by

They Say I Have Her Eyes, Did I Also Inherit His Pain

CW: This post deals with trauma and the resulting mental repercussions and includes mentions of sexual assault and the holocaust.

 

Ever since I was a baby, people have compared me to my parents. When I was younger, my parents would often be told I resembled my father. As I grew older, the comments changed. I was now told I look almost exactly like my mother. I got my mother’s acute sense of smell and taste. It’s easy to point out the observable traits I inherited from my mother, but I may have gotten even more than that. According to recent scientific studies, my mental health may have been affected by my mother’s trauma. Continue reading →

by

Balancing Happiness With Acceptance

Every child, for the most part, growing up, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, social hierarchy, or where they are raised, are wished success, wealth, and health from their parental units. Only in the F-ed up situations, where the parents are really scummy people, do they not want the best for their offspring, or their adopts. But focusing primarily on the “good parents” or the parents who desire to see their children succeed, it is a unanimous trait to want a better life for their children versus the life that they had. This becomes possible through sacrifice, determination, and patience. With all of this being said, it is a responsibility for the child to achieve so much because of  what their parents are giving up in order for them to accomplish the dreams they have for themselves and the dreams that the parents have for them. Continue reading →

by

Mental disorder, where mind, body, and society meet and create identities

Thinking about mental health, part 1:

I begin this post with a question: How can we tell if someone has a mental disorder? According to the National Alliance for Mental Health, “a mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines.” According to Wikipedia, it is “is a diagnosis, most often by a psychiatrist, of a behavioral or mental pattern that may cause suffering or a poor ability to function in life.”

What’s most interesting to me is that there are two parts to the definition- “A disturbance in mental thought/pattern”, and “Affects the individuals’ ability to function in life.” Taken at face values, these make perfect sense, if someone has abnormal mental thoughts and it makes them unable to function normally, then they have a mental disorder. Now, what are we comparing “abnormal” to? The “normal” identity, which has been crafted by society.

Continue reading →

by

Number 1 excitement

I struggle to type (I’m a great typist, 88 wpm, not to brag or anything) that I suffer from chronic illness.  I have an idiopathic immune system “issue” that makes my body more susceptible to bacterial/viral infections.  Despite being more wordy, for whatever reason, that’s a lot easier for me to type.  So basically, I get sick. A lot.

Continue reading →

by

“…Corner of Plus Size Shame”

mod3

Recently there has been a lot of push back in the fashion industry when it comes to using the term “plus size”. Plus size fashion in the last decade has become a profitable portion of the industry. Something that I’m assuming came along with the realization that fat people are people too, and as such they need fashionable clothing, and at an affordable price. Continue reading →

by

Be Polite

“Don’t say that, you’ll make people feel uncomfortable!” “You shouldn’t speak that way, what are people going to think?” “Be quiet, we’re talking right now.” “You know, you talk a lot.””Why are you so bothered by it, it’s not that serious, it was just a joke. Can’t you take a joke?” “That’s not ______, I’m just giving an opinion!”

I know exactly what you’re doing.

Continue reading →