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Mental Health

Open, honest dialogue about mental health is so important. These posts offer perspectives often missing from the conversation.

Photo of multiple prescription medication bottles. One bottle is on its side with white pills spilling out.

I’m Done Hiding the Fact that I Take Medications for My Mental Illness

At my first rights-oriented mental health conference, I was unsure whether or not I would be accepted. Wait, what? you may ask. Bear with me. You see, I’m a survivor of overmedication. Wait, is this going to be one of…
Red leather BDSM accessories including ball gag, cuffs, rope, flogger, collar and leash.

Why BDSM is a Healing Practice for My Mental Health

Tighter. Please. Keep my mind still. Help my mind stay in this body. I pray to anyone who will listen. Winding, twisting, knotting, allowing myself to be tied into place. Tying the knots so tight my mind will not stray …
Silhouette of a person sitting head-in-hands, with pieces coming off the silhouette and disappearing into the air.

Disability and the Weight of Loneliness

For people who know me in real life, what I’m about to say might sound absurd: I have felt a constant sense of crushing loneliness ever since I was ten years old. Now, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking this …
Shadows of hands surrounding a female-presenting person standing in the middle of them.

My Mental Health Disabilities Don’t Make My Experience of Sexual Assault Less Worthy of Belief

It was approximately seven years ago when I first told my partner I was sexually assaulted by my best friend eight years prior to entering college. Despite the length of time since it happened and the memories being recovered only …
Four students sit at desks, one rests their head on their desk and the others rest their heads in their hands.

Students With Mental Health Disabilities Are Not a Burden

Halfway through my time in college, I found myself wondering whether I should bother returning to therapy, either on or off-campus. Despite having studied psychology for a few years and having previously seen a therapist on campus, I felt apprehensive …
Sign with a handprint that reads "NOLA Disability Pride Festival" hanging on a wrought iron gate.

I Celebrate Disability Pride, But Am I Really Proud of My Mental Illness?

When advertising for this year’s New Orleans Disability Pride Festival I was blown away by the positive responses we received, but there was one outlier expressing their disapproval whose words I just cannot shake. Amid the cries of “This is…
A watercolor painting of a person painted in rainbow colors sitting on a the edge of a cliff.

Anti-Stigma Mental Health Campaigns Often Ignore Our Realities

I have to be honest: I am not a fan of anti-stigma campaigns. Or, at least, not the way the campaigns are normally run. Let me explain why: I am forever grateful to live in a time where openness about …
A person's hands holding a cell phone with message bubbles coming out of it, in front of a laptop.

Before You Offer Unsolicited Mental Health Advice on Social Media, Read This.

If you have a mental illness and you talk about it on the internet, someone is bound to respond almost immediately with unsolicited advice. Have you tried medication? Have you tried not taking medication? Meditation? Crystals? Yoga? A fad diet?…

Are We Turning a Corner on Discussions of Gun Violence and Mental Health?

Content note: this post discusses gun violence, mental illness, and sexually abusive behavior. Like many of us living in the United States, I’m constantly bracing for the news of yet another mass shooting. As a human, I’m horrified by the…