I am experiencing heightened anxiety at the moment, as I am waiting for important medical results. I usually avoid sharing my anxiety with my family, but this time I decided to be more open. Telling my brother, who has chronic mental health issues, about what I am going through was surprisingly helpful.

Love is a powerful force, but when it comes to loving someone with mental illness, we have to think about how to love through a different lens. We all likely have seen this type of story before where someone with mental illness or trauma falls in love, finds happiness, and suddenly all pain and hardship disappears for good. These stories put the emphasis on the partner as some type of savior, valiantly rescuing a "broken" person through the power of love. These savior stories create unrealistic expectations of what it's like to love people with mental illnesses as if the right person can rescue them from their darkness and pull them back into the light. 

Holding down a job and working with borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be challenging at times. The fluctuating, unstable emotions can get in the way of good work performance and maintaining a positive reputation. Working from home with BPD presents unique challenges and advantages if you live with this disorder. 

Gender identity in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, etc. (LGBTQIA+) community is important when speaking about mental health. Society has made a habit of assigning gender based on assumptions relating to outward appearance and tone of voice. Mental health concerns can be tied together with gender identity and it is important to respect an individual's chosen identity without our own biases getting in the way. Being a part of the LGBTQIA+ mental health community or being an ally to this community begins with basic respect for gender identity and the willingness to learn and be curious regarding aspects of this community we are not aware of. 

The last time you got a poor night's sleep, did you feel more anxious or stressed during the day? And on the other side, how often have you noticed your sleep was really bad before a big deadline or after a really stressful day? I notice stress affecting my sleep more than I notice poor sleep affecting my anxiety, but I have experienced both of these, and it's actually pretty common for people experiencing regular anxiety.

We are living in the age of the gig economy, but how are these side hustles affecting depression? According to Forbes, more and more people are freelancing due to the pandemic. With freelance life being highly uncertain, I know people who are looking for/working day jobs in addition to freelancing. While it can be monetarily and soulfully rewarding, having a side hustle may have a negative impact on depression. Let's see why. 

Do you play tug-of-war with your anxious thoughts? I often find myself playing this exhausting, time-consuming game, and it can be frustrating. If you find yourself trying to let go of anxious thoughts but they keep returning, you could be playing mental tug-of-war with anxiety. If you tend to overthink, playing tug-of-war too often, and would rather do something else, read on for insights into this annoying mental game and ways to put down the rope.

Ever noticed that when you are feeling depressed, at least one person in your life tells you to "stop feeling sorry for yourself"? Depression and self-pity seem to go hand in hand, but they are not the same thing. Experiencing self-pity is significantly different from being blue. Here's how you can tell the difference.

Those who read this blog may remember that it was a little over a year ago that I lost my apartment, almost all my possessions, and nearly my life, in a massive fire. In the year since the fire, I have tried my best to return my life to some degree of normalcy. This has proved to be much more difficult than I could have imagined.