I've been called intense too many times to count. Intense has a pejorative connotation much of the time. When people told me I was intense, it was usually in the context of my feelings being too much to handle. They felt I was a burden, exhausting, overwhelming and a lot of other unflattering adjectives that [...]
Where's my therapist? When I moved to Portland looked for a therapist. I wasn't hopeful that I'd find someone who took my insurance and so I didn't think I could afford one. When I found my therapist and she agreed to take $50 a session I was relieved. I instantly got a good vibe from [...]
I wish it wasn't true There are so many days when I wish I didn't have anxiety. I can't count the moments, weeks, months, and years that I wanted to NOT be panicky. There are too many to remember. I've probably forgotten many of them and I'm glad. I'm content not remembering how terrible I [...]
Was it over? I couldn’t save us. I don't know what I did wrong. No relationship is only black-and-white. If we look at it realistically, it's a giant beautiful, tragic rainbow. That's what I realized later. After we weren't us anymore, I finally figured out that we aren't two colors but people. Instead of one [...]
Once upon a time, I was a vocational rehab counselor at a substance abuse treatment facility. I had a caseload and 50 clients and worked in a substance-abuse treatment facility. I loved working with people who have mental health issues and comorbid diagnoses of substance abuse. However, it was emotionally exhausting, and it was difficult [...]
I'd like to sit down and take a break, talk to someone who cares, wherever they are, online, in "real life," a therapist, a friend, a stranger, a gorilla even. I want someone to "get it." I need to be held tightly. I want to be covered in a blanket. I want someone to make [...]
I hate my kids having electronic devices. I hated them so much that I couldn’t wait for them to get in trouble so I could take them away. Last Christmas, like so many other kids during that time of year, the level of their ungratefulness reached the point where I took their devices away as [...]
Will a Ph.D. Make Me More Phenomenal? Recently I applied to Portland State University to get my Ph.D. I was accepted into a program where I can do the prerequisites to achieve this higher level of education. I want my Ph.D. because I know that I am smart enough to get one. I do not [...]
