When do you get back to normal? Maybe the better question is whether or not there even is such a thing as normal. Society tends to make us believe that we should fit into standards they’ve defined in order to be considered a part of the status quo. But what does that even mean? [...]
Art has an underlying sense of urgency. As an artist, you only have one lifetime to get as much out of your head and onto paper as possible. Unless you are one of a select few that can devote most of their day to creating art, you most likely have limits to your creative time [...]
Help me understand why only the negative side of those individuals with a mental health disorder is seen. It’s not our fault. Yet we’re being discriminated against who we are, and some of us even punished. We are not crazy. We deserve better treatment than what’s been given to us. Society claims that too much [...]
I felt the heaviness lift, and I stepped into my own skin. As time went by, the feeling began to grow, one of despair, sadness, and hopelessness. I couldn’t understand why, as I had dropped the coat at the door with all its distastefulness. As I looked down I saw a single thread that [...]
It has taken me over four decades to get a proper diagnosis and treatment. Here’s how the journey went. I knew when I was a child that there was something wrong with me. That was all too clear. I was told I was “too sensitive,” which meant to me that there was something [...]
I’m currently 43. My children are now 26, 18, 16, and 10. I didn’t receive my diagnosis of major depressive disorder until I was 41; therefore, I also received no treatment until that point. I had no idea that I had been suffering from a medical condition for years. I thought I was just pretty [...]
Consumption It is 2:32 a.m. I have to be up at 9 a.m. But I can’t stop thinking about that time I was in middle school, somewhere between twelve to fifteen, at my friend Monica’s birthday party. We were up late in her parent's basement. The walls were lined with trophies, awards, banners, and family [...]
The past year has been quite a struggle and while we have made improvements, it is far from over yet. Raising a child with ODD brings stress and exhaustion as well as great disappointment in the mental health services that are being offered. The understanding and improvements that we have made so far were [...]
“Another tattoo?”So far, this is the typical, somewhat predictable response I’ve received after people, especially the older generation – no unfair disrespect, just a fair observation – discover the not-so-secret truth that I have revealed a minimal rebellion, once again stealing from the world’s inkwell, stacking my impressive tattoo tally to a gasp-worthy eight. Can [...]
My whole life, I have been an accident-prone, clumsy person. So much that I have been told often it would be a lot safer for me to go about life inside bubble wrap and a Tupperware container. While working in restaurants I always had a new cut, bruise, or burn. I had whopping cough, two [...]
