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My Dreadlocks and Me: A Story About White Privilege
I think I've had all the kinds of hair a person can have. Red, brown, blonde, black. Curly, straight, wavy. Short, long, bald. My hair and I have been on a long journey. I grew up hating my hair. Then resenting my hair. Then, eventually, loving my hair and resenting...
What To Do When You Don’t Want to Talk About Your Mental Illness
I answer a lot of questions about DiD and PTSD. I answer questions about anxiety, trauma, depression, rape, and self-injury. I talk to people about verbal abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and even spiritual abuse. Sometimes, I don't want to talk about it...
An Open Letter to Tywanza Sanders’ Niece
The topic du jour seems to have moved on to the Confederate Flag, the SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage, and whatever else we're supposed to be angry about this week. But I haven't had much else to be angry about since June 18th. My whole world stopped spinning when I...
Friendship
Making friends is hard for anyone. Making new friends, for me, feels impossible sometimes. I know that lots of people feel the same. They get as nervous asking acquaintances out for coffee as they would if it was a date. Being in a new state has heightened these...
What Ever Happened to GOD?
For the last good while I haven't written very much about my faith. That is largely due to the fact that I haven't had much of it. I've come to the realization that I've been quite angry with GOD. Not in the loud and apparent way you can be when something awful...
The Dirty Truth About Trust and Abuse
The reality of chronic abuse is that it deeply plants seeds of mistrust. Often, people who are abused find it nearly impossible to trust others. They may not even see their own issues because for them, distrust is a normal state of being. The unearthing of my own...
Mental Health Awareness Month: Lowered Expectations
Often when we struggle with mental illness we lose all semblance of normality. Not only are we harder to cheer up and motivation is like trying to get the wrinkles out of a sharpe, but we're physically exhausted and emotionally drained. I can be knocked out for...
Mental Health Awareness Month: Awareness
A lot of times we see graphics like this about illnesses and pat ourselves on the back just for reading most of it. Or maybe we donate a dollar at the check out and feel like that is enough charity to last a while. If I've learned anything in the last few years it's...
Chronic Illness and Jealousy
I'm not a jealous person when it comes to houses or clothes or cars. The things that make me jealous do not include other people's beauty or status. I don't get all green over relationships, either. What makes me jealous? What will keep me up at night hating myself...
Mental Health Awareness Month: Jobs
I read a post this week on TheMighty.com about a girl whose illness was brushed off in an abrupt and painful way. Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I'd share about what it's like to have similar things happen to you with respect to chronic mental...