Acknowledging that it’s hard is a beautiful act of compassion that, counterintuitively, makes it easier for everyone around you. Asking for help is the hardest part. It’s a cliché that just about everyone who has gone through tough times, or dealt with mental health issues, knows is only too accurate. Mental illness can be isolating, […]
I had the guts to help myself and I’m finding a way through this, to the place where I don’t lose my shit when my kids lose their shoes. In life, I try to strike a balance between transparency and over-sharing. Motherhood is a blessing and a joy but it’s messy and scary, too. Life is […]
Anxiety has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’m never quite sure when it’s going to happen. You would think after all these years, I would have some kind of warning sign before it starts. The situations are different. The settings and people change, but the feeling is […]
Dear Dana is a bi-weekly advice column for humans who engage in romantic relationships. Please send your dilemmas, issues, conundrums, assumptions, conflicts, anxieties, worriments, obstacles, complications, predicaments, queries, questions, and any other synonyms for “problems” to deardana@rolereboot.org. Dear Dana, I’ve been married for five years, and my husband and I were together five years before that. […]
You would never tell an asthmatic that their chest is hurting wrong, just breathe better. The same goes for grief. There were several years in my early 20s that I call my “season of death.” Within a three-year span, one of my best friends, my dad, both of my maternal grandparents, my aunt, and my uncle […]
“I have my own life,” she reminds me, with perfect kindness and accuracy. “I don’t need to re-live having children through yours.” My mother recently came to visit me and my family for 10 days. Here is a list of the things she did vis-a-vis my four children: Played with them. Gave them snacks and sweets. […]
I was sure that no matter what happened, our son would have everything he’d ever need, even if that didn’t always come from me. “So are you guys getting married?” Not an unusual question for a woman over 30 who’s been dating someone for awhile. I’d been asked this before and understood why they wanted to […]
The goal should not be to steel myself; not to cage my body in armor, but to surround myself with padding and supports. It always starts the same way: Just when I think I’m fine, the rushing in my ears begins, as though I’m swept up in a strong wind. Lost at the end of […]
