Presence of Mind
My mind is like a junk-science research lab where technicians stay busy pouring mixtures from one flask into another, never producing actual results.
Topic
Mental Health
A collection of 8 posts
Belief in Magic and Fear of Failure
On cognitive distortions in parenting
Blues
Last weekend I spent most of my time in bed, or so it felt. I couldn’t muster the spirit to be a housekeeper, a cook, or a mom to either my pets or my child. Laundry was in smelly piles. The cat was constantly flicking fleas off himself and
Healing: Part 4 of a History with Relationship OCD
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
There was no light-bulb moment when I realized that casual relationships were not for me. Some of those relationships lingered, and were there for me in moments of need when I’d broken up with yet another boyfriend. As I’ve written this
Casual Encounters: Part 3 of a History With Relationship OCD
Part 1 | Part 2
During this writing I found out that the Internet Archive captured my OkCupid dating profile from 2009, right before I met Damien. Here’s a snippet of how I presented myself to the twentysomething men of Portland.
My Self-Summary: I'm a fairly normal,
Trial and Error: Part 2 of a History With Relationship OCD
Part 1
I skated through my last two years of college after my first ex-boyfriend left for a job in Hawaii. I had a few good friends and a retail job, and was somehow making good grades in spite of being so depressed that I sometimes slept through classes.
The First Time I Broke My Heart: Part 1 of a History With Relationship OCD
In early 2017 I was crying on the floor of my boyfriend’s rented room, where he was living after I kicked him out. We were trying to reconcile, but I’d started to feel that familiar, roiling uncertainty about our relationship. It had me paralyzed, afraid, unsure what to
Monster Within
Sometimes I’m a much meaner mom than I want to be, or even thought I could be. When my coping mechanisms are out of order and my son defies a request one too many times, or is just being generally impossible, I react in ways that I’d never