There is a particular kind of pressure attached to surviving something painful. People may call it openness, accountability, education, or empowerment, but…
For a long time, I treated needing help as evidence that I was failing. I could offer support readily, remember everyone else’s hard days, and sit beside a…
For years, I treated my chronic overthinking like a personality defect. I replayed conversations while brushing my teeth, edited texts before sending them, and…
Anger has a complicated reputation. It can be frightening, disruptive, and difficult to contain, especially when it comes from women and marginalized people.…
For years, “dramatic” was one of the quickest ways I dismissed myself. I used it when I cried over something that mattered to me, when anxiety made a small…
For a long time, I confused being needed with being loved. I answered messages when I was exhausted, agreed to plans I dreaded, and made myself available…
For a long time, I thought losing my voice would feel dramatic. I imagined a clean break, some unmistakable moment when fear would arrive and take everything…
For a long time, I thought my bisexuality would become easier to explain once I had a boyfriend. I imagined that being in a committed relationship would settle…
For a long time, I thought journaling meant documenting my day in neat paragraphs: what I ate, who I texted, what went wrong, and whether I had been productive…
Grief rarely arrives as a single feeling. It can be sorrow, disbelief, numbness, irritation, relief, guilt, longing, or a body that feels exhausted by carrying…