My mom passed away in 2018 and today is the anniversary of her death. I’m usually hyper-aware of the date approaching because her birthday is the 19th and from that point on, it’s on my…
Examples of Trauma
I want to preface this by saying that I am not a doctor or mental health professional. I’m a mental health advocate and that means that I share my lived experience, my stories, and my…
Self-Talk + Anxiety
In the mental health community, I feel like a lot of the time we can jump from Point A to Point C. Point A = “I am struggling with my mental health.” and Point C…
Substance Use Disorder: How to Help
The fifth edition (DSM-5) published in 2013 recategorizes substance abuse, addiction or alcoholism to Substance Use Disorder (SUD), which encompasses both drugs and alcohol, and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) focused solely on alcohol. My life…
Why It’s Hard to Talk About Mental Health
Part of mental health advocacy is talking about it. And that’s not always easy. In the beginning, I really struggled with talking about my mental health. It made me feel so open and vulnerable and…
What is Parentification and How I Experienced It
A few weeks ago in my newsletter, I mentioned parentification and I got a few emails from people asking me to explain it a little bit more. Parentification is where a child is forced or…