Around the end of January, I mentioned in a recent post that I visited a mental health clinic. I was given an appointment to see a psychologist and psychiatrist two weeks after my walk-in visit. For those who don’t know, a psychologist specializes in counseling and therapy. A psychiatrist focuses on treating mental illnesses mainly through medication. When I met with my therapist, she asked more questions to learn a little bit more about me, why I was seeking counseling, and what I wanted to get out of counseling. She was so understanding, and talked with me about the type of therapy I would be receiving and how it can help me.
That same week, I also met with my psychiatrist. She asked questions as well, and patiently talked with me about treatment options (whether or not to take medication, types of medications she recommended, etc). Both my therapist and psychiatrist immediately diagnosed me with Major Depressive Disorder. I was very nervous at the start of the visits, as I have never received treatment for a mental illness before, but my therapist and psychiatrist made me feel extremely comfortable. I even cried more like during my first visit to the clinic. After talking with them, I finally realized how overdo these visits were. I feel like I’m finally taking control.
If you feel that you also need help with your mental health, please reach out for assistance. You might be happy you did. Right now, the world is going through a pandemic, and many people are in isolation. Now, more than ever, might be a time to really take care of your mental health. Getting in touch with your general doctor might be a good place to start. It might not be possible for you to make trips to see a mental health specialist at the moment, but you might be able to have sessions over the phone or online. Your general doctor might be able to help connect you with services. If you ever need immediate help, please call the suicide prevention hotline if there is one available where you live. In the U.S., where I live, the number for the hotline is 1-(800) 273-8255. They might even be able to help you with getting regular counseling.
Thanks for visiting, and let’s get through our challenges with mental illness together. Checkout the links below for more information on how to deal with mental illness:
Finding Help:
– Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration National Helpline:
Hello everyone! I was tagged to participate in a 52 week challenge! This challenge, as you can probably tell from the picture accompanying this post, requires the blogger to write blog posts using the prompts provided for over a 52 week period. The prompts help the reader learn more about the blogger. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll be able to cover all of the prompts, but I thought it might be fun to participate in this challenge. Also, I was challenged by a fellow blogger I really adore: LaFrieda Smith! She runs the blog MMM of Family Entertainment where she shares a little of her life and experiences, and uses them to inspire others. Our blogs and goals for them are very similar, and I feel that we are kindred spirits! Be sure to visit her inspiring blog! Click here to give it a read! Now on with the challenge!
This week’s post is going to be about my childhood memories, challenge 7. Yes, I’m doing my challenge posts a little out of order! Ideas for a blog post about the Spring season popped into my head recently and, since some of my childhood memories came to mind with those ideas, I decided to combine this post with one of my challenge posts! I always loved when Spring would come around growing up, and I have some wonderful memories of events that happened during this season. One of my favorite parts of Spring has always been watching the sun slowly stay out longer each day. Long nights was the one part of Winter I never liked. I also loved watching flowers bloom, and there are a lot of flowers around my neighborhood! One Spring, I walked around my neighborhood with my Dad taking pictures of the flowers while they were in bloom. Sadly, I lost the pictures, but I had lots fun just spending time with my Dad and looking at beautiful flowers.
I also loved the weather during this time of year! I was able to wear my cute shoes and dresses again! I always felt so pretty in them! Plus, I was able to go outside during my lunch breaks in middle school! My middle school was connected to a park, and the students were allowed to go outside and play in it during lunch breaks. We were allowed to go outside during winter too whenever the weather wasn’t very bad, but a lot of my classmates often chose to stay indoors. Playing in the park was much more fun whenever it was a little warmer outside! The warmer weather also made walking to school much more fun, along with shopping and walking to church with my family! The church I went to when I was a child was a little far from my home, but my family never used to mind once spring came around! My siblings and I would always have fun talking and playing on our way there!
Unfortunately, this Spring season is looking to be very different from many others with a pandemic sweeping across the world. Many of us are stuck indoors. However, if you live with family, now is a great time to make the most of your time together, and build more precious memories.
I hope you all still manage to enjoy the season, and thankyou for visiting! See you in the next challenge post!
I am so excited to announce that I am collaborating with World Supermoms! With so many expectations on women and mothers, it can be difficult to be a woman! However, there is no such thing as the ideal woman or mother. World Supermoms is a nonprofit organization that uses their platform to help each mother and woman in general embrace what makes her special and unique. Recently, Supermoms reached out to me to republish one of my blog posts! That blog post is Imperfectly Perfect: My life with Turner Syndrome. This is perfect timing, since February happens to be Turner Syndrome Awareness Month! I am very proud of that post, and I am so honored that World Moms enjoyed it enough to republish it! If you haven’t taken a look at that post yet, visit World Supermoms to give it a look! Click here to read the post! Thank for this opportunity World Supermoms, and thankyou to my readers for visiting! Until next time!
