Voices

“I feel like I’m a supporting character in my own life.”

Insightful Comments Psychologists Have Heard From Patients About Mental Illness

Thanks to awareness campaigns, programs and organisations, our general understanding and recognition of mental illness is improving. However, it’s impossible to imagine what life with depression or anxiety or schizophrenia is like if you’ve never been diagnosed with one of these conditions. A recent Reddit thread provides a heart-wrenching insight into the realities and challenges of these illnesses — in the words of people living with them. [In December], Redditor theone1221 asked psychiatrists and psychologists to share “the most profound or insightful thing” they had ever heard from a patient with a mental illness.

Read...
She had lived a long time, but constant fear had governed her life.

What My Grandmother Taught Me About Fear Culture

Perhaps more than other cultures, America is obsessed with the illusion that if we prepare, we can avoid. Instead of learning to be resilient and cope with hardship, we drive ourselves dangerously close to madness trying to come up with ways to prevent catastrophes.

Read...
My heart was broken. I could not imagine life without her in it.

She Is All Around Me: The Story Of My Granny, My SHEro

I didn't get a lot of mothering as a child, but when I did, it was from her. She taught me how to sew, how to crochet. She taught me how to stand up for myself, to be tough. She taught me how to make fried chicken and fried okra, which I will never make, because it's fucking gross.

Read...
My heart was broken. I could not imagine life without her in it.

She Is All Around Me: The Story Of My Granny, My SHEro

I didn't get a lot of mothering as a child, but when I did, it was from her. She taught me how to sew, how to crochet. She taught me how to stand up for myself, to be tough. She taught me how to make fried chicken and fried okra, which I will never make, because it's fucking gross.

Read...
You don’t get a free pass to “Feminism Land” because you read the same ‘zines we do.

An Open Letter To Lazy Feminist Men

You can’t just sit there and post links; you can’t just talk a big game. You have to walk the walk. Want to make the world a better place for us? Start listening to — and stop stonewalling — the women by your side.

Read...
All these years later, my eyes still sting when I think about what she did for me...

My SHEro: The Teacher Who Pretended To Be My Mother For The Day

When I was in third grade, my parents got divorced. My mom went back to school full-time in the hopes of beginning a new career that would support us. Oddly, this was one of the richest years of my life; my world split and shifted on its axis, and yet somehow didn’t knock me over — thanks to a SHEro (or two).

Read...
All these years later, my eyes still sting when I think about what she did for me...

My SHEro: The Teacher Who Pretended To Be My Mother For The Day

When I was in third grade, my parents got divorced. My mom went back to school full-time in the hopes of beginning a new career that would support us. Oddly, this was one of the richest years of my life; my world split and shifted on its axis, and yet somehow didn’t knock me over — thanks to a SHEro (or two).

Read...
It is extremely difficult to watch a loved one going through a tough time; we may notice feelings of vulnerability, weakness, failure, and helplessness.”

7 Ways To Support A Friend Through A Sad Time — Without Trying To Cheer Them Up

“It can feel quite isolating or even invalidating when someone is trying that ‘Cheer up’ approach, or comparisons like, ‘It’s not so bad, look at the people who have it so much worse’,” explains Tal Schlosser, Clinical Psychologist at My Life Psychologists. “We have the feelings we have and someone saying, ‘Don’t worry about it’ doesn’t make it go away. In fact, we can feel even worse about the fact we can’t just snap out of it.” Part of the motivation to cheer people up is tied to how society typically views emotions. According to Dr Janine Clarke, Psychologist at Mend Psychology and The Sydney ACT Centre, there are six ‘basic,’ universal emotions — sadness, anger, disgust, fear, happiness and surprise — and we’ve been conditioned to perceive happiness as the only one worth pursuing.

Read...