Journaling: 5 ways to supercharge that empty notebook

Journal writing, when it becomes a ritual for transformation, is not only life-changing but life-expanding. Jen Williamson Hello, lovelies! Are you like me, with a stack of empty notebooks you’re not sure what to do with? Today I want to talk a little more about journaling. It has helped me on my mental health journey …

The Winter Of My Discontent

“Now is the winter of our discontentMade glorious summer by this sun of York;And all the clouds that lour’d upon our houseIn the deep bosom of the ocean buried.” -Richard III by William Shakespeare Welcome to the Winter of My Discontent In honor of purchasing the domain for my site last week, I decided to …

If You Forget: A Poem For My Mamaw

Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life. Anne Roiphe I wasn’t going to post again until Tuesday but, earlier this evening, I got word that my beloved grandmother is not long for our world and I wanted to post a poem for her. I can’t tell …

Thoughts, Goals, and Apathy

Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance. Roy T. Bennett Whew! I’ve been busy, my friends! As of today, The Winter Blog has a brand new web address, thewinterofmydiscontent.com!! I’m sticking with the same look for …

Busting 8 Cringeworthy ADHD Myths

At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation, and prejudice. Gore Vital As in my last post, I would like to preface my mental illness blog series with another informational post about ADHD myths. There are a lot of false beliefs and misinformation about ADHD (and ADHD medications) that float around …

5 Hobbies I Use To Improve Mental Health

To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. Winston Churchill From ADDitude Magazine: Hyperfocus refers to an intense fixation on an interest or activity for an extended period of time. People who experience hyperfocus often become so engrossed they block out the world …

Friendship and Mental Health: Friendship, Mental Health, and Me

One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Has my brain health affected my friendships? I ran across an article the other day about how ADHD (and other brain illnesses and disorders) affect a person’s ability to make and sustain friendships. The article brought …

Knowing is half the battle, but this feels big.

The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself. Thales Today, I want to talk about knowing. More accurately, I want to talk about what knowing has done for me. If you recall, in my diagnosis post, I recalled a doctor from 2 decades ago who once told me that having a diagnosis would not …

A quick update…

“Little by little becomes a lot.” Anonymous It’s been an eventful, uneventful week. Lots to talk about, but also kind of boring. So, let’s dive in… I have a quick update! I finally saw a new doctor to manage my medications and things went better than I had hoped. I explained to her that, after …

My Story: A traumatized past

I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. Maya Angelou In May, I started this blog, hot and heavy. I was in the long process of telling my story and things just…stopped. I couldn’t write anymore. Honestly, the things that I was …