During my time in college, the disability office at my school held a career day for students with disabilities. I decided to attend, and one of my siblings went with me. Each student who decided to participate in the career day was given a mentor that they spent the day with. Some of us were put in groups and shared a mentor. Since I seemed to show an interest in social science, my mentors were psychologists. My sibling was not a student of the school I was attending, nor were they a student with special needs, however, they were allowed to participate with me. My mentors started the day with a presentation that focused on facts about counseling and therapy. “What would you say is the number one reason some people don’t see a counselor when they need help?”, one of the psychologists began. “Fear”, my sibling responded. The counselor replied that my sibling was correct.
Many people who need help often fear the stigma that comes with mental illness and needing psychological help. That same fear is part of what kept me from finally getting help myself. I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I’ve been dealing with low self-esteem for most of my life. There are many times when I’ve reached low points, and those low points were sometimes terrible enough for me to consider seeking professional help. I did contemplate seeking help after one of my episodes, but I decided against it. A couple of days ago, I had another episode and I decided enough is enough. It was time for me to finally look for help, and I started searching for a mental health clinic.
I was very nervous while trying to find a psychology clinic to go to, but I knew I had to go through with this. I finally found a clinic after a few days, and I was told that first time patients had to show up as walk-ins. I visited the clinic about two weeks ago, and my time there wasn’t very long at all. When I showed up, I was given an assessment form. There were a lot of questions, but this is the case with first time patients at nearly any clinic. After I finished the assessment, one of the specialists looked over it before talking with me briefly and asking me a few questions. The specialist was very kind. At first, I was a little nervous to talk to her, but she made me feel so comfortable, and I ended up opening up to her easily. I even cried while talking to her, which is something I don’t really like doing in front of others. After our talk, she made sure I was ok to go home before making an appointment for me, and she made sure that I would be seen again very soon. My appointment is for this week, which is just two weeks after I visited the clinic as a walk-in patient.
I’m sharing this to say that there is no shame in admitting you need help. There’s no shame in going to counseling. Hopefully sharing this might help someone, and I plan to continue sharing my journey. This might become a series, so stay tuned and thank you for visiting!
Welcome to my first blog post of the year! The topic of this post is one that has been on my mind for some time. I have shared my experience as a person with a disability on my blog before, but I have had yet to go in to detail about what my disability is. Issues that people with disabilities face is one topic that I am passionate about, and one of the reasons I started this blog. I want to raise awareness on the issues we face. In this post, I want to discuss learning disability, and raise awareness on a little known type learning disability called nonverbal learning disability.
If I were to tell a friend that I caught a cold, they would know exactly what I am going through. Chances are that I am dealing with a cough, a sneeze, and a runny nose. A name and a diagnosis leads to understanding. That type of understanding was what I craved for growing up, and what i’m still looking for in my adulthood years. I came close to that when I was diagnosed with Turner syndrome in my early teen years, and when I was officially diagnosed with learning disability in early adulthood. However, it’s not enough.
In previous posts, I have mentioned that I’ve recognized how different I am from my peers from the time I was a very small child. My Turner syndrome diagnosis answered a lot of questions for me, especially when I started to do a little research on the condition. I found that girls with Turner syndrome often have learning difficulties, and when I was diagnosed with learning disability, I was relieved to finally have a name for what I was experiencing. However, the diagnosis was Learning Disability NOS, NOS meaning not otherwise specified. Learning disability is a catch all term for a group of neurologically-based processing conditions. According to Learning Disabilities Association of America
As already mentioned, learning disability is a general catch all term. “Not Otherwise Specified” is also a general term, and is often used to give a general, nonspecific diagnosis. When someone is given a diagnosis of learning disability NOS, it means the psychologist doing the testing recognizes the patient has learning difficulties, but can not pinpoint what his or her specific learning disability might be. As happy as I was to have a diagnosis, I still wished I could have gotten a diagnosis that was a little more specific and provided more answers. However, I understand why I was given the general diagnosis. Out of all the learning disabilities that I mentioned before, the only one that is not considered an official condition is nonverbal learning disability.
