I want to start with a disclaimer, but I want to encourage you to keep reading anyway. I am not an expert, medical or otherwise, on insomnia. I’m just some dope who has suffered with insomnia most of my adult life. Plus, I have access to several internet search engines. Insomnia and search engines are…
It’s often embarrassing to have depression. And I’m not talking about the internalized stigma around mental illness. A lot of things that would be embarrassing without depression are much more likely to occur with depression. Depression affects sleep and appetite and saps your energy. As a result, it’s just harder to take care of yourself….
One of the hardest parts about living with mental illness is having to work while symptomatic. I wish I could say that the best way to navigate the workplace while symptomatic is to avoid the workplace. That’s just not possible for many people, either because there is no paid time off or their workplace has…
A study came out last week that dealt “A Decisive Blow to the Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression.” It’s all anyone in the mental health world seems to be able to talk about. Some people are incredulous, wondering how this could have happened. Others are angry that they were ever prescribed medication for depression in the…
About a month and a half ago, I wrote a piece for Culture Slate called A Psychological Profile On Obi-Wan Kenobi — Culture Slate. In it, I did what the title suggests, I wrote a psychological profile of Obi-Wan Kenobi from the recent Disney+ show. I used a depression checklist and a PTSD checklist that…
This is a topic I’ve written about before, probably most notably here: The Conversation Around Mental Health Is Long Overdue – And We’re Screwing It Up | Nutmegger Daily – Quality writing on many topics. For some reason, though, it seems to be easily forgotten. I hope, in my writing, it is always clear that…
My goal in this piece, on this Fourth of July, is to give those without mental illness an idea of what it’s like attending festivities with mental illness. Of course, I only have direct access to my own feelings and experiences, but from reading and listening to others, I think I’m pretty typical. Also, I…
It’s almost impossible for me to trust myself during, and just after, a depressive episode. I wrote this piece about confidence, Confidence | Nutmegger Daily – Quality writing on many topics, a little bit ago. Not trusting myself seems like a similar phenomenon to lacking confidence, but I think it’s different in some important ways….
Over the weekend, a bipartisan framework for “gun safety” legislation was announced. It contains four things that probably won’t make any substantive difference but are better than nothing: Encouraging states to adopt “Red Flag” laws, closing the “boyfriend loophole”, enhancing the review process for buyers under 21, and clarifying what it means to be a…
There’s a symptom of my depression that I never hear anyone talk about. Depression has completely destroyed my confidence. And it’s not just during a depressive episode. I lack confidence even when I’m feeling good. This is a fairly recent development, in the last ten years or so. It dates to just before I was…
