Grace
on
If you’re wired like me, fall and winter are some of the hardest seasons to go through. Dark, gloomy and cold days make you want to do nothing but stay in bed. This time of year can also impact your mental health. According to Psychology Today, it’s estimated that 10 million people in the U.S. […]
Alexandria
on
“I didn’t know anyone else came out here. I thought Phillip was being forgotten.” Running into another person in a space I was starting to feel comfortable being alone in led me to confront feelings I had been having and not necessarily dealing with. At first, I was embarrassed to admit how often I visited […]
Alyssa
on
In the spring of seventh grade, I impatiently waited for my bat mitzvah. Twice a week, my Grandpa Jerry would pick me up from school, blasting Neil Diamond CDs in the car, and drive me to my Hebrew lessons. We were both excited for the special day to come. But just eighteen days before my […]
Julia W.
on
My siblings and I grew up in an emotionally abusive environment and continue to deal with the effects of that trauma. Part of my sister’s journey to health included an inpatient hospitalization last fall. Below is an interview during which she shares her story. Can you describe how you were feeling in the months leading […]
Julia W.
on
I just need to get out of here. They’re too many people, too much stimuli. But leaving would be awkward, and I can’t make my feet move. I feel my heart racing and my breathing get faster, shallower. I look around for a familiar face, someone to feel safe with, but I can’t find anyone. […]
Eric
on
I can’t seem to care about my feelings. To me, all feelings are overwhelming because I either don’t know how to take care of them or I just don’t have the energy to. I feel ashamed of this helplessness and it’s been a big stumbling block in my relationships. However, all I’ve been able to […]
Julia W.
on
“Sometimes when you’re depressed, the things you don’t want to do are the very things you need to do in order to feel better,” my therapist told me. Great, I thought, for just once could there be an easy answer? “As you start doing things, it gets easier,” she continued, “and you begin to have […]
Eric
on
Over the past couple of years I have read countless self-help books on the effects of a dysfunctional upbringing. For better, or for worse, these books have opened me up to types of pain that I have avoided, and given me permission to feel them. While this awakening has been very exciting, it’s also been […]
Laurie
on
[Content Warning: The effects of sexual assault on mental health] I think for a long time I’ve strived to be normal or to “pass” for normal. I’ve tried to hide my past and my continued struggles, but my past is a part of me. And those struggles? Well, they are too. Today, I feel stronger […]
Julia W.
on
Growing up, I had heard meditation discussed as some sort of new age nonsense. Subsequently, I had never given much thought to meditation or its possible benefits until my junior year of high school when I had the opportunity to listen to a talk given by a group of Tibetan monks. Seeing the monks in […]
Irina