Stupid Little Reasons to Stay
Content warning: this piece contains mentions of suicidal ideation, PTSD, and depression The bedroom is quiet and gray. Only a strip of pearly morning glows around the edges [...]
trauma
Sometimes Being Physically Ill is Being Heartsick
Content warning: sexual abuse, trauma I have had urinary tract infections for nine months, almost at a rate of once per month. When a urinary tract infection (also [...]
How Tattoos Tell Our Stories
I used to have a bumper sticker—fortunately, never affixed to my car’s bumper—that read, “tattoos: not just for sailors and whores anymore.” The sex worker-shaming [...]
When Your Trauma Doesn’t Fit the Image of PTSD
I’ve run a blog for the last five years about the intersection of my chronic physical and mental illnesses and my hopes of living a life of joy despite and sometimes even [...]
When Netflix Traumatizes You
Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” is a breathtaking masterpiece and searing indictment of the American criminal justice system. The four-episode, Netflix series [...]
Post-Traumatic Growth & Why Game of Thrones Fascinates Us
Warning: contains spoilers for Season 8 Game of Thrones is arguably the most popular television show of all time. With its multitude of characters, story lines, and plot [...]
Children Aren’t Angry, They’re Anxious: 8 Ways to Spot Anxiety in Children
Almost every week, I receive calls from parents seeking therapy for their “angry,” “aggressive,” or “obnoxious” child. My answer is always the same: [...]
Anxiety Blob | Anxiety Blog: Jumping Back In
One of the biggest challenges of living with anxiety is figuring out how to re-enter the world after you’ve been in retreat mode. You know that feeling, say, when you’ve [...]
That’s What She Said | All I Want for Christmas is to be Made Whole
Christmas is hard. Also, that’s what she said. While there are many – quite vocal – people who love the holiday season, with the lights and baking and [...]
Notes from Nanea | Scar-Gazing
My dear Sweatpants & Coffee tribe, I’ve been in the mental health trenches lately, as perhaps many of you are, and have been. Therapy has been wild. I wrote the other [...]
