Category: Emotional Health

Prize of Poison

Judith Staff

I want it. No,need it, the panacea; Or, perhaps the exhilaration of the release trailing after it – unsure which; Does it matter? Drink to numb. Calories purged. Caffeine pulsing. All drenched in familiar relief. The isolation I don’t want, but it’s mine, handcuffed to me, by a rusted padlock made of shame. Read more

Judith Staff

Judith Staff’s background is in teaching and early years education. She still teaches occasionally, though now her main focus is in child welfare and safeguarding children. Her work includes delivering training, presenting at conferences, and engaging in collaborative projects with schools around child abuse awareness and sexual violence prevention. She enjoys writing blogs and poetry on topics she feels passionate about. Judith loves running, gym classes and karate. She is married to an art lecturer and they live in Northamptonshire, England with their three free-spirited children, a 12- year-old son, and daughters aged 11 and 9.

Hiding Below

Olivia Stirton

You commented on the bags under my eyes I said “thank you, they’re designer” And I meant it Because I designed them myself With sleepless nights And a starving soul (my body might be starving a little too) And I did it because I just wanted The outside to match Read more

Olivia Stirton

Hello, my name is Olivia. I’m 20 years old and currently working at a bookstore. Being surrounded by books quickly developed a new hobby for me of first reading, and then writing. I enjoy so many different genres of books, but I always love reading and writing poetry more than anything else. I’ve always struggled with various mental health issues, and I find that writing and turning my thoughts into poetry helps me tremendously. I hope that in the future, I can publish a poetry book of my own for the world to see. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys these bits and pieces of my writing. It always has, and always will, come from the heart.

10 Hopeful Hacks for Beating the Holiday Blues

Dori Owen

I am not a fan of beating the blues advice that is patently gratuitous, overdone, or quite obvious. Yes, a walk on the beach sounds invigorating but I live in Arizona. You know what I’m talking about, these lists inundate Google if you search for overcoming a down mood or Read more

Dori Owen

Dori Owen is a storyteller, writing from small town Arizona, after living a few decades in California as an LA Wild Child, with a brief stop in Reno. She settled into grownup life as a project manager, collecting an MBA and a few husbands along the way. She is a shown artist and her favorite pastime is upcycling old furniture and decor she finds from thrift stores. She lives with the cat who came to visit but stayed. The love of her life is her grown son who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her essays and poems have been published in RAW&UNFILTERED VOL I, StigmaFighters Vol 2, and Love Notes From Humanity. Her blogs have been featured on The Lithium Chronicles, Open Thought Vortex, Sudden Denouement, and The Mighty.

MOOD

Dori Owen

she fears the dark as it consumes her slowly and then all at once trapping her in its never ending quest to seize her mind and bury her soul. she’s trapped inside just a girl lost in a mood maelstrom waiting to capture back her soul. she knows she understands Read more

Dori Owen

Dori Owen is a storyteller, writing from small town Arizona, after living a few decades in California as an LA Wild Child, with a brief stop in Reno. She settled into grownup life as a project manager, collecting an MBA and a few husbands along the way. She is a shown artist and her favorite pastime is upcycling old furniture and decor she finds from thrift stores. She lives with the cat who came to visit but stayed. The love of her life is her grown son who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her essays and poems have been published in RAW&UNFILTERED VOL I, StigmaFighters Vol 2, and Love Notes From Humanity. Her blogs have been featured on The Lithium Chronicles, Open Thought Vortex, Sudden Denouement, and The Mighty.

Fear

Jamie Sawczyszyn

We have a common enemy. It is faceless. Animal. Instinctual. It’s been hired, like a hitman, by those who know it’s power. It disguises itself, hiding among our everyday lives. It can appear as someone you envy sitting too closely, or smiling too sweetly at your lover. It can look Read more

Jamie Sawczyszyn

Jamie has been writing all of her life, and went to school for 3 years to study professional writing. Though she just began submitting to publications more recently, she has hosted several slam poetry events for herself and other writers to perform their works of art. Writing is more of an artistic outlet for her, and mainly focuses on raw nonfiction prose and poetry. She is in the works of writing a nonfiction book, which will focus on the psychological impact that her childhood had on her as she grew into an adult, and overcoming her anxiety disorder. She hopes that her book, like most of her works of poetry, will help any of her readers who are struggling with mental illness or going through a rough time in thier lives.

The “Yes” Woman

Stephanie Ortez

“It’s all about you, how can you be living a life filled with such self-indulgence ignoring the rest of us mortals?” I could not tell you how many times this mere thought had crossed my mind in the last couple years. Not long ago, I was accused of such indolence, Read more

Stephanie Ortez

Stephanie is a highly caffeinated mother of two wonderful boys. She is hopelessly addicted to non-fiction books and literature that moves her to tears. She is an admissions advisor for George Washington University online where she assists homeschooled students internationally. Stephanie lives with Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. She is a passionate mental health advocate, member of Stigma Fighters. Her writing has been featured on The Elephant Journal, The Mighty, The Organic Coffee Haphazardly and Feminine Collective.

Dear Limbo

Jacquie Prebich

Last life I danced on empty pages waiting for love a solo ballet an unfinished symphony tormented by silence sadness madness I ripped queer stars from the red moon sky they bled black there is no ending no last call no exit I waited waded created I danced the art Read more

Jacquie Prebich

Jacquie Prebich was raised in New York City and currently resides in Los Angeles. She started ballet at age five and danced until her first pregnancy. Jacquie loves writing, producing, and directing. She created Ballet Theatre in 2006, a new performance concept combining classical ballet with acting, singing, and live music. Jacquie began writing poetry after undergoing rehab for prescription pain pills— an addiction that developed as a result of dance injuries. Jacquie lives in a scenic canyon with her family and rescue animals. She is currently working on her first poetry book. Follow Jacquie on Twitter @JwPrebich

Gold

Julie Anderson

Heavy words, insinuations if you will are left like baggage, there they are, on the back porch of my mind. All of them lined up in order, not of appearance but importance. Baffling renditions of memories held within their confines, these ghostly memories cannot find their place in the now, Read more

Julie Anderson

Julie Anderson is the Creator and Publisher of Feminine Collective. Julie was inspired to create this safe place for women to share their secrets, desires, triumphs and pain as the antithesis of what mainstream media offers women today. In her column Pursuit of Perfection, she explores the importance of rectifying the balance of inner and outer beauty through essays, poems and articles on self-esteem, shame, family, and self- acceptance.