It’s that time of year again. The time of year where everyone’s sleigh bells are jingling and ring tingle tingling too. There’s hustling and bustling, shopping, get togethers and strangers showing up at your door to sing and spread cheer. To the layperson, it’s all holly and jolly and wonderful. For me, however, I spend a great deal of time humming, “It’s the most horrific time of the year.” Continue reading “Six Holiday Survival Tips for the Grinch in your Life”
Category: Mental Health
Let Me Grieve: A Plea for Understanding After Loss
In my opinion, one of the greatest title sequences of all time is the beginning of “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” This hilarious comedy is about an early thirty-something woman trying to take control of her unstable life by beginning a diary. In the title sequence, Bridget (protagonist and ensuing comedic goddess) is seen lounging about on her couch in cartoonish penguin pajamas while simultaneously smoking a cigarette, guzzling wine and drunkenly, but enthusiastically singing, “All by Myself” by Celine Dion. I think what makes this sequence so brilliant is the immediate relatability between the audience and Bridget. Everyone has, at some point, felt the immense weight of their problems on their shoulders. A weight and grief so heavy, you don’t want to see anyone or do anything. You just want to tell people, “Let me grieve! Please!”
Continue reading “Let Me Grieve: A Plea for Understanding After Loss”Should You Take Medication For Anxiety?
I don’t, but maybe you should.
Something I get asked all the time is whether or not I take medication to help manage my anxiety. The answer to that is no, I don’t, but it’s probably not for the reasons you think. If it weren’t for other mitigating factors, I would absolutely take medication. I actually tried to for an extended period of time but could never quite make it work for me. I’ve now found ways to manage my anxiety without meds, so I don’t use them. Should you take medication for anxiety? Maybe so. But here’s some reasons why I personally choose not to use medication management as an anxiety decreasing strategy.
Continue reading “Should You Take Medication For Anxiety?”Can Food Cure Anxiety? Not Likely
For those of us suffering from some form of an anxiety disorder, diet changes are often encouraged for symptom management. Although a nutrient-dense diet is beneficial for everyone and can help maintain a healthy body and mind, any diet proposed to be a cure-all for anxiety is probably going to do more harm than good. So, if you’re asking yourself, “Can food cure anxiety?” Unfortunately, probably not. Here’s some reasons why.
Continue reading “Can Food Cure Anxiety? Not Likely”Anxious People Don’t Hate You; We Hate Your Parties
Yesterday was my birthday! The day we celebrate me making it one more revolution around the sun, and this year, just like every other year, I asked for the same thing. “I want to ride my horse, eat dinner with my family and then go home, get naked and watch a movie.” That’s what I told my husband more than a week ago when he asked what I wanted to do for my birthday. He just laughed, shook his head and said sarcastically, “Oh, I’m shocked. I thought we were going to throw a big party with lots of people.” I grinned and thought to myself, “Yeah right. That will be the day.”
Continue reading “Anxious People Don’t Hate You; We Hate Your Parties”How it Feels to Dance with Shame
Last night was bad. My eyes feel heavy and the strain of staring into the computer screen adds to the nagging headache I currently possess. It seems like a strange time to sit down and try to pluck the thoughts rummaging around in my head and place them into a word document, but it’s times like this that I need it most. Writing helps me compartmentalize the chaos in my brain, to organize the things that keep me up at night. A release of the thoughts that are gnawing on my insides. Just like they were last night, and a thousand nights before that.
Continue reading “How it Feels to Dance with Shame”What A Child With Anxiety Probably Wants You to Know
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about childhood anxiety and how it affects the way children interact with the world around them. When I was a kid no one knew that I was suffering from anxiety because no one was talking about it, particularly in children. At that time, most children treated for anxiety had some sort of Continue reading “What A Child With Anxiety Probably Wants You to Know”
What I Learned From My First Panic Attack
I remember the first time I had a panic attack, though I didn’t know what it was at that time. It was the beginning of Fall in Montana and anyone who lives here knows that the biggest problem during these months is usually forest fires. They rage on and on and for myself and many others, the worst part about them is Continue reading “What I Learned From My First Panic Attack”
I Want To Be Like the Naughty White Chicken- The First Step to Believing in Myself
My husband and I have 32 chickens on our little two acre parcel in small town Montana, and that number doesn’t even include the 14 ducks that maintain their residence here. When we first decided we were going to have chickens Seth (The Husband) and I knew that we wanted them to be free range chickens. If you are new to chickens or haven’t ever had them, free ranging means Continue reading “I Want To Be Like the Naughty White Chicken- The First Step to Believing in Myself”