fear

The scope and effect of phobias are often minimized and downplayed, making the sufferer feel less validated and poorly about themselves.

As I often do, I grabbed my phone to scroll through Facebook. There it was. The news. A mass shooting in Las Vegas.

From our fighting kids to our flailing finances, people are just stressed. We are all just so stressed. And in the absence of real, actual stress, we will create stress.

Want to see me panic? Ask me what I’m going to be doing in 10 years.

It may be their lives, but it's affecting my marriage — for better and worse.

We will not be having our first woman president and I, for one, must grieve. A dream deferred.

This morning my son woke up laughing. My son woke up laughing and I woke up crying. My son woke up laughing and his little squeaky voice was a light in the darkness to me. I went into his room and moved towards his crib and he smiled at me. And I was so grateful, grateful for him and who he is, but also grateful that he is still a baby and I do not have to explain what happened last night.

Things as simple as a missed call from an unknown number or someone knocking on your door put me into straight up fight or flight. I really do hide from people who come to my door. Real talk, I have gotten on my hands and knees below a window so they wouldn’t see me. I’ve even hidden in the closet. I know. Whacko.