Self-Care Hurts

Yesterday afternoon I was lying on the acupuncture bed, trying (and failing) not to wince when the acupuncturist lightly touched a tender muscle before putting in a needle. I had been traveling for family and was still stiff, sore, and knotted up after the long flights. I knew that I would feel better in the …

Can We Buy Wellness?

I’ve spent a lot of time, energy, and money trying to buy health and wellness, especially this past year. In some ways I’m an easy sell—as are many people that suffer from a chronic condition—I want to believe that I’m just one purchase or undiscovered treatment away from better health. Additionally, I am pretty willing …

How I Gave Up My Periods and As A Result Took Back Several Days Of My Life Each Month

People use the phrase “life changing” all the time to describe products or practices, but the only thing that I’ve experienced that was truly life changing was going from taking birth control pills—placebo pills and all—to skipping the iron pills and using the hormone pills continuously. Doing so cuts out the faux periods I got …

Trying to “Fix” Myself Through Trying to “Solve” My Insomnia

Part of my OCD is to look at things as problems that I need to solve. Sometimes this works in my favor and sometimes it works against me. I often believe that I am a problem to solve. If I can just find the right thing, activity, practice, or object, I often believe I will …

Some Days are Just Not Good Days

Some of these not good days aren’t even bad days. They are just not good. The weather might be gloomy or chillier or windier than normal. I might be even clumsier than I normally am and drop my mug or spill my oatmeal in the morning. I might miss the train and have to wait …