Is it even possible to post right now without mentioning the elephant in the room? Or is it the elephant that’s keeping us in our rooms? Of course, I’m referring to the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, and the stay at home/quarantine orders that are impacting us all as a global community. One surprising blessing I’ve noticed in … Continue reading A Few of My Favorite Tools
Category: Feelings
Dear Younger Me
I wrote the below letter to my younger self as a follow-up to some of the inner child work that I started several weeks back. Dear younger me, You are so very precious. I know that it sometimes feels like you're a mistake, since mommy keeps saying that she would have divorced daddy sooner, but … Continue reading Dear Younger Me
Encountering the Inner Child
A few weeks back, my therapist and I were working on some EMDR around when I first started having any sort of ideation thoughts, which I started describing in a post late last year. In doing this work, and working through times in my childhood where I felt alone, she asked me to sit with … Continue reading Encountering the Inner Child
If You Want Something Done Right
We all know how the saying goes. “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” In a lot of ways, I’ve lived that saying almost too well. Telling a perfectionist with trust issues something like this will result in an exhausted, drained wreck. AKA: me, most of my life. However, there is one area … Continue reading If You Want Something Done Right
The Next Day
You know that feeling after a really intense gym session, or some other more intense physical exercise (at least, more intense than your usual)? There's a couple, right? Like the right-after feeling, when you feel drained, spent, but really good about yourself. There's also the "next day" feeling. The "next day," at least for me, … Continue reading The Next Day
Shifting Focus
TW: In this post I talk about suicidal ideation (SI) in concept, though not in detail, and about some maladaptive (non-violent, illness/injury-based) daydreams I've had over the years. So, after a hiatus of a couple of months, my therapist and I have re-entered the realm of EMDR over the past couple of weeks. Originally, I … Continue reading Shifting Focus
Finding a Port in the Storm
“This is a story all about how My life got flipped turned upside-down…” - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 10 years ago, my world felt upside-down. I had just left my ex-husband and moved back in with my grandparents. I was struggling to catch up on car payments, in order to try and … Continue reading Finding a Port in the Storm
First Time in Inpatient – pt 2
I know that the posts in this series are coming farther apart than originally planned. The overall journey has continued to develop, and I'm hoping to have more time soon to catch up on posting and sharing everything that's been happening lately. In my last post, I left off when I was facing a decision … Continue reading First Time in Inpatient – pt 2
Is It All In Your Head?
The other day, hubby and I were discussing some mental and emotional health stuff, and we ended up on the topic of things we’ve heard from someone or another that are, well, less than helpful. Things like, “what’s wrong with you?” or “just get over it.” And then, there’s the one that can sting the … Continue reading Is It All In Your Head?
Holidays, Anxiety and Invisible Cows
If you ever go to the island of Hawaiʻi and visit Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the state, you’ll encounter a very strange sign. As you drive up the occasionally winding road towards the visitor’s center, which sits at an elevation of 9,200 feet above sea level, you may see a sign that would … Continue reading Holidays, Anxiety and Invisible Cows