Kanye Pays Donald A Visit At Trump Tower
The two men talked about “life.” Early Tuesday morning in New York City, an entourage escorted Kanye West into Trump Tower, where the troubled 39-year-old rapper had a short meeting with Donald Trump....
View ArticleHere’s Why You Need To Embrace The Crapstorm Of Life Sometimes
Go ahead. Give in to the misery. One of my earliest memories is of being a little kid at nursery school, sitting in a circle and being led in a song by my smiling teacher. “If you’re happy and you know...
View Article6 Ways To Be A Less Anxious Person This Year
It’s worth a try, anyway. As a person who struggles with chronic anxiety, one of the things I wish people understood is that I don’t necessarily have a choice about whether or not to feel anxious. It’s...
View ArticleNeeding Medication Doesn’t Make You a Failure
Taking care of yourself is never a failing. One of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to come to terms with is that the way I view the world is inherently broken. I like to compare it to when I...
View ArticleIt May Be Time to Ditch Your Coping Mechanisms
We can’t just cope forever. Eventually we have to heal. Sometimes when life lobs you with the tough stuff all you can focus on is surviving. It’s a perfectly normal thing to do after trauma. Maybe you...
View ArticleThe Myth of Being Over Depression
You only ever really temporarily come up for air before being pulled back under. “I used to have depression, but I’m over it now.” This is what I’d say when talking to my friends about depression or...
View ArticleIt Took Me Years To Realize I Deserve Good Things
Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we realize how far we’ve fallen. I hate the word normal. There’s no such thing. Or rather, what’s normal to me will be abnormal to someone else. Remember...
View Article9 Ways To Take Care Of Yourself When You Feel Like The Whole World Is Collapsing
Forget pedicures and bubble baths. When you think of self-care, do you immediately think of spa treatments, Netflix, bottles of rosé, and Donna and Tom’s ‘Treat Yo Self Day‘ on Parks and Recreation?...
View ArticleWhen Shopping For Clothes Is Worse Than Hell
Call it a quirk, but I just can’t go clothes shopping. I have to go shopping tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’ve been thinking about it for two weeks, procrastinating and making up excuses not to go,...
View Article17 Couples Explain Why They Stopped Having Sex
Some of these are just so sad… It’s an old cliché that after a couple ties the knot, their sex life slowly fades. And whether that’s true for most people or not, it’s definitely true that some couples’...
View ArticleResearch Confirms That The Pill Could Be Ruining Your Quality Of Life
It might be time to rethink your birth control method. A major new study has shown that one of the most commonly-prescribed types of birth control pills has a proven negative effect on women’s lives....
View ArticleHow It Felt To See The Man Who Raped Me Find Love
I wanted to see his life fall apart, but instead, I saw him being happy. After escaping from my abusive relationship, I would occasionally use social media to check up on my ex. It wasn’t because I...
View Article4 Ways Taking A Beach Vacation Can Improve Your Mental Health
You might want to start looking for a cheap plane ticket… I’ve always been a beach person. The problem is, I was born in the mountains, completely landlocked. I didn’t see the ocean until I was 14...
View ArticleHow Mental Illness Has Made My Life Better
Content notice: self-harm. It’s a strange day to be writing about how my mental illnesses have made my life better. I pulled off my hospital wristband today, after being admitted for a case of...
View ArticleWhat I Wish People Understood About Living With High-Functioning Depression
The outside doesn’t always match the inside. There’s a certain image of a depressed person that we probably all have in our heads. It might be someone who can’t get out of bed in the morning, who goes...
View ArticleWhat I Wish People Understood About Living With PTSD
Imagine living the worst moment of your life over and over again. I feel my stomach drop. My body starts shaking; and all of a sudden, I just can’t calm down. I’m finding it hard to breathe; my hands...
View ArticleHow Sulking Helped Me Become A Happier Person
Who knew crying in bed with chocolate would change my life? “Wow, Kass, you’ve really got an amazing life. I’m so jealous,” an old friend exclaimed over coffee recently. I couldn’t help but smile and...
View Article4 Ways To Stop Overthinking From Ruining Your Relationships
Because your brain never switches off, no matter how much you want it to. I arrived home from my boyfriend’s place sobbing this morning. We hadn’t had a fight. He hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact,...
View ArticleThe Hardest Part Of My Depression Is Knowing It Will Come Back
Here’s the thing about depression: it cycles. Content Notice: suicide (attempted) Depression comes in waves, rippling in and overcoming me like a tsunami, pulling out to leave me, panting and...
View ArticleThis Is What Depression Feels Like
Depression is the monster that makes your nightmares a reality. Depression is a monster. It’s equivalent to the devil. It tells you every day how you’ll never be good enough for anyone. It makes you...
