I have struggled with depression and suicidal ideation for years. My darkest period was as recent as 2018. In fact, there was a day last September when I let my guard down for just a few minutes. It was enough time for me to walk into my kitchen, pick up a large knife, and touch […]
At the exact time that I’m writing this (8:30 a.m. ), on this exact day two years ago, I was reporting my rape. It had happened after midnight on March 10, 2013. I’ve been trying not to write about it too much, anymore, because I feel like I’ve said everything I need to say about […]
This time of year is tough. These cold months between the holidays and the first day of spring are like one giant, perpetual Monday staring you in the face. I’m generally a pretty happy-go-lucky person, but when the chilly months roll around, my personality changes. I get down in the dumps over just about everything. This time […]
The journal Pediatrics published research today that suggests — pretty strongly — that physical activity is important for kids who have ADHD because it increases executive control and inhibition, much in the way that ADHD medications do. Exercise: Possibly the best thing for all mental health? No word as to how it affects adult ADHD, but I’d wager that […]
I can count the number of times I’ve had sex without condoms on one hand. This isn’t to brag about how I’m some model of safe sex — it’s because with the exception of a brief, two-week period, I have never been on birth control. I’m not sure if I ever really made an active […]
Great news, my fellow hand-wringing, self-flagellating, twitchy-eyed neurotics: our anxiety about life, death, and everything in between is actually going to help kill us! Oh, the irony. Even negligible levels of psychological distress, significantly lower than amounts that would encourage a formal diagnosis of anxiety or depression, have now been officially linked to an early […]
Ugh, decisions. Some big choices are simple even though they come with high stakes, because somehow you just know exactly what move is right for you. You might even feel like you’ve known the right answer all your life. If you’ve ever had that experience, it just makes the tough decisions that much more frustrating, because you […]
As is the case with any relationship gone south, sometimes you need to break up with your therapist. Maybe you feel ready to fly in the world on your own, or you’ve stopped connecting, or maybe she said something awful, like “You shouldn’t cry so much.” I don’t care how much she helped you unpack […]
I’m a huge proponent of therapy. I think one of the most powerful and generous things we can do–for ourselves and for those around us–is to deal with our issues and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. This past year has been really rough, and I’ve been looking for a counselor to help me deconstruct […]
