It's something I don't think anyone has ever seen in their lifetime. You've seen stories like it before. A headline will scream that "an asteroid the size of North Dakota will pass remarkably close to Earth" and everyone runs to see how likely we are to experience an Armageddon or Deep Impact scenario. "The asteroid… Continue reading Climate Anxiety
Tag: Mental Health
OCPD, Whataboutism, and Professionalism
One of my recent posts mentioned that I have struggled professionally because every time I investigate a field of interest and learn "how the sausage gets made" I become disgusted. It was something of a passing comment in that post, but let's spend some time with it today. This is a widespread thing that extends… Continue reading OCPD, Whataboutism, and Professionalism
One Death: How One Event Shaped My Anxiety and OCPD
TW: death I feel like I learned the truth about death far too late in life, a combination of natural insulation from the subject and a consequence of my social anxiety. I cannot remember the exact age, maybe eight, but I was watching television in my living room while my mother ironed clothes. A life… Continue reading One Death: How One Event Shaped My Anxiety and OCPD
Parasocial Anxiety
Parasocial relationships play an ever-increasing role in our world. Whereas these sorts of relationships have always existed to some degree, the advent of social media, which allows direct communication and further personal insight, means that more people feel a deeper sense of connection in one-sided relationships. I am no expert in this field and have… Continue reading Parasocial Anxiety
A Most Perfect Contradiction
Humans are contradictions. It's something that I find beautiful and frustrating (see how easy it can be?). We can hold two disparate beliefs sincerely at the exact same time, be aware of the fact that the beliefs are antithetical, examine them thoroughly, and still arrive at the conclusion both must be right. Perhaps that is… Continue reading A Most Perfect Contradiction
Mental Health and Sexuality
We need to begin this post with a pure truth: definitions describe; they do not prescribe. Some definitions are by their nature comparative. For example, I could describe myself as tall while context might dictate that I am average or even short. Other definitions are strict. When considering human sexuality, things exist on a spectrum… Continue reading Mental Health and Sexuality
The Five (Unofficial) Levels of Panic Attack
Not all panic attacks hit the same. I determined five distinct categories of panic attack that I use to relate my experience to those who are fortunate enough not to know the perils of these episodes. (One) - Is this panic or indigestion? While this is the most mild of the levels, it may also… Continue reading The Five (Unofficial) Levels of Panic Attack
Let It Go: Disney’s Frozen and Mental Health
Disney released Frozen at an interesting time during my life. Having grown up a devout Disney fan, I knew every classic up through Lilo & Stitch like the back of my hand. Then came high school, 9/11, and an intensification of my mental health issues that made Disney feel less appealing. Not to mention the… Continue reading Let It Go: Disney’s Frozen and Mental Health
Anxiety: The Moving Target
TW: suicide The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-V) does a brilliant job, as it should, of casting a wide net with its diagnostic criteria. As with any disease (or, philosophically, any thing), we understand that the experience is not a monolith. Rather, everyone who experiences the same condition will experience… Continue reading Anxiety: The Moving Target
My Mental Health Diagnoses
Today is a more clinical post. While this blog explores the nature of living with mental health issues on a personal, anecdotal level, I thought I would take one post and share the diagnostic criteria behind my specific mental health issues (in order of diagnosis): generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality… Continue reading My Mental Health Diagnoses