I worried about grades as a teenager. I mean, I really worried. Today, I know this was not typical anxiety about school. Looking back, I struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder and perfectionism. Among other things, I was obsessive-compulsive about never wasting time. Not. One. Second. Further, I was laser-focused on getting…Read More
When I was struggling, confused, and pretty hopeless regarding my own trauma, I remember reading Dr. Peter Levine’s Waking the Tiger. Finally, my strange set of symptoms and behaviors made sense. I wasn’t going crazy. I was actually having a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. Sadly, research suggests that it takes twelve…Read More
I was born afraid. So, it became no surprise to me now that, by the time I entered college, my high anxiety, sensitivity, and perfectionism had fueled anorexia nervosa. Restricting food decreased anxiety. And, if I ate enough in a binge, I didn’t have to deal with difficult emotions. Controlling…Read More
My marriage sent me to the psych ward. I guess I should rephrase that. It wasn’t actually my marriage that got me admitted. It was the letters PTSD, or rather the fact that that’s what happens when you tell enough people, in one day, that you want to die. I…Read More
“I understand,” some well-meaning friends and family said to me when I told them I was struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Really, do you? I wondered, a bit agitated. I must admit, my PTSD and irritability can go hand in hand. Yes, I was annoyed, but I also felt invalidated. Did…Read More