Welcome to my posts page! I encourage you to follow your heart when deciding which post(s) to read! May you be inspired and filled with love as you read each post. They are truly from my heart to yours! xoxoxoxo
Shifting boundaries
As I continue on my healing journey, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, I think about boundaries a lot. Why we need them, how they shift, and what they mean to me. I have also realized boundaries aren’t static, but can change depending on the day, the circumstances or an individual’s needs, which is more than…
Keep readingAll of me, holding hands, walking together
I don’t know about you, but it’s been a battleground, with lots of carnage, hurt and despair inside me for a long time. I have felt the parts of me that were locked away, other parts that have kept them there, others that have been fighting to be heard, recognized and taken care of and…
Keep readingSelf-compassion break
You know, I have not been okay for the last few months. Fundamentally I am okay, but I have been struggling and overwhelmed with the constant demands in life. I have been asking for support, doing my best, adjusting my expectations of myself, and using tools, but geez, it’s been A LOT! I was reading…
Keep readingHelpful Tool #2: Art to process and understand emotions
I’ve started a “Helpful Tools” series on my blog as a way to both remind myself of tools that I have and to share them with my readers in case they help them too. This second tool is about using art as a way to understand and process feelings. I never described myself as an…
Keep readingBirch tree
I am like a birch tree. What no longer serves me is loosening on the surface of my being and is peeling off, just as the birch tree sheds its outer layers of paper like bark. Sometimes I feel it coming off, and it’s been a part of me for so long that I’d like…
Keep readingCloser to getting my PhD in Being Me
For those who are new to my blog, I am working on getting a PhD in Being Me. I have spent so much of my life trying to be what others wanted of me and instead, I’ve switched directions. I’m enrolled in the school of me, and I want to pursue the highest education I…
Keep readingHelpful tool #1: Somatic dance (video below)
Yay! Here is my first helpful tool post and it’s about somatic dance. You definitely don’t need to be a dancer to try somatic dance. It’s more about a way to connect with your body through movement. In my experience, it helps me notice where I have tension or if I’m outside of my body…
Keep readingWhat if I don’t have to hold everything together any longer?
When things get hard in my life, I feel an internal bracing. My abdomen gets tight, my muscles get more contracted, I start to hunch my shoulders a bit and I prepare for the worst. And to top it all off, I do my best to hold myself and everything to do with those hard…
Keep readingWhen I don’t have enough of a connection to me
Sometimes I feel like I’m missing myself and I seem to have lost me. This week, I watched a comedy special from Michelle Buteau and I was reading her fabulous book, Survival of the Thickest. I had a lot going on and those were both making me laugh and feel lighter. And then I felt…
Keep readingRecognizing my internal fight
I have been fighting for a long time. I’ve tried writing about my internal fight on this blog for over a year, but it hasn’t been the right time. Likely that’s because I am still learning about that fight, what it means, and how I can turn towards it with care and compassion instead of…
Keep readingAcknowledging progress
It’s easy for me to get caught up in the day to day and lose sight of my growth and healing. I have been off work for a year and a half to take care of my physical and mental health. I recognize that I am not well enough to work, but that doesn’t mean…
Keep readingA chance to do things differently
I have been stressed lately. More like STRESSED lately. A few upsetting things happened all at once, and they all had elements of uncertainty. Because I have chronic fatigue syndrome and a form of PTSD, any bit of stress really exhausts me and throws my tiny sliver of balance right off. The more I’ve learned…
Keep readingEchoes from the past – Learning to make my present voice stronger
The echoes from my past are here, calling to me, echoing. Keep yourself small. Don’t do anything that can get you hurt. Change your behavior at the smallest signs of irritation from the person you are with. Keep your anger down, it’s not safe to show it. On and on they echo, reverberating within me,…
Keep readingI am what I’m searching for
Last week, I was trying a new somatic practice, and it was helping me. I became aware of myself thinking, “maybe this is it! Maybe this is the thing that will finally help me get better.” I have thought that thousands of times over the past several years of figuring out how to live with…
Keep readingTo the many me’s who came before – a letter
Hey Bradlees! You are so very special and important to me. I am sitting outside as the sun is setting and I thought of writing you all a letter to let you know how awesome you are and have always been. You were such a sweet, innocent and excited child. Sensitive, easily overwhelmed and confused…
Keep readingFor days when my symptoms kick my ass
Well, sometimes my symptoms kick my ass. And today is one of those days. To be honest, the last few weeks have felt like this, I am just getting better at letting myself feel shitty instead of trying to overcome and fix everything I experience all the time. I am practicing being with myself when…
Keep readingI didn’t think boundaries could be loving
Like many sensitive people, I have been exploring the concept of boundaries. What does that word even mean, what do boundaries look like, when do I need them, is it okay to have them, when should I strengthen them, etc? I had this very innocent belief that if I had boundaries, then people would feel…
Keep readingHysteria – emotions, poetry and art
Befriending my emotions and welcoming them into my life is the more recent step I am taking in my healing journey. It’s taken me a lot of work, self-care, awareness, time and self-love to get here. I am so proud of how I’m building connections within myself. When I reach toward uncomfortable feelings and emotions, I…
Keep readingNothing wrong
It’s hard to describe just how much I’ve blamed myself for being unwell with chronic fatigue syndrome. And for how many years, I didn’t even believe I was sick, just that I was tired, and if I could just do the right things, then I wouldn’t be so tired. I’ve been on disability leave from…
Keep readingThinking of my emotions like they’re a “check engine” warning
Instead of getting all riled up by my feelings, like I was earlier today, I wondered if it would help me to think of them like a little “check engine” light. Nothing personal, nothing to fix, get over, analyze or heal from, but an indicator that some care is needed. If you’ve been reading my…
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