Published co-author of Perfect Chaos: A Daughter's Journey to Survive Bipolar, A Mother's Struggle to Save Her (2012, Saint Martin's Press). Frequent mental health, disability, and healthcare writer. Seattleite and book nerd.
I started to travel alone when I was in my early twenties. Work was taking me all over the country. To be fair, many times there were people to help me figure out a ride from the airport-but many times there weren't. It is scary going to a new city on your own.
It might not be easy, but it's important sometimes.
Discussing mental health is never easy, be it with family, friends, or your larger community. Discussing mental health at work, however, can often feel even more complicated. As an author, speaker, and advocate living with bipolar disorder, I know firsthand how hard it is to have conversations about mental wellness in the workplace.
Flashback to my first "real" job: It is Friday at 3pm and I am overwhelmed with how to complete the week's goals and deadlines. I am on the ground, nearing a panic attack, in child's pose, glad I wore slacks today instead of a pencil skirt.
I live with bipolar disorder, an illness that I write and speak about on an international level. My illness requires constant self-assessment to keep me physically and emotionally well. However, it doesn't take a chronic health condition for work and life to impact our mental health.
Since I was 15, I've been dealing with depression. I'm not talking about the blues, sadness, or simply the Mondays, but suffocating, full-blown depression-the kind that leaves you empty and hurting all at the same time. Throughout early adulthood, I had to constantly force myself to go to
In 2013, I was attending a conference by the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance in Miami to receive their Life Unlimited Award for my work in mental health as an advocate and author.
You may have heard of the amazing Suzy Favor Hamilton from her three trips to the Olympics as an American middle distance runner. You may have heard of her when news broke that she had been working as one of the top escorts in Las Vegas.
National Poetry Day is on the first Thursday in October. This year, it falls on October 5th. At HG, we are celebrating how women poets have shaped our lives. The first week of October is also Mental Illness Awareness Week, and here, one contributor discusses her own mental health and Sylvia Plath's poetry.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and what better time to l earn more about depression and bipolar disorder? When I was diagnosed with depression at 15 and bipolar disorder at age 19, I felt utterly alone. I didn't feel comfortable telling anyone what I was going through, and certainly didn't think anyone could ever possibly understand.