This is My Brave, Inc.

There are some feelings we just don’t have words for. I want it to make sense, the kind of sense where I can tell it to myself quickly and adequately before I get there. I want a pause button so I can take breaks in between the gaps of air I’m trying to swallow and [...]

When I told a friend this week that I was having a really rough time because I was having really strong hallucinations, they responded with the oddest comment I’ve ever gotten. They said they were jealous of my brain for “making things up.” And as much as I tried to laugh it off, I knew [...]

Dear Pastor, Five years ago, you inspired me to go off my psychotropic medication and claim healing in Jesus’ name. You said if I believed enough, I would have it — true, unadulterated, life-changing healing. And you made it look so desirable to be a missionary preacher. • What is Bipolar disorder? I would warn [...]

When I first started writing this piece a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure whether or not I would be able to finish it. You see, I had just come to terms with the fact I grew up in an emotionally abusive environment and that it affects my everyday life and recovery. I struggle with addiction and [...]

I’m having trouble right now. This is hard. It hurts in my chest. Sometimes, I have really scary thoughts. I’m trying to do the next “right” thing, because everything is scary. I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying. Stop trying? Stop trying! But I’m trying to stop. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe [...]

I imagined I would write this from a shinier, happier place. I imagined I would be happily married, sitting in my home office, early morning sun streaming in over the books and legal pads and Sharpies, when the right and perfect moment would strike me, tap me on the shoulder and tell me it was [...]

Last weekend, I cried. I don’t cry much. When I do, it’s often because I’m hearing someone else’s pure pain and sorrow. That happens a fair amount when you’re a therapist. I may not allow the tears to break from behind my eyelids, but they’re there. I cry when I feel loss or grief. I’ve [...]

For the most part of my life I have been living in extremes. However, for the past year I have been living in a such a tortured space that Dante’s “Inferno” is probably the only thing that comes close to expressing what I have been experiencing. I have been either so frozen by depression and feelings [...]

OK, bear with me here because I am about to commit the crime of writing a “fan theory” about a Potter-world film. But first, let’s backtrack to the story of Harry Potter. This theory and why it affects me personally includes Dementors. Dementors are defined as “a gliding, wraith-like dark creature (considered one of the [...]

Here today, gone tomorrow. Out of sight, out of mind. Absence makes the heart grow (less) fonder. Many people who live with borderline personalist disorder (BPD) know very well the meaning of these phrases. I’d like to share my story so those without BPD can understand us, too. BPD can involve a lot of emotional “mis-wiring.” I’ve [...]