Tag: mental illness

Can I see California? (Once before I die)

Richard DeFino

I must see California before I die. This is not an option for myself. I would walk the 3000 miles upon nails and razors only to see the sign that will probably read, “Welcome to the State of California” If that is even what it says. I imagine the sign Read more

Richard DeFino

Ricky De Fino grew up in New York City and currently resides in Buffalo NY. When he isn’t writing about his anxiety and his crazy Bronx upbringing, he enjoys watching countless hours of television with his wife Andrea, cat Bebe and dog Zeke. Two years sober, good coffee and veganism keeps him sane. His work can be found in Two Cities Review, tNY Press, Purple Pig Lit, Dialougal and Cycatrix Press.

Pain that Lasts and Pain that Fades

H.M. Jones

I can go get art etched into my skin. I can change my exterior, greatly and forever transform me, in only hours. And that feels like power. When you live your whole life with a pain that aches deep and hollow in your chest…When your stomach clenches and turns in stabbing pains from anxieties out of your control…When the pain is inside, incurable, persistent and strong, you either fall apart…

H.M. Jones

H.M. Jones is a mother, writer, teacher and poet. She is the author of Monochrome, the B.R.A.G Medallion dark fantasy about postpartum depression and the beauty of memories. Monochrome will be released,by Feminine Collective Publishing, marking the books third incarnation. Along with a few self-published poetry books, H.M.'s poetry will be featured in three different anthologies in 2015 and 2016. When she's not mothering, teaching, or writing, she is weaving, kickboxing, pulling in the canoe or reading.

Immigrant song: A Frenchman’s Moody Pipe Dream

Michel Bordeau

1976. I am 6 I have 2 mothers, 2 fathers, 3 sisters. Bernadette is my fairy godmother mom, my nanny during the day. She loves me like she loves her own children, Laure, Valérie, and Géraldine. I love them like I belong with them. They belong with me. We are Read more

Michel Bordeau

My name is Michel Bordeau, aka Area Frenchman. I am a Therapist and an Education Coach in private practice in Atlanta. Born in France, I have spent half my life in the US. I am culturally French and academically American, so you can safely assume that I know a thing or two about love (gender respectful, validating, unconditional, non-threatening) and the pleasures of life (many friends, much cheese, little w(h)ine). When I don't blog about mansplaining, teen assertiveness, guru shaming, toxic work environments and toxic people, motherhood, mindful parenting, immigrant entrepreneurs, bipolar disorder and body dysmorphic disorder, I dedicate my time speaking about the lessons I have learned as a therapist and a coach. I am the host of Le Kindness Couch on Youtube. I created this channel to demonstrate that today's therapeutic modalities are kind, validating, and solution-focused. We don't read mind or blame your mom for everything.

Ted is Not Dead

Jacqueline Cioffa

Excerpt from the book “Evergreen” Ted had kind eyes, celeste blue, clear, honest and true. The kind of eyes that really look at you passing no judgment. Smiling eyes that hold your gaze when you look into them. They weren’t bitter; there was no resentment, only sweet sorrow. His eyes 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.

Folie à Deux

Kitt O'Malley

Caveat: Please understand that delusional thought processes are SYMPTOMS of mental illness. I feel compassion, even as I feel pain and anger as someone negatively affected by parental delusional thoughts. I, too, have experienced delusional thoughts and bizarre impulses. I’m heir to familial mental illness. I get it. I write 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.

My Obituary (an ode to my parents)

Richard DeFino

Dear Mom and Dad, My requests are short and simple. I will not ask much of you. You can start by giving your 100% full undivided attention to this piece of paper you are reading. So, first, you can start by sending me off just the way you remember me Read more

Richard DeFino

Ricky De Fino grew up in New York City and currently resides in Buffalo NY. When he isn’t writing about his anxiety and his crazy Bronx upbringing, he enjoys watching countless hours of television with his wife Andrea, cat Bebe and dog Zeke. Two years sober, good coffee and veganism keeps him sane. His work can be found in Two Cities Review, tNY Press, Purple Pig Lit, Dialougal and Cycatrix Press.

I’m Not My Mother

Jayme Beddingfield

I started writing an article about being too quick to medicate children. I often wonder about the damage done to my developing mind from all the medications given to me as a child (some prescribed for me some for my mother). I find myself questioning how much of my anxiety Read more

Jayme Beddingfield

Jayme Beddingfield is the host and producer of 'Too Many Words' a comedy interview podcast. She is also the creator of 'Elliot Granger and The Clueless Brigade', which is a weekly serial that follows Elliot Granger as she stumbles through grief and growing up. The series is featured as both a fictional podcast and written story that appears on The Scribbler. Jayme has been crafting stories since her third-grade assignment to write her own fairy tale. She prefers to work from the sofa with her dogs by her feet. Originally from Northern New Jersey, she now lives in Seattle, the city of her dreams. She lives with her husband, two children, and a slew of adopted pets. She is completely post-apocalyptic obsessed and also admits to being an audio enthusiast and recovering supervillain.

Noises and PTSD

DMG Byrnes

There’s a rhythmic booming sound It’s a fist banging against at a door while someone cowers in the corner of the room on the other side Hoping the lock will hold as the wood shivers with the pounding… No, he assures me, it’s just some hammering or someone on the Read more

DMG Byrnes

DMG Byrnes is an author with a book addiction: reading and writing them. She is in the process of looking for the right agent to represent her first novel, The Foretelling Spark. She also writes poetry and short stories, publishing short pieces of fiction on the Fiction Fridays page of her website every week. She is a survivor of abuse and sexual assault living with C-PTSD, a chronic illness warrior, and on the side, a dragon tamer. She has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology that took her 9 years to earn and taught her that if it’s important enough to you, you’ll make it happen, no matter how slowly you have to go, a lesson she tries to remember when she’s writing.