Ashley is a Masters Student in Psychology at the University of Cincinnati. In addition, she works at the Lindner Center of Hope in the Adolescent Unit for Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Ashley shares her #iAM1N5 journey of living. Ashley began self-harming and developed an eating disorder at the age of 12 as a result of depression. She was in and …
Learn How to Say No
We have to learn how to recognize our own emotional capacities. Sometimes, we have the capacity to take on more than other times. Right now, I recognize my emotional capacity is very low. I’m having a hard time keeping up with the most basic of daily tasks, and I definitely don’t have the emotional capacity to be there for others …
Slow Down & Be Present With This Version of You
Remember to stay present with this version of you. This is a reminder I am telling myself right now. Recently, I’ve been somewhat freaking out about becoming a mom. I’ve been so excited for so long but with my due date approaching in just over a month, I’m starting to feel all the fears and feelings. I’m starting to wonder …
An Open Letter to My Heart
This week, I had both a psychiatry and therapy appointment. In both of my appointments, I had to admit that I’ve been shutting down my feelings for a while and not facing the emotional truths I need to face. As an act of contrition, I’m writing an open letter to my heart to apologize for how I’ve wronged it. You’re …
Brenda Shares Her #WarriorWednesday Story…
In 1992 I was diagnosed with bipolar 1. I struggled mostly untreated for almost two decades. Countless hospital stays. Electroshock therapy. Never being able to hold a job. I lived in New York City for the first 10 years of this time and moved back to Iowa during a manic episode in 2003. In September 2008 I became very “sick” again …
You Hold Power Over Your Own Thoughts
This week in therapy, my therapist said something that really stuck with me. She told me, “You have dominion over your own thoughts and actions.” We were talking about negative thinking and intrusive thoughts, specifically in reference to one particular incident that happened a few months ago. In the past, I’ve talked about separating what your mental illness is saying …
You Deserve to Be Happy
I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but you deserve to be happy. You deserve to wake up and feel good. You deserve to be passionate, energetic, excited about life. For a very long time, I didn’t believe I could be happy. I didn’t even know what happiness was. I’ve gone between manic and depressive episodes, and I …
Accept Forgiveness from Yourself
CW: self-harm, suicidal thoughts Mental illness is so complex and volatile. One minute, you might feel great, and the next, you might feel like the world is crashing down around you. During my senior year of college, as many of you know, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. While that diagnosis terrified me, it finally gave a name to what …
Mauri Shares Her #WarriorWednesday Story
This week for #WarriorWednesday, Mauri Hogan, a 24-year-old psychology doctoral student at Adler University in Chicago, shared her mental health journey. See what she has to say below, and be sure to listen to this week’s podcast on Saturday to hear more about her story and her experiences! As a clinical psychology doctoral student with a history of anxiety, PTSD, …
Let Yourself Feel Your Feelings
It’s not always easy to confront your emotions and let yourself process them. For so long, mental illness has been stigmatized in our society, but as we learn more and continue talking about it, that stigma is starting to fade. Even in the past decade, I’ve noticed a decrease in the stigma around mental illness. When I was in high …