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Mental Health

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

The EP: Demo Day

This is less edited than usual, since I’ve written it mostly yesterday (in relation to the day I post it). Please enjoy the haphazard nature of today’s musings. There’s a project that’s been on my mind for several years now: going into a studio and recording my/our own songs. We’ve been saving up, birthdays and Christmases and what we could spare from bonuses and tax refunds. The process so far has been very slow. But now, we’re finally moving. We’re working on demos of the… Read More »The EP: Demo Day

Can You “Just Do”… Anything?

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 planned this for very many months, this blog. I (eventually) wrote nine posts as a buffer, but (also eventually) there came a time when I had to start posting. Which meant writing new things every week. Needless to say, I am not completing new posts at quite the rate I post old ones. Why not? It’s not for lack of… Read More »Can You “Just Do”… Anything?

Back From the Silence

2026 NOTE: My diagnostic situation has changed since I wrote this. See this post and the series of posts starting here for more information. For a balanced perspective, or at least one that could conceivably be called delicately off-, I should also touch on the other main topic of this blog: so here is my history with music, its place in my life then and now, and (an overview of) the way my mental illness and my musical life wind around each other. As you… Read More »Back From the Silence

Anxiety, etc.

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 first topics I want to address very deliberately are mental health topics: bipolar, last week, and today anxiety. Across these posts I’ll also be sharing some examples of how my mental illness has influenced my songwriting. Why write this here? (you may be wondering.) This seems to be a blog situation, not a journal. Well, (I answer,) I have multiple… Read More »Anxiety, etc.

Bipolar Past

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 first topics I want to address very deliberately are mental health topics: bipolar, today, and next week will be about anxiety. Across these posts I’ll also be sharing some examples of how my mental illness has influenced my songwriting. Why write this here? (you may be wondering.) This seems to be a blog situation, not a journal. Well, (I answer,)… Read More »Bipolar Past

Doing the Work

Recap: Hi, I’m Laura. I made an attempt at blogging like this before, but honestly, hardly anyone knew it existed, let alone read it. I turned the blog’s name into a band-okay-duo’s name (with my partner), which felt really great at first. But something was missing. Then I realized what went wrong with the original blog—the audience problem—and I realized I could change things if I stopped screaming into the void and started talking to people instead. And boy, would that be work. But worth… Read More »Doing the Work

Second-Hand Domain Name

Recap: Hi, I’m Laura. I made an attempt at blogging like this before, but honestly, hardly anyone knew it existed, let alone read it. And I realized too late that I could change things if I stopped screaming into the void and started talking to people instead. My partner, Adam, and I met playing music, and we’re still doing it. I sing, Adam sings and plays guitar. I write lots of songs, and sometimes we write together. But we’ve never so much as played an… Read More »Second-Hand Domain Name

Screaming Into the Void and Expecting a Response

Hi, I’m Laura. Once upon a time, I flunked out of grad school. Okay, that’s a bit of a mischaracterization, my grades were quite good. But I realized that my goal was beyond me. In particular, I had wanted to become a counsellor and Help People. Alright, let’s be perfectly honest… I wanted to be Deanna Troi. But partway through the schooling for that I came to the sad conclusion that I couldn’t cope with the weight of it. The pressure, the high stakes. I… Read More »Screaming Into the Void and Expecting a Response