am a person [...]
When you have a mental illness (or mental health issues) they are bound to impact your interpersonal relationships. As people living with mental illness, we experience a wide array of symptoms depending on our diagnosis. From the highs of mania to the hallucinations of schizophrenia - your partner is bound to be impacted by these [...]
What the Negative Thought Bubbles Are Telling Me by Sarah Schuster I call them “negative thought bubbles” because those are the only words I can access at the time. Lying in my high school boyfriend’s bed, I explain to him matter-of-factly he has to let me be until all the bubbles pop. *Pop* You’re a [...]
Bipolar: A Pharmacist's View When I got my first job at a retail pharmacy after graduation, I had no idea what to expect. Sure I had worked at the neighborhood pharmacy all through high school and part of college, but we were still filling prescriptions old school with a typewriter. We knew each customer by [...]
Dear Mamas Like Me: You are not alone Dear Mamas Like Me, You who struggle daily with mental illness, neurodiversity or past trauma. This is for you. Know you are seen. Know you are not alone. TW for abuse and sexual violence I want to speak up about what it's like to be a mother [...]
When I was young, about seven or eight, I had “blackouts.” That was my word for them. Not because I lost consciousness or had holes in my memory. They were “blackouts” because it felt like I was blacking out from reality like the world was suddenly a bit more tenuous. Everything around me seemed to [...]
Dog pills. That should do it. I had been depressed for the longest time. It started a a malaise in my youth making yearly visits like a season. However as I moved through puberty and young adult life the depression came more frequently, like the rain. Then one day it started raining and didn’t stop. [...]
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 [...]
