Lisa Marie Basile

What do you do when your workplace is so toxic that it makes you sick? How do you take action then? What happens when you have nothing left to give?

No addiction or recovery story is the same. You don’t always kick the habit and you don’t always find the forgiveness which you seek. Around 60% of addicts relapse, according to the U.S. government. Others die. Others end up prison. Others lose their kids. Some make a full recovery.

Anxiety disorders — PTSD, OCD, and Panic Disorder, to name a few — are the most common mental illnesses in the United States, with about 18% of the population struggling with one. No one wants to be put on blast for their weaknesses or wiring issues. I just wish there was a way to better understand the silent majority — the people who suffer every day.

How much energy does it take to be jealous? Hint: Way too much.

The older we get, the harder it is to make close friends.

The sum of a city isn’t always made up of its parts.

When you hear about a person with a chronic illness working or not working or considering quitting a job, these decisions were not made lightly.

The fact of the matter is that content mills are dangerous and personal essays are a different beast. And there’s a vast level of discrepancy between a phone-it-in XYZ — and a Here’s What It Feels Like piece and other essays, where the language sings and the story is backed up by reportage. I’m aware of this. But there is also a middle ground.