Breaking The Stigma One Story at a Time
Related Articles “Unmasking” is the theme for this year’s Mental Health Week – meaning to remove…Read more Related Articles “Unmasking” is the theme for this
Breaking The Stigma One Story at a Time
I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, exacerbated by postpartum depression shortly after my son was born. When I first heard my psychiatrist say I was diagnosed with bipolar I did not want to believe it.
Language Matters
Living in the present: How I learned to stop looking forward
I was luckier than most when the global pandemic erupted in early 2020. I had a car, and I lived near the country. I was still deeply impacted by the necessary isolation, and as the weeks dragged on a sense of lethargy, maddening boredom and loneliness began to creep around me.
I choose to nurture my mental health
Pandemic isolation was harsh, but it opened honest conversations about mental health and expanded access to online therapy.
I choose to nurture my mental health
I decided what I would prefer to learn from the entire experience is that the pandemic prompted deeper conversations about mental health. It highlighted the importance of mental health issues and coping strategies.
Lived Experience
What I wish I knew then
At sixteen I fled an unsafe home into couches, shelters, and squalid rooms, slipping through systems that saw my grades, not my life. From abyss to footing, I’ve learned truths: trust your needs, reject perfectionism and people-pleasing, protect time, and show your uniqueness.
What I wish I knew then
I want to share what I wish I had known then, and the lessons I learned the hard way.
Off You Go
One of the main ironies of parenting is that your job is to make yourself irrelevant. Babies are born, children are nurtured and grow up, and then one day — eventually — most are independent enough to move out of the family home.