all my friends are queer

How do you let go of people that created you? That became integrally a part of you? Currently, my only strategies are "write," "cry," and "keep building no matter how many times the Legos fall down" and I gotta be honest, I'm kind of sick & tired of the baggage...

Dear future me: did you start feeling guilty about putting yourself & your needs first? Listen to this time you had tasty dinner at home and felt proud instead.

Reaction to The Originals Season 5, Episode 6. Of course the three stooges of this cursed episode are men. My girl deserved SO MUCH BETTER TREATMENT 😭

It's like... If I only saw TERFs as my impression of the feminist movement, I would have hated it. Just as I hated the men's rights activism movement for the extremists I saw online in my early 20s. I learned a lot from this documentary, and it has expanded my views in healthy ways. I stopped identifying as a feminist online when I felt the movement was too cringey--something people would misjudge...

it's a lonely feeling to look around at a virtually non-existent support system. EVERYTHING has changed over the past two years. it's hard to know which direction to choose to move forward. discussion about complex and abusive family dynamics. life has really taken my history of fighting against the odds and put me to the test. in some ways, I feel like a failure... pero, I chose to make these imp...

TW: discussion of rape (if there's any trigger warnings I'm missing, please tell me in the Q&A section and I will update it!) CW: recapping the events that led up to my mortifying psychotic episode last year, and all of the messiness that goes along with it. I recently mass deleted a ton of triggering videos and photos from this time period so I don't get bombarded with the memory notifications th...

My reflections on the difficult mental health situation I've been working through for almost a year. Getting stable again is hard, especially when you're homeless. The tides seem to be changing in my favor, so it's good that I document the positive things in my life right now.

Manic switch is officially off, welcome to the pits of depression hell 😅

Topics covered: The Dime Game - how ask for something strongly or say no strongly (5:43); willingness, wise mind, and distress tolerance (23:45), nutrition and dialectical stance (40:07), accumulating positives (50:35), emotional regulation, the function of emotions, and boundary setting (1:00:05) | Support my fundraiser for mental healthcare: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rae-survival-fund

Consolidating lessons from my third week in intensive mental health treatment | ➡️CW: GIVE (interpersonal / relationship effectiveness and communication) (8:18), vulnerability factors (PLEASE) (9:37), mindfulness and coping ahead (16:40), checking the facts (18:21), schemas (specific / individualized vulnerabilities) (19:05), dialectics (2 opposites can be true at the same time) (22:22), change (i...

A long and winding and very stream-of-consciousness summary of my second week in IOP. | "There's no amount of guilt that can change the past, and no amount of anxiety that can change the future." | ➡️CW: distress tolerance (11:55), behavioral change analysis (15:10), TIPP as an emergency lever for intense emotion (17:45), wise mind ACCEPTS (24:27), mindfulness (29:53), stress (31:35), mindfulness...

This week I recap my sister Kristi's visit to Milwaukee and all of our shenanigans, as well as my first week of the DBT IOP (dialectical behavior therapy intensive outpatient program) and my return to work. | "Anger can be the bodyguard for fear or other emotions." | ➡️CW: experiential (art) therapy (41:45), validation (47:25), transparency (51:11), emotional regulation & happiness as a skill (53:...

Aside from the usual weekly recap and goal-setting, this week I'm digging into and recounting the events leading up to my mixed manic episode last year and the factors (social, medical, behavioral) that contributed to a psychotic break.  Notice that as I speak about these events, at times I start to question myself (even gaslight myself, which I just learned was a thing), get confused, trip over m...

Reconnecting with my mom has been tough and my brain is messy right now, but there's one thing I know for sure (that she taught me): my faith is rooted in my love for my family. I speak on many topics here, including: how my lack of emotional intelligence/awareness, unstable housing, and neglectful healthcare practices impacted my mental health as an adolescent (age 15-26); coming to terms with my...

How procrastination and financial anxiety is affecting my safety planning and continuity of mental healthcare. Also, fuck capitalism and fuck our healthcare system. #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalillness #depression #anxiety #CPTSD #bipolardisorder

CW: CPTSD, how I eliminate my triggers, find closure, and heal TW: abusive ex-boyfriend, sexual abuse, (Please tell me if I need to add other TWs!) #TWCW #CPTSD #PTSD #triggers #trigger #healing #emotionalhealing #emotionalintelligence #mentalhealth #therapy #gototherapy

A little bit about me and my vision for this podcast.