Category: The Real Me
-
Dear Dad,
One of the ways I have been coping with everything is writing letters. I write them in my head all the time to you, to Mom, to the kids, to everyone. Sometimes I write them down. I’ve often thought about writing an entire book in the form of letters. I’m still thinking about it, actually. […]
-
Traumatic Independence
I first heard about independence as a result of trauma earlier this year. It blew my mind because as long as I can remember, my parents told me I was born independent. I think part of that is my personality and the other part is based on trauma. I’ve read a lot on attachment to […]
-
Dear Friend,
You were my very first friend in the Tourette’s community. After J was diagnosed, I had nowhere to turn. I didn’t know how to handle the official diagnosis and finding the camp just before the deadline to sign up was exactly what we needed. Camp was exactly what he and I both needed. He found […]
-
You can’t possibly know…
Something that has been grinding my gears for awhile now is this silly transphobic (debunked) theory about Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD). As someone who worked hard to hide from my feelings about my gender, this was interesting and upsetting at the same time. My curiosity got the better of me and I started looking […]
-
My Superpower
There’s lots of things I do ok at and lots that I’m pretty good at doing. There’s a few I think I’m spectacular at and a handful that are my strengths, hands down. But my superpower is deciding I am angry and building myself an entire narrative on how I have been wronged. I think […]
-
What OCD feels like to me…
OCD is something that I really didn’t want to admit that I had. I haven’t been formally diagnosed, but three psychologists have suggested it when we’ve been working towards diagnosing something else. In the Air Force, it felt like it was ok to just “suggest” that I have it but getting a formal diagnosis would […]
-
Adventures on a Friday
The morning started out crazy with the high schooler missing his bus, which was mostly my fault. I advised him to leave a little too late and the bus isn’t actually stopping at his stop; it’s stopping right next to the car of a kid who rode the bus last year. It’s a really nice […]
-
The kids have all gone to school…
and I have wasted no time taking that deep dive into my soul. It’s like I need to be without them to really look inside. The second I felt myself look inward, I knew today was going to be one of those days. Something is sitting on the edge in there, wanting to get out […]
-
Dear Family Member,
Hello! I had a wonderful time seeing you this weekend. I thought you threw an amazing party and everyone had such a good time. I’m really sorry I didn’t realize that I didn’t need to stay at a hotel and I just crashed in on you. Your husband said it was ok. I didn’t want […]
-
ADHD Emotional Dysregulation
This is my number one problem with ADHD. In the before times, when I wasn’t taking anything for it, I had these huge emotional swings that were epic and daunting for those around me. I could go between deliriously happy and epically angry in about 30 seconds. I thought I had something else going on, […]
Zander's Inside Voice 