Author: emotionalsupportsisters
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Gender and Autoimmunity
If you’ve ever noticed that it seems like the people with autoimmune conditions are mostly women, it isn’t your imagination. It probably is not coincidental that from a group of four sisters, at least two of them have autoimmune issues. There are several for this. Most of them are unknown reasons. Sorry, if you are…
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Pregnancy and Mental Illness
Yay for being pregnant! It’s such a beautiful time of life. Except that it sucks the life out of you. You literally have a little parasite growing inside of you controlling how you feel and what you want to eat. It took a while for me to get pregnant, so I have a small glimpse…
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Prozac Poop-Out
Prozac poop-out. If you know, you know. You know? The general population doesn’t understand how antidepressants work. I don’t mean in the nitty-gritty scientific details kind of way, with pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, metabolites, autoreceptors, etc.1 I mean that most people don’t have a clue about the actual experience of taking antidepressants. The general (mis)understanding is that…
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Idiopathic
More like idiot-pathic The Merriam-Webster Dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiopathic Urban Dictionary https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=idiopathic If I sat here and thought long and hard, I’m sure I could come up with several more frustrating things than going to the doctor and hearing that this thing that is making you miserable is “idiopathic”. It would take some time, but I’m creative…
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That Time I Pooped My Pants
I think I’m finally ready to tell the world. I pooped my pants in Junior High. Before we dive in, I want to give you some background: During the summer when I was 12 or 13, I went to an amusement park. I had a blast hanging out with my friends and riding rollercoasters. The…
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Excuse Me Brain, What Did You Just Think???
Intrusive thoughts. If you know you know. Unless you don’t know. If that’s the case, here is a great definition of intrusive thoughts: “Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images, impulses, or urges that can occur spontaneously or that can be cued by external/internal stimuli. Typically, these thoughts are distressing (hence “intrusive”) and tend to reoccur.…
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A Mother’s Perspective
Special Guest: Our Mom I have 4 amazing daughters. It has been a privilege to raise them. For this blog, I will write a little about what it is like as a mother to have children with mental health challenges. My first daughter to show signs of depression was only in 6th grade. Going to…
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“Is It Depression Or…”
Here’s a fun game. It’s called, “Is It Depression Or…” and this is how you play it: Experience vague symptoms like fatigue, low mood, feeling overwhelmed, and/or general malaise then ask yourself, “Is it depression, or am I feeling this way because ________”. You can fill in the blank with all sorts of options. Here…
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When Clothes Overwhelm
I have clothing sensitivities. My girls, Bug, Bear, and Butterfly (Bug, Bear, and Butterfly are not their real names, but they are young and I want to respect their privacy) have clothing sensitivities. My grandma had clothing sensitivities. Let’s just say it runs in the family. I struggle with clothes that squeeze too tight, and…
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Hidden Superpowers
What if invisible illnesses were superpowers? If that were the case, my superhero name would be Anxiety Girl and my superpowers would be anti-procrastination and over-preparation. Have an essay due? I start working on it weeks in advance. Packing for a trip? I’ve got tampons for years. I developed these superpowers very young in order…