A guide for robots — My childhood was spent in a small southern town, being both queer and atheist. These things did not work in my favor. In fact, I learned early on that to be different was to be wrong, and that rejection from my peers was the inevitable result. I struggled to fit…

One of the hardest parts of getting healthy is believing in yourself. — When I was still drinking heavily I had broken so many promises to myself. My confidence was at an all-time low. I desperately wanted to quit but I had let myself down so many times that I had very little faith I could actually do it. What is self-efficacy? There is a concept…

I have always been the woman of my dreams ~Nayyirah Waheed I love this quote but I can only wish that I felt this way. I know that as much as I am supposed to accept myself and be with all of my own mess, I am only really able…

Tips and tricks from therapy, group, and life experience — Last week I had the joy and terror of spending an entire week with my family. We haven’t been all together in three years, and it was exciting to know that I’d get to have some quality time with my brothers. But. …

Without this practice, I don’t think I ever would have found peace — This month I’m celebrating three years of sobriety. I’m proud of this fact, and there have been so many positive changes that have happened because of it. But my journey to sobriety started a couple of years before the last day I drank. Five years ago I attended a 10-day…

The wave is coming — how will you handle it? — If you’ve ever taken a yoga class taught by a skillful teacher, you may have already learned urge surfing. Often in yoga, when you find yourself twisted into an uncomfortable position, your body screaming out for you to move, the teacher will invite you to “breathe into the discomfort.” It’s…

Is this just a new trend or an important evolution in sobriety? — There is a new term being said in sober circles, and although it’s been around for a couple of years, I’ve only recently heard it used with some seriousness. That term is Cali sober, or California Sober. It was first popularized in a Vice article where author Michelle Lhook wrote…

And applying what I learned from the first one — Last month, I tried the 30-day writing challenge. I went for the submit-to-30-publications-in-30-days-challenge. It was hard, and I did OK (you can read about my results here). One result that emerged was the realization that I’d rather spend more time writing each piece, and stick to a few specific topics. …

I give myself a solid C+ Last month I got very excited about doing a 30-day writing challenge. I saw it not only as an opportunity to get back into the writing habit but also as a way to overcome my perfectionism. Did I succeed? Kinda. Was it worth it…