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The Downtown Kid
  • 15 Things to Know about Being Mental

    I’ve learned that if you can’t laugh at your mental illness(es) sometimes, you really will lose your damn mind — and your sense of self. I’ve lost both. Then I found ’em chasing each other through the broken glass of a downtown alley, cut myself up dragging them back against their will. If you love someone who’s living life despite their mental illness, there are some things you might appreciate knowing so you both stay a little more sane. That said, I’m not a licensed professional and this is purely anecdotal and from my own experiences and work with my therapist. This kind of took on a life of its…

  • january calendar month at a glance

    Day 19: The Week in Review

    I don’t know if it was just my way, but this week felt like time was slogging through a vat of cold molasses. Here we are finally, though. Friday. Let’s do a little blogging challenge week in review, shall we? Here’s a look at my fave news pops from the week. Join the discussion! Monday I had to go see a guy about a possible concussion — a great story for another time — and I was lightheaded and jittery. My anxiety was high and my nerves were shot after a crap weekend. With shaky hands, I filled out a mountain of paperwork and waited to hear my name. Scrolling…

  • tall blocks that spell out thank you

    Day 16: Thanks, Kid.

    I know you feel stuck, Kid; you’re fighting what feels like an impossible fight and you’re not gaining any ground. I know you had big dreams based on bigger promises and all that’s crashing down around you. You feel helpless and out of control. I know it hurts to breathe and you can’t imagine the new world order in front of you. I know your heart’s been broken so many times you’ve lost count. But thank you. For choosing to look past treatment that shook you to the core and challenged what it meant to love another person greater than yourself. Hell, for dealing with things that challenged you to…

  • Day 9: Dear Future Husband

    Blogging challenge: Write an encouraging letter to your parents, spouse, or children. Challenge indeed. Not married. No kids. Don’t really wanna delve into the parent thing. Funny how a topic that seems so simple and innocent is going to be the one that gives me the hardest time. I have no plans to birth things, so there’s no writing an encouraging letter to that future teenage daughter whose heart’s just been broken for the first time. I’d very much suck at this conversation anyway. Best I’ve got is “Get used to it, kid.” Maybe not the best route. As far as my folks, well… Spouse? Negative. While I’ve had a…

  • Day 7: Lessons from 2018

    Today’s blogging challenge is to take a look at lessons learned from 2018 through a course, book, social media, article, or website. And that’s hard. I feel like I learned so much from last year. So how can I pick one thing? There are books and experiences galore, but one of the most impactful things I did was for a presentation in group therapy. I worked with another woman to share the enneagram, and if you’ve never heard of the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), it’s kind of like a more scientific Myers-Briggs. Tons of corporations use this tool to manage their people and projects more efficiently. On a personal…