You’re Skinny You Don’t Have Problems

The delusions that make up a life. How did we get here in the first place? How do we go from being children, filled with joyous reckless abandon to adults full of fear and every other godforsaken ill word on the planet? Jealousy, greed, lust, anger, prejudice, hate, blah blah Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

I’m Stable. Now What? My Radicalization Journey

“I don’t want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings.” ―Matthew Quick, The Silver Linings Playbook Sometimes I feel like everything there is to be said, has been said about mental illness. Or perhaps I’m just reaching a new level 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.

6 Ways To Find Your Smile

I never write something with the intention of invoking reactions. I write my truth – good, bad, and ugly. When something is on my heart, I have to get it out, whether it’s through writing, public speaking, or a radio interview. My latest article, 6 Steps to Finding Your Real Read more

Andrea Clemens

Andrea Clemens received her master’s degree from Boston University in clinical social work and has been educating school faculty, students, administrators, parenting groups, mentors, and the general public about educator sexual misconduct for over ten years. She has participated in both local and national television shows, including the Montel Williams Show and Fox News Live. Andrea is a key member of the speaker’s bureau for S.E.S.A.M.E., a national organization dedicated to preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment of students by teachers and school staff. She is also an instructor with the non-profit organization, KidSafe Foundation, whose mission is to prevent child sexual abuse, bullying and internet dangers by providing education programs to children, seminars to parents, workshops to teachers and counselors and trainings to all professionals working with children. Andrea continues to invest time and energy ensuring schools can be safe environments for our children – free from harassment and abuse.

Good Enough Mother

Advice to back off Advice to do more Be a good enough mother Not too good Don’t overdo it Don’t make him dependent on you He will never be able to care for himself He’ll end up in codependent relationships From other health care professionals Make sure he eats three Read more

Kitt O'Malley

If you check out Kitt O'Malley on LinkedIn, you'll see that she has worked as a legal assistant, psychotherapist, and commercial real estate professional before reinventing herself as a mental health advocate. As a mental health advocate, wife and mother, she neglects housework as she blogs at kittomalley.com about living with bipolar disorder, parenting an adolescent migraineur with social anxiety, and being caregiver of aging parents - one with alcohol-related dementia and the other with vascular dementia secondary to stroke. She's overwhelmed, to say the least.

2:00 AM

Some places in my mind are cerebral neighborhoods best left not to walk through alone. In dreams I am jolted by vivid thoughts I sprint away as if racing could bring escape. The wearisome part then settles in as memories declare we are here to stay we are not leaving, 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.

Oxidization

I need to feel bad, It’s been so long, long enough That time has started the process Of oxidizing my heart Rusting it through and through Spreading a poison of guilt and self-hatred From my aorta to my brain. “Should I go downstairs and apologize?” Running running running “I’m a Read more

Rebecca Charlotte

Rebecca Charlotte is a recent graduate of Westfield State University, a small liberal arts school in New England, where she majored in English with a concentration in literature. Currently, she works at two libraries. By day, Rebecca is a nerdy librarian, by night she is a nerdy librarian who devours books and superhero shows. Her work has appeared in BUST, elephant journal, Her Campus, and will be included in the upcoming issue of Doll Hospital Journal.

Misplaced Words

Silence after silence sets my mood. I circled the roots of life stumbling again only to be resurrected by a brand new day hoping the sunlight will amend my woes. A rare sweet hot December air fills the room, rare indeed. Enter the chilling sensation of the routine, because without 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.

Suicide and the Sensitive Heart: Why It Is Time for Us to be Vigilant

I go to a women’s gym five or six days a week, and always at 8 a.m. so that I can meet up with my buddies. We exercise our tongues as much as our bodies (more), and we call ourselves The Women’s Support Group. We share each others’ problems, offer Read more

Susan P. Blevins

Susan P. Blevins was born in England, and escaped at age twenty on her life quest, moving first to Italy for 26 years, and then to the USA, where she now lives. The older she gets, the more passionately involved she becomes in the world, and the more she wants to make a personal contribution. She believes that we can all make a difference, one hug, and one smile at a time.