recovery

I’m proud of you right now, even with all the sadness. Image: Thinkstock.

A Letter To A Mom Friend Heading To Rehab

I’m proud of you right now, even with all the sadness. Proud of you for heading to rehab, leaving the kids, the man, the house — all of it — to get on top of things. Doing it instead of just thinking about it, talking about it even, hemming and hawing? That’s pretty badass.

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The last thing we need is one more thing to feel inadequate about, one more thing to feel like we’re doing “wrong” when it comes to having a baby. Image: Thinkstock.

The Best Laid (Birth) Plans Are None of Your Business

While people asking about our plan likely have good intentions, the conversation opens you up to so much judgment about how you’re planning to give birth.... Birth plans are personal, between parents and their care provider. We all make choices for our families that we feel are best, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

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I want to feel and share deeply, intimately. I can’t admit any of this out loud. Image: Thinkstock.

Denial Won't Help Me Recover From Trauma

[M]y therapist pointed out there’s a huge discrepancy in the way I present myself. On the one hand, I am a successful working person who seems fine and normal. On the other hand, I have a hard time with basic self-care and very often experience dissociation, depression, and anxiety as a result of sexual trauma and PTSD. And between these seemingly different people is a huge gap occupied by denial.

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Kerryn manages to commit every fallacy of fatphobia in less than three minutes. Image: screengrab — Steven Tanenbaum/Vimeo.

Kerryn Feehan: Concern Troll, Fatphobe, and Bullshit Artist

Actress and comic Kerryn Feehan decided to use a publicity opportunity on a radio show to go after the show’s intern Whitney Way Thore, who is the subject of the reality show My Big Fat Fabulous Life.

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Seeing as I didn’t have any firm idea of what I wanted the dress to look like, I figured it’d be easier. Ha! Image: Scott Webb/Unsplash.

Becoming Bride: The Dress

A week or so ago I started shopping for a wedding dress, and guess what? Shopping for a wedding dress sucks!

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It’s easy to dismiss addiction as someone else’s problem, especially when you don’t look like an addict. Image: Jen Simon.

What It's Like To Expose Your Biggest Secret To The World — And Watch It Go Viral

I admitted to being an opioid addict in The Washington Post. I never thought I would tell my parents about my addiction, let alone the entire world, but after a year of working on my sobriety, I felt like it was the right thing to do.

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I remember the body I envisioned for myself: “Strong-looking” (not strong), “toned” (not bulky), “healthy” (trim). Image: Thinkstock.

How Trying To Take Up Less Space Landed Me In Physical Therapy

I don’t remember when I started holding in my stomach. [...] It’s hard to trace a habit so ingrained that I don’t know it exists. Until I’m lying on a table and her hand rests at my solar plexus and she tells me to let go. I can’t. I don’t know how, or not yet.

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Poppies might be "natural," but last time I checked, opium's not great for you... Image: Thinkstock.

7 Myths That Contribute To The Stigma Around Addiction

How can we combat stigma? One way is to debunk the myths about addiction that currently saturate the public conversation. By breaking down these oppressive narratives, we can create an environment where people aren’t afraid to ask for the help they need to get well from the disease of addiction.

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