A blog about mental health, self acceptance, and embracing all the magnificentally awkward moments along the way.
I thought I'd be better at this. I don't know why...nothing about isolation and sacrifice is particularly up my alley, but I did. I thought I would weather this with poise, and cheerful acceptance. A heroine in an Austen era book. A long suffering, sympathetic character that everyone roots for and who triumphs gracefully (and … Continue reading I Thought I’d be Better at This
"Where perfectionism exists, shame is always lurking." -Brene Brown Today, one of my biggest shame monsters came out to play. I have a lot of these assholes (don't we all?) in a variety of shapes and sizes, colors and temperaments, but since becoming a parent this particular shame monster has become increasingly vicious. … Continue reading Shame Monster
It’s 2:30 in the morning and I’ve been picturing people falling to their deaths for two hours now. It won’t stop. I close my eyes and they come, unbidden, these horrific visions, this slow motion horror film unfolding before me with my loved ones playing the role of doomed victim. It’s like a view master … Continue reading SURPRISE! YOU HAVE OCD! or Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Therapist Read Your Articles
After my last post a few people reached out to comment. Though there were a few different scenarios the overall theme seemed to be this: if someone I know is on deliberately trying to improve their health by reducing their body size and they’re accomplishing that through seemingly healthy means, saying something to them is … Continue reading Zip It
Don't. Keep your mouth shut and just don't. Because while you're complimenting them on how great they look, they may be wondering just how terrible they looked before. While you're envying their willpower, they may be planning their next binge. While you're telling them how much healthier they look, they may be having heart palpitations … Continue reading How to Compliment Someone Who’s Lost Weight
Ahh the county fair, or as I like to think of it, State Fair Preseason. The mini donuts! The pronto pups! The animals! The carnies! The balloon animals! Oh the balloon animals. Despite my attempts to steer them far far away both my kids zeroed right in. They had to have a balloon animal. But … Continue reading Balloon Animals and Resiliency, or I Totally Got Schooled by my 5 Year Old
When does it happen? When do we start to lose our confidence...our belief that we are good and worthy and capable? Does it happen all at once? Or is it death by a thousand cuts? I think confidence is like a candle. How long it burns comes down to myriad factors: the size of the … Continue reading Confidence is like a Candle and I Think I’m from the Dollar Store
If there's anything my kids love it's looking back through old pictures of themselves. They're delighted by their own faces, enamored of their growth. I, on the other hand, am less than thrilled to take these walks down memory lane. For one it makes me nostalgic for babies and then my ovaries start twitching and … Continue reading I Want to Join Your Challenge (But I Can’t)
It trickled in slowly, in pangs of loneliness and an insidious jealousy that speaks fluent inadequacy. "You will never be good enough," it whispered, "you will never be talented enough or smart enough. You will never, ever be enough."I saw it rolling in, heard its hiss and didn't worry too much. I've always felt a … Continue reading A New and Different Diagnosis or Hormones Gone Wild
When I was younger I, and everyone around me, assumed mental illness was just a place you visited. If you just saw the right therapist for long enough and maybe kicked it in gear with a little temporary pharmaceutical assistance, you'd pack your bags, hop on the happy bus and arrive back in the land … Continue reading Medicated
