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Mental Health

Having to do with my mental health journey, or what I have learned about mental health.

Autism in My Life

I’ve spent a lot of the last three years learning about autism and figuring out what it might represent in my lived experience. When I started telling people about my diagnosis, I learned pretty quickly that most people don’t have years of learning and reflection to pull from in understanding this. In fact, most people have a pretty shaky grasp on what autism is at all. I certainly did, prior to 2023. So, I decided to put together a series of blog posts covering some of what… Read More »Autism in My Life

Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month

Just in time for Autism Awareness (or Acceptance) Month (April), I got to celebrate my autistic awareness (or acceptance) with my very own official diagnosis. This has been a long time coming. I started looking into the possibility that I might be autistic at the beginning of 2023. It’s the main reason that my blog posts since then have been much sparser than they were in 2022. It was hard to find the motivation to write about my mental health when I couldn’t be as… Read More »Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month

The Ups and Downs of Knowing Your Limits

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. It’s been months since my last post. I haven’t really felt like I have anything to say, or if I do, it’s in the form of a song or a story. And I promise, there’s movement on the album and the novel. But recently I realized I did have something I wanted to say, and it wasn’t going to fit neatly… Read More »The Ups and Downs of Knowing Your Limits

Out of My Depth

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. Imagine this. For the sake of argument, you are not a very strong swimmer. But you do like to be in the water, so you get yourself an ENORMOUS flutter board and you take it out to the lake or the pool and you flutter your way out of the shallows. Then you stand on your enormous flutter board. And it’s… Read More »Out of My Depth

Quiet

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. I wouldn’t want to lose a number of the things I own. My wedding and engagement rings, obviously. My signed edition of Terry Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men. Certain pieces of clothing or jewelry. But one of those things that a lot of people might not guess holds such importance is a pair of headphones. A pair of comfortable, Bluetooth-capable, noise-cancelling headphones. Typing. Chewing.… Read More »Quiet

Trouble with Things

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I have an extremely hard time doing two or more “big things” in one day, especially if I’m wholly responsible for getting them done, and even more especially if they involve leaving the apartment. This means, typically, appointments, shopping trips, any [currently theoretical] shifts at work, any significant cleaning tasks, they all get their… Read More »Trouble with Things

Spark

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. I’ve been reflecting on my creative output over the last year. Yes, we put out an EP and we planned and executed a release event. But as far as writing, which I consider kind of a core aspect of my personality and sense of self, I only wrote about 30 non-EP blog posts, and I don’t think I finished a single… Read More »Spark

Christmas Makes Me Cry

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. I really like Christmas music. It’s probably my favourite (genre-crossing) “genre.” I like the sleigh bells and the half-diminished chords and the general preoccupation with nostalgia. I like the self-indulgent arrangements just on principle. I like that Christmas songs pull at your emotions, especially because, at this time of year I tend to get a little1 overwhelmed and sometimes have the impression… Read More »Christmas Makes Me Cry

More Room in My Head

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. Leading up to the show, I had so many things on my mind – more than once I drew the comparison between organizing the show and planning a wedding, and I don’t think I was exaggerating as much as it might have sounded like I was exaggerating. My poor brain was packed full of details, most especially because this was our… Read More »More Room in My Head

HALLOWE’EN (Or, And now back to your regularly scheduled programming)

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. (Written mostly on Monday, Oct. 30) I love Hallowe’en. My “favourite holiday” is a bit of a moving target, but Hallowe’en often appears in the crosshairs. (Other contenders include the secular part of Christmas and also whichever one is coming up next.) I hate being scared. I really do. I take no joy in haunted houses, think jump scares are one… Read More »HALLOWE’EN (Or, And now back to your regularly scheduled programming)