#10Year Damn Challenge
So there's another asinine challenge going around and way too many people are participating. This one is particularly cruel because only very young people can do it with dignity. It's the #10YearChallenge and what you do is post a photo of yourself from ten years ago...
Don’t Like It? Send It Back!
For those who didn't grow up in the U.S. (and many who did) I was in a restaurant with a friend who ordered a beer and then didn’t drink much of it. I gestured at it and said, “So, you’re really not a big drinker.” She said, “It just doesn’t taste right to me.” I...
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The True Meaning of Christmas
It's my annual posting of my summary of the History Channel's Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas. Part of our American Christmas tradition is for people to throw around the phrase "the true meaning of Christmas." What that phrase usually refers to is an...
Latina Equal Pay Day 2018
November 1, 2018 was the second annual Latina Equal Pay Day. Before last week I didn't know that Latinas earn less than not only white men, but white women. In fact, while white women get 79 cents for every dollar a white man makes, Latinas get 53 cents. Son of a...
“I’m sorry I tried to kill myself”
When someone tries to end their life, but it doesn't work and they end up in the hospital, one thing they often say is "I'm sorry." But is that really necessary? What are they apologizing for? Having a mind distorted by mental illness? Being a screw-up? If we...
10-Year Anniversary of a 5-Year Marriage
Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of the day we celebrated our wedding. My husband and I got married on one day and had the reception six months later. For some reason the 10-year anniversary of the wedding ceremony didn't hit me as hard last March, but today I...
How Do I Stop the Pain?
Previous post on weight & health: Not getting better I run a depression support group Meetup and this week we talked about ways to treat depression other than with medication. I've happily been on anti-depressants since 2010, so I'm not knocking meds, but I wanted...
I’m Bored
If any friends or family follow this blog as a way of seeing how I'm doing, I'm fine. I can't explain the four-month gap between posts except that maybe I didn't feel like blogging because I felt okay. I blog more when I'm unhappy, I think. Maybe that's typical of...
The Depressive Episodes Shorten
My depressions usually last for months or weeks, and in the past it's been years. Earlier this year I had a depression that lasted for six weeks, but since then I've had two episodes that were much shorter: a week at the end of March, and one day this past weekend....
Tippett Responded!
Even though my review of a podcast on depression wasn't favorable, I tweeted it and tagged the host, Krista Tippett, and the show itself, On Being. And Tippett responded! This is great, although I'm not sure what she means by "it often works this cyclical way." Does...
It’s Back (Depression)
I didn't even get one month before the depression came back. It rolled back over me on Monday and as hard as I've been trying to pretend "as if," I can't stop it. The twelve step programs advocate "fake it til you make it." Act the way you wish you were and eventually...