There are many types of fatigue, some of which are unknown to those who have never experienced a chronic invisible illness. The first kind is the result of physical exertion, which generally leads to an almost pleasant tiredness, as it is often accompanied by the knowledge of a job well
“Rain fell too, on the day they took you from me. It was not like this rain, which struck the dirty window and filled the barren room with its rhythm. That rain was different: flooding my thoughts, and driving me into a frenzy. I supposed that was why they took
As a long-time sufferer with depression, I can unreservedly say that helping care for a loved one in acute depression challenges everything you know and have come to understand and believe about the illness. Above all, I find my thoughts coming back to the same things. Depression is not a boogeyman.
A quandry for any writer, not just a blogger, arises at those times when to tell your story means to risk betraying a confidence, either that of a loved one or a villain. The former, you wish to protect with all your heart; the latter, to avoid, if only to
I don’t think I’ve ever written a year’s review post, much less a resolution post, and I’m still not writing one. 2012 was a difficult year. Not the most difficult I’ve ever experienced, but difficult. During 2012, I learned that I still can be stunned and shattered by the events
I don’t know why after so many years I still get disappointed when depression cuts me down, but I do. Just a few weeks ago, I felt a certain sense of mastery. The herbal meds my naturopath had placed me on were working well, I’d completed a rigorous but exciting
I wrote a little the other day about my daughter, A-, who was diagnosed this year with bipolar, and is currently battling a severe case of winter depression. This morning she came to me and said, “I wish I was still manic, like I was in the summer.” I asked why
You have to know that you’ve found a new addiction (of the awesome kind), when you finish a 30-day blogging challenge and want to write more! During November, the skies transformed to full grey, and it rained slowly and steadily all month. Outside, the trees form dark silhouettes against the
Day 30 – Recap National Health Blog Post Month Sitting here in the last hours of November 30, I feel a lot of things. I hope it wouldn’t be too obvious to say that one is an intense feeling of relief. It’s been a real roller coaster, with a couple
Day 25 – How have your goals as a patient/advocate/person evolved? My goals as a patient and person have evolved in so many ways, as I’ve talked about in several posts this month. And although I didn’t really recognize it, I have been an advocate for some time and that