My anxiety and depression diagnoses serve a valuable purpose. — In 2014, I was in a dark place in my life. I blamed my anxiety and depression on the “quarter-life crisis.” But really, that was just my attempt to wish away my mood disorders. …

When hope dims, affirmations rekindle the flame. Here are my six favorite affirmations. Exerting effort at anything and not seeing positive results can be discouraging, I learned this after job rejections, friendship losses, breakups, poor grades, and failure to meet personal goals. Perhaps you’ve had some of these experiences, too. …

Although mental health stigma has declined over the last year, it is still a major issue. Here are some ideas on how to recognize and reduce it. Mental health stigma affects how we perceive psychiatric disorders. It also affects self-esteem and progress in mental health treatment. …

Inspired by another Medium writer — Yesterday, I stumbled upon a fun Q&A story by Linda Ng. In this post, I used some of her questions and came up with a few of my own. What is your favorite drink? Diet Coke What is your favorite color? It’s a close call between pink and purple. I’m going to go with purple. What is your favorite hobby? I have a lot of…

It was a long road, but it was worth the trip. — Every weekend, Jason Edmunds creates writing prompts for the publication called A Taste for Life. This story was inspired by a prompt about niches. When I was in first grade, I started writing a journal entry. After the bell rang for recess, I continued writing. This was one of the…

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response — Coffee brewing and water boiling, cats purring and dogs barking, writers typing and artists painting, couples moaning and sleepers snoring, waves crashing and rain dripping, children and best friends laughing. These are a few ASMR sounds — Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It’s a technique to stimulate desired moods and sensations like euphoria…

Write With Your Own Devices — Is your head always spinning with ideas, but you don’t have time to write them down? Does school, work, or parenting interrupt your flow when you’re in the zone? Distractions can be frustrating, especially when you want to write and publish your work consistently. Good news! Writing apps on phones…

How my depression diagnosis impacted my view on life — Nine years ago, post-college life was like a dark maze. I constantly ran into walls and dead ends. My first boyfriend broke up with me, and I lost close friends. I faced rejection from the jobs I really wanted. When things didn’t get better for months, I felt hopeless. Eventually…

While names can trigger painful memories, they do not have to destroy us. — I was getting over you and watching the scars fade until I heard a singer with your name. Then my sadness came flooding back. I know, a name should just be a name. But it reminded me of your words and your face. Your honesty was once attractive until it turned…