View ArticleI’ve Lied At Every Job I’ve Ever Had
Dear Current Boss; I hope you’re not reading this. I lied at the first job interview I ever had. The Chinese restaurant owner asked me if I’d be able to memorize the menu in my first week of serving...
View Article27 Little Things You Can Do For Yourself Today To Lessen Depression
When depression has you in its grip, try these simple ways to feel better. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 350 million people worldwide suffer from some type of depression; it’s one...
View Article19 Ways To Care For Your Mental Health During MIAW
October 1–7 is Mental Illness Awareness Week; and that’s as good a time as ever to start prioritizing your mental health. Millions of people around the world are affected by mental illness. In fact,...
View ArticleDear World: Looking Happy ISN’T A Sign Someone’s Okay
Don’t assume someone is fine just because they’re smiling. Three days before Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington took his own life, he was goofing off with family and friends, spitting out a rotten...
View ArticleI’m Not The Girl In The Mirror
Mental illness has a way of warping your sense of reality. I’m not the girl in the mirror. The one with her head held high and a sing-song in her voice; smiling and laughing an impossible amount. The...
View Article11 Lies Depression Tells You, And How To Stop Believing Them
Depression is the most convincing liar you’ll ever meet. I once had a chronically depressed friend who refused to seek treatment because, as he put it, “only stupid people are happy.” He believed the...
View ArticleGrowing Up With Mental Illness, But Without The Stigma
I wasn’t raised to hide mental illness, even during times of crisis. “What I always want you to think about is this: Dad has a disease. If he had cancer, or diabetes, everyone would want to help. Why...
View Article6 Weird Grief Things No One Tells You To Expect After A Parent Dies
“Grief was like a seizure that shook me like a storm” – author Patricia Cornwell. When my mom began treatment for end-stage liver cancer, I knew the odds of her survival weren’t good. As she grew...
View Article7 Things Your Partner With Depression Really, Really Needs You To Understand
She might not say it, but this is what she wishes you knew. When you suffer from depression, being in a relationship can feel really complicated. Sometimes it’s the best thing in the world, and other...
View ArticleThe Time I Was So Depressed I Slept Under My Desk
How could I be naked with my sickness in public and, simultaneously, unseen? I developed a lot of stereotypes about Germans during my time occupying the 36-cubic feet underneath my laboratory...
View Article17 Things You Can Do To Beat The Holiday Blues
‘Tis the season to feel stressed and depressed if you suffer from mental health issues. Fa-la-la-la-la… Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or nothing in particular, the...
View ArticleWhat It’s Like To Be In A Relationship When You Both Have Depression
Depression is difficult to live with, alone, or in a couple. It’s mid-morning on a Sunday and I’m curled up into the fetal position in bed, wrapped tight in a nest of blankets, feeling desperately...
View ArticleHow To Make Yourself Happier In Just 10 Seconds
Who doesn’t have 10 seconds to feel happier? I recently experienced a bout of depression that had me going to bed at 8p.m., crying in public, and going days without eating because I’d completely lost...
View Article21 Things You’ll Only Understand If You Live With A Mental Health Issue
Sometimes the hardest place to be is inside your own head. From the well-meaning but frustrating advice to the unhelpful comments and lack of understanding, people who’ve never had to deal with the...
View ArticleAn Open Letter To (My) Depression
This is your official warning. Dear Depression, It’s time we had a talk, you and me. I feel like now is a good time because I’m in a better place, somewhere it’s harder for you to claw at me and bring...
View ArticleHow Mental Health Stigma Almost Killed Me
Every day was a struggle to get up and go to class. I found no meaning in anything I did. I’ve bounced in and out of therapy since I was in high school. I had a lot of one-time-only appointments with...
View ArticleI Write Advice About Dealing With Depression, But I Actually Suck At It
They say the truth will set you free. This morning I got out of bed, pulled on leggings and shoes, brushed my teeth, packed a lunch for my daughter, poured boiling water into instant oatmeal and sliced...
View ArticleThis Year, I’m Giving Thanks To All Of My Darkest Moments
I’m grateful for the six years I spent drinking to blackout and snorting various substances. I like Thanksgiving. In addition to it being socially acceptable to eat an entire pumpkin pie while wearing...
View ArticleWhen Your Addiction And Depression Are In A Codependent Relationship
Drugs softened the edges of the stranglehold of depression. I was seven the first time I actively thought about killing myself. I thought about it so actively that I clumsily and unsuccessfully tried...
View ArticleAn Open Letter To All The People Who Loved Me When It Was Impossible
Thanks for sticking with me, even when I’ve made it hard. To all of you, I know sometimes I make it hard to love me – hell, even like me – but I want to thank you for standing by my side, regardless....
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