I Wonder By Chris O’Brien Sometimes I wonder if I'm even really here. I'll save you my college-freshman exploration of existentialism and skip ahead to what I'm really writing about. Concussions and Post Concussion Syndrome. I haven't felt truly awake since I was 15. I don't actually remember what being alive felt like before then. [...]
Often viewed as one of the most tell tale signs of a true "junkie", there is no doubt about the stigma that comes with track marks. It has been three great years since the last time a needle punctured my skin in a desperate search for a functioning vein. Some scars still remain, lightly tracing [...]
I’ve lived on this Earth for 20 years, for 11 of those years I self-harmed. 11 long years I’ve been at the mercy of a blade and the control it gave me. I needed that control more than I needed my next breath, because I believe that’s what self-harm is. It’s about having the control [...]
Healing the Pain of the Past By Michele Rosenthal It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m at an enormous party at the Breaker’s Hotel on Palm Beach Island off the east coast of Florida. The band is rocking, the dance floor is packed with over 100 guests, friends and strangers are celebrating with jubilant, life-affirming glee [...]
Empower Yourself and Recognize Stigmas Hold Zero Validity By Robert Parmer We live in a country still unfortunately filled with some social, physical health, and mental health stigmas. America doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to these types of shamming behaviors and that is, to put it lightly, disappointing. Taking the steps [...]
Writing Therapy: An Example of How Easy Does it by Jonathan Harnisch Let's get the facts straight up front to avoid any confusion later. I am a person first, a human being, just like anyone else. Maybe a little different, that's all. Years ago, I publicly disclosed my diagnoses with comorbid schizoaffective disorder, post-traumatic stress [...]
I would like to preface this recount of my experiences since being diagnosed Bipolar I by stating that my intent is NOT to blame or in any way shame anyone or any organization for what was done to me, but mostly to shed light on the realities of our society and our (mis) handling of [...]
Who can love the unlovable? My dad left when I was five I didn’t understand it. What five-year-old does, right I remember the fights My mother and father screaming As often as not it was about me Or something I had done I remember the ‘licks’ That’s what they were called in my home [...]
We all have a voice. Sometimes we're afraid to use it. The world lets us know that our voice is powerless. "Stop talking," is often the subtext of society. No one wants to hear you. Unfortunately, one of the groups of people who suffer silencing the most are young people. Their voices are powerful, beautiful [...]
I ALWAYS KNEW I have always known I was different. Always TOO something. Too loud, sad, mad, crazy, happy. Sometimes alternating through all of the "toos" hourly. I was a hot mess. In spite of this roller coaster, I had a great job. I was raising two toddlers as a single mom. I did it [...]
