What it is like to parent with major mental illnesses — I joke that my kids will not have any problems getting into college. Their essays alone will be enough to pull at the heartstrings of the administrators. I mean it basically writes itself. Growing up with an alcoholic, bipolar mother who also has Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD, and PTSD. What…

It sounds too absurd to be real — the night that started my long journey to sobriety — This is a real story about the worst night of my life and the aftereffects. This happened to me in April 2017, and the details are being told from flashbacks and personal accounts from witnesses. Trigger Warning! It was a Friday night, and I was exhausted from working all week…

What it is like living with Borderline Personality Disorder — I feel numb. I feel empty. I feel unlovable. Another person exited my life drastically and unexpectedly broke my heart. My heart has been broken, then put back together so many times that it looks like “kintsukuroi”.

I will drink — tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, it is now today, therefore… I will drink — tomorrow. — Lately, I have been thinking about Yesterday more often. There have been many yesterdays, and I realize there are more yesterdays than tomorrows for me. Dark. Or… hopeful? I call myself a writer. I have had feedback that confirms I am a writer. I write — I’m a writer. Right? …

My closed mind opened the bottle. When I opened my mind, I closed the bottle. — It has been roughly four hundred and eighty-one days since that Monday I was sitting on the couch white-knuckling through day number one, after a year and a half relapse. I told myself repetitively, "I just need to get to 10:00 p.m. when the liquor store closes", then I would…

How one race changed the trajectory of my sobriety journey. — Sifan Hassan Have you heard of her? Unless you are a big track fan, you probably haven’t. Who is she? Sifan Hassan is a 29-year-old Ethiopian-born Dutch world-record-holding Olympian. Among the many medals and records she has earned over the years, the ‘2020’ Tokyo Olympics did not disappoint. Hassan is the only athlete in history…

How the health care and insurance policies failed me. — I am in tears. My work presented a powerful event from the Quell Foundation, which included a screening of the Documentary, Lifting the Mask. After seeing this video and listening to the panel, I felt inspired to share my story — as the message was to keep talking about it to end the stigma…

4 months. 90 days. 2 minutes. — 90 Days. I’m back, after exactly four months since my last post. I am back. I am back and sober, 90 days sober. It isn’t that I haven’t wanted to post anything; I physically could not do it. I don’t know how many times I have sat at my laptop…

why friendship is so challenging to maintain — It’s been a long bumpy road since the day I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. That day was one of the most freeing days of my life. I finally understood why I felt so crazy all the time and why I couldn’t manage my life. I found a psychiatrist who…