Hold On To Your Sanity
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Welcome Back—We Didn’t Think You Were Gonna Make It (A Bipolar, PTSD Story)
I got bipolar disorder. I got PTSD from my time in the service. And I got a long history of hurting the people I love, even when I don’t mean to. If you know, you know—when I’m up, I’m way up. Money feels like nothin’. I’ll drop a whole paycheck on clothes I don’t need, rounds at the bar, trying to be somebody. The next thing I know, rent’s due and my account’s empty. I swear, sometimes it feel like my money just disappeared.
7 Hidden Ways Trauma Affects Your Everyday Life
Trauma isn’t always obvious. While we often associate it with major life events, its effects can quietly weave into our daily lives, shaping our thoughts, behaviors, and even our bodies in ways we don’t always recognize. Whether the trauma stems from childhood experiences, relationships, loss, or other difficult situations, it can leave a lasting imprint.
How to Recognize the Early Signs of Overwhelm (Before It’s Too Late)
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and ignore the early signs of overwhelm. Many of us push through stress until we reach a breaking point, but recognizing the warning signals early can prevent burnout, anxiety, and even serious health issues.
Overcoming Overwhelm: Why We Feel It & How to Take Control
Overwhelm isn’t just about having too much to do—it’s about feeling like we don’t have the resources to handle it. The good news? Overwhelm isn’t a permanent state—it’s a signal that something needs to change. Let’s explore ways to regain control.
From Chaos to Clarity: Rebuilding My Life After a Toxic Relationship
It started small. Isn’t that always the way? When I first met Jason, he was charming, attentive, and seemed too good to be true. He’d text me sweet messages all day, call me “his angel,” and tell me how lucky he was to have found me. It felt amazing—until it didn’t.
When Helping Hurts: Navigating the Strain of Caring for People Who Don’t Want Help
As a caregiver, there’s nothing harder than watching someone you care about spiral while refusing the help you know they need. You see the self-sabotaging patterns, the destructive choices, and the pain they’re causing themselves—and often others. You know, deep down, that you could offer advice, tools, or solutions that might make a difference. But the hard truth is this: you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.
5 Ways to Overcome Procrastination and Stay Focused
For the longest time, I thought procrastination meant I was just lazy or unmotivated. But that’s not the case at all. I’ve learned that procrastination is less about laziness and more about fear—fear of failure, fear of the task being harder than you think, or even fear of not doing something “perfectly.”
From Overwhelmed to Organized: Managing Mental Clutter
For years, I lived in a constant state of mental clutter. My brain was a crowded whiteboard, crammed with to-do lists, reminders, anxieties, and random thoughts like, Did I leave the oven on? What’s for dinner? Is that weird cough a sign of something serious?
Rewriting Your Inner Narrative: Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
Hi, I’m Marcus. I’m 29, and I run a small but growing digital marketing business. It’s something I’m proud of now, but if you’d told me five years ago I’d be here, I wouldn’t have believed you. Why? Because for most of my life, I let limiting beliefs run the show.
Holding Space: How to Support Without Fixing
Let me start by saying this: not trying to fix people is hard. It’s something I’m still working on, and I’m not always successful. With some people, I’ve gotten better at holding space. But with others—especially those closest to me—I have a tendency to go into full-on “mommy mode.”
Pieces of Me: Rebuilding After a Sexual Assault
In the days and weeks after the assault, I was in survival mode. I didn’t feel anything, which, in hindsight, was its own kind of feeling. Numbness wrapped itself around me like a blanket, keeping everything at arm’s length.
Teaching My Kids What I Never Learned: Breaking Generational Patterns
Generational trauma is when unhealthy patterns—like being too strict, ignoring emotions, or using fear to control behavior—get passed down through families. It’s not always intentional.
Living with Anxiety: The Battles You Don’t See
Anxiety is like that overbearing friend who shows up uninvited to every event and dominates the conversation. Except, instead of awkward small talk, it brings a whole circus of irrational fears, sweaty palms, and a heart that races like it’s auditioning for the Olympics.
Breaking the Stigma: Why Talking About Mental Health Matters
Even today, when we’ve supposedly made progress in understanding mental health, the stigma is alive and well. It’s there in the whispered conversations, the shame-filled glances, and the silence that surrounds the words “depression” and “anxiety.”
How Moving to a New City Saved My Mental Health
I won’t lie and say the move “cured” me. Healing doesn’t work like that. I’m still dealing with complex PTSD, but the episodes of psychosis? They’ve stopped. For the first time in years, I feel like I’m not constantly on the verge of losing myself.
Finding What Works: My Journey to a Growth Mentality and Better Mental Health
I had unknowingly developed a growth mentality, the belief that every challenge is an opportunity to learn and evolve. This mindset didn’t mean life suddenly became easy.