On quitting drinking… when I’ve never had a drink [How to make self-care non-negotiable]

This is a Polish proverb that says “Not my circus, not my monkeys!” My sister posted it and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. It’s brilliant really.  I’ve never drank alcohol. (I was going to write that I’ve never tasted alcohol but then I remembered the Nyquil I used to drink to get some …

Life Lessons From the Yoga Mat: You Have to Look Up to Lift Up [New study says if you want to be happy go dancing but skip the gym?]

Face down on my yoga mat is my least favorite position. Mostly because I never remember to wash the thing and it does a really good job as a “sticky mat” as evidenced by all the little flakes of my skin all over it. (Side note: If I ever go missing, use my yoga mat …

How To Find Yourself When You Are Lost [10 Tips For Your Next Identity Crisis]

I’ve lost myself. Oh don’t worry, it’s not serious. Not like the time I ate the special brownies and tried to join Gwar only to get eaten by a giant cockroach. (lie: I don’t eat brownies unless they’re in ice cream and the only “special” ingredient I’d eat would be black beans. I would totally join Gwar …

Have You Ever Been “Gaslighted”? Why You Don’t Get To Call Me Crazy [My Emotional Freedom Manifesto]

You are crazy. He said it so many times I believed him. I had to. It was the only explanation that made sense. The alternative – that he was a charismatic psychopath hell-bent on destroying me – was too terrifying to be considered. And so I believed him when he told me that I was …

Searching for my Unified Theory of Crazy: I Officially Have Adult ADHD – Now what?? [Plus, why I cried in Frozen]

I need this shirt SO BAD. “That’s not normal, you know,” the doctor said, tapping the chart lightly with her pen. She was looking at some preliminary test results for one of my sons who I had brought in to talk about his problems at school. (Ironically it’s not the son the school was telling …

How Do You Feel All the Feelings? Learning To Be Okay With Not Being Okay.

 Hello Kitty always helps answer the big questions – kind of amazing for a cat that doesn’t even have a mouth.  “Mom, are robbers tiny or big?” The other day I found 4-year-old Jelly Bean rolling around on her floor, looking at her fingers and and pondering that existential question. “Where does jail live?” she …

How Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Death is Helping Me Understand My Own Struggles With Addiction [Along with the unlikely help of Russell Brand]

Sorry, had to do it. But he really was amazing, right?? “Who’s Philip Seymour Hoffman?” I asked loudly, interrupting the noise of that football game yesterday that I was so interested in I spent the whole time either re-enacting Frozen using Barbies with Jelly Bean or surfing the web on my phone. “Game maker from Hunger …

Reader Question: How do I Tell My Boyfriend I’m Depressed? [11 Tips for Telling a Loved One About Your Mental Illness]

 Now all is sunshine and roses, er, dead corn husks and pumpkins (because that says total romance, right?) Puking with the flu, two weeks overdue pregnant, shaking on the floor with a panic attack, accusing him of stealing my pants and purse as I came out of anesthesia, both pre- and post- op, crying while …

That Time I Tried To Help Someone And Ended Up Totally Insulting Them [Operation Give a Little Days 3 and 4: Give a helping hand, give up your parking spot or place in line!]

This little guy in the middle would be me: Trying hard but getting it all mixed up – but still throwing some stellar JAZZ HANDS! Jazz hands make everything better.  “Aiieeee!” There was a shout and loud clatter as a woman nearby us in the parking lot of the hardware store watched all of her …

A Candy Bar and a Dollar Bill: The Best Gift I’ve Ever Given [Day 2 of Operation Give a Little: Giving the Benefit of the Doubt]

 This my Aunt Barbara “mid-roar with a dollar bill in one hand and three musketeers in the other” as noted by my dad. Seriously have you ever seen ANYONE love any present this much?? Gift-giving ninja, I am not. I’m well intended and I try hard but I’m not one of those people who just …