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Mental Health

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

Pills, Pills, Pills: In Defence of a Complicated Medicine Cabinet

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. This week will be devoted to my decision around medication as it relates to mental health (or rather, mental illness). I know that some people don’t think any people should do that, and I have a problem with that attitude. I’m not talking about someone experiencing depression or anxiety and trying to decide for themselves whether or not it’s in their… Read More »Pills, Pills, Pills: In Defence of a Complicated Medicine Cabinet

Holidays, Nostalgia, and Grief

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. There’s something about holidays that calls to nostalgia. And among holidays, for me, Christmas is the one that stirs up memories like more or less nothing else. And then those memories set off other memories and… well, I cry a lot around the end of the year. Nostalgia, my quick Google search tells me, is widely considered to be a good… Read More »Holidays, Nostalgia, and Grief

What a Difference a DX Makes

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 see a lot of complaints about the DSM1. And honestly, a lot of them are valid. I get it. There are a lot of issues with it. I would not be uninterested in a discussion of alternative systems. But that’s not my topic today. No, today I want to explain why I am happy, for now, to be diagnosed according… Read More »What a Difference a DX Makes

DOWN HERE and UP HERE

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. There’s a problem I’ve had for as long as I’ve been seeing psychologists. I learn a tool, and it’s very helpful for analysing my problems, but when I’m in the midst of having said problems, I can’t access the tool. I think of it like this: I keep all my tools neatly organized on this level down here, but in the heat of… Read More »DOWN HERE and UP HERE

Trunk Day

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. The year we first moved out of our parents’ homes and into our first place together, we bought all kinds of new Christmas decorations. And we kept them conveniently stored in the trunk of our car. We kept them there until the joyous day we had decreed that we would take them into the house and decorate. The day we called…… Read More »Trunk Day

Getting in Trouble

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 have a longstanding fear of Getting in Trouble. Those words come up a lot in discussion with Adam. As in… Adam: [parks car]Me: Are we allowed to park here?Adam: Yes, it’s a parking lot.Me: But the store doesn’t open for another fifteen minutes.Adam: I think it’s okay.Me: …but what if we get in trouble? That kind of conversation is extremely… Read More »Getting in Trouble

A-DAW-rable: Baby Steps in Logic

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 in a place right now where I’m wanting to pour a whole lot of information into my head at once. I want to be able to create beautifully finished home recordings, and I’m just not sure if that’s a thing that’s in my future. I’ve written before about The Buzz. Basically, it’s what I call the combination of anxiety and… Read More »A-DAW-rable: Baby Steps in Logic

Stage Fright

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. Lots of people experience stage fright. Not just beginners but also highly skilled performers. It’s no reflection on how good you are, or even how good you think you are, just a reaction to the idea of performing in front of whatever group of people you’re supposed to be performing in front of. Lots of people experience stage fright. I never experienced stage… Read More »Stage Fright

The Buzz

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. If I’m not really relaxed, and I do feel relaxed occasionally, there’s probably a buzzing in my head. The volume runs from wasp through circular saw right up to whatever horrible thing the workers are using outside to re-something the thingy. It depends on how many things are creating the buzz and how serious my brain thinks they are. The Buzz,… Read More »The Buzz

Learning with an Audience

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 don’t know how many people actually enjoy doing things wrong, but I have to imagine there are plenty who don’t hate it as much as I do. I can just about do it when I’m on my own, but the problem with learning by making mistakes on your own is that you probably don’t know you’re making mistakes or, more… Read More »Learning with an Audience