Trait or state?

I was wondering today, as I talked myself down from a panic attack, how do people who don’t have mental illnesses figure out they’re under stress? How do they know if they’re in distress? They don’t have the ringing alarms of amplified symptoms to make them attend to their present reality. I only realize I’m sinking when my symptoms act up: the neurotypical don’t have … Continue reading Trait or state?

Reblog: “Complementary states: we aren’t made for one thing.”

I’m busy doing a whole lot of nothing. It takes up a surprising amount of time. Within the nothing, I’ve painted the mudroom, done a bunch of exercising with the FitOn app (it’s awesome and free, though I did pay twenty or so dollars for the advanced options), and met my new orthopedic surgeons. They don’t think I need a hip replacement yet (yay!), but … Continue reading Reblog: “Complementary states: we aren’t made for one thing.”

Reblog: A Nickel For Your Presence.

I struggle with general anxiety disorder, which can manifest itself in unpleasant ways. For years, my main coping skill was my eating disorder. It’s hard to obsess about anything else when you’re bingeing and purging. Eating disorders, however, get you dead, and though I’ve tried to “shuck off this mortal coil” while in the pit of despair, I mostly don’t want to be gone. Enter … Continue reading Reblog: A Nickel For Your Presence.

A woman’s notebook: journalling and some very dramatic poetry.

When I left home for university at nineteen, packed among my possessions was a journal. “A woman’s notebook, being a blank book with quotes by women” would become my first official diary, though not my last. If I’d been choosing one myself, I’d have picked something different: this one had half-size pages and a glued binding. I like spiral notebooks that don’t cause hand cramps … Continue reading A woman’s notebook: journalling and some very dramatic poetry.