Do I have nonverbal learning disability? Would be I diagnosed with the condition if it was recognized as an official condition? I’m not entirely sure. All I know is that I do have many of the symptoms recognized as symptoms of people with NLD. If It were to be made an official condition, then maybe there would be more answers. More answers means learning more about oneself, and learning how to handle struggles due to disability, and learning how to advocate for yourself, starts there.
Hello everyone! It’s New Years Eve! Unfortunately, I’ve been feeling under the weather for a couple days recently, so I’ll mostly be spending the day relaxing and trying to recover. I hope everyone is enjoying the day though!
The most important event for me this year was the start of my blog. I started my blog in March, which seems like just yesterday, and now we are heading into a new year. I’m excited to see what the new year has in store for my blog, and for my life in general! Wishing you all a quick Happy New Year! Enjoy the last day of the year reminiscing on the blessings of the year, but also be prepared to move forward to bigger and better adventures life has to offer during 2020! Until next time!
Hello everyone! I am so excited to be collaborating with fellow blogger Amanda Gene! Amanda’s blog is a personal blog that covers her life experiences, particularly her experiences as a person with a disability. She also uses her platform to let other people with disabilities share their experiences too! I have mentioned on my blog and social media many times that I am a person with a disability, and Amanda asked me to do an interview for her blog to share my experience! I am so honored! You can click here to read the interview! Amanda’s blog and story is so inspiring, so be sure to checkout Amanda’s other blog posts as well! Thankyou for visiting and supporting my blog! Once again, happy holidays, and I will see you in the next post!
Oh where has all the time gone! It’s that time of year again, but it feels like just yesterday I was bringing in the new year with my family! I love this time of year! I love the decorations I see around my neighborhood. I love the feeling I get, the warmth, the cheerfulness. Sometimes I wish the kindness and cheerfulness in the atmosphere could last all year long.
When I was a child, Christmas was all about presents. I loved getting gifts, and the moment my siblings and I opened our presents we were off to our separate worlds to play with our new toys. There were times, however, when my family did more than just focus on the presents! We would have fun putting up Christmas decorations around the house together, and painting our front door. To capture memories, my mom often wanted to record my siblings and I opening our Christmas presents. I remember us being annoyed having to wait for our mom to setup the camera before we could open our gifts! Sometimes she had to replace the batteries and the wait would be long! Now that my siblings and I are older, we laugh whenever we reminisce on those moments, and we recently enjoyed watching some of those recordings. Also, whenever we got snow my parents would take us outside to play, my father making sure to take lots pictures during the fun. My siblings and I love looking back at those photos.
As my siblings and I have grown older, Christmas has become much more about spending quality time with each other, and less about the gifts, although we still enjoy getting presents! The spirit of the season is what is most important. Reminiscing on the the events of the year, looking forward to making more memories, and spreading cheer is what this time of year is all about. As we celebrate the Christmas season and slowly reach the end of this year, here is a reminder to cherish what you have and spread cheer and positivity every day of the year! An early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
I’ve been been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award again! I’m so happy! Words can’t fully express how grateful I am! A huge Thankyou to Kristian Weignan and Catherine Mellen for the nominations! These two fellow bloggers are beautiful, amazing women! I’m so proud to call them friends, and I am so happy I met them! Interacting with them is one of the reasons I’m happy I started blogging! They have been amazingly supportive and I appreciate them so much! Thankyou you beautiful souls! To visit Catherine’s blog “Shatter the Silince/A life given to me” click here. To visit Kristian’s blog “Life Lessons from Around the Dinner Table” click here.
The Rules:
Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them.
List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
Ask the nominees 11 new questions.
Questions from Kristian Weismann
What is an ideal weekend for you?
An ideal weekend for me would be a nice relaxing one with my family! We would be home watching some movies and just enjoying each other’s company!
What is one of your favorite books or movies, and why did it speak to you so much?
One of my favorite movies is How to Train Your Dragon. There is so much I love about that movie! For one, it’s one movie my family has enjoyed watching multiple times together! Second, it’s so funny, and the funny scenes still haven’t gotten old for me! The third, and biggest, reason I love the movie is the themes covered in it. I love the way friendship is explored in the movie and the “Forbidden Friendship” scene is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time! That scene shows an example of the way we should treat each other in real life. We should be trying to make an effort to understand others who are different from us. I also love the focus on physical appearance and disability. Small people can make big changes, and people with disabilities don’t have to put limitations on themselves. Overall, How to Train Your Dragon is a beautiful movie I will always love.
What is the craziest thing you have ever done and would you do it again?
When I first started making social media accounts I was pretty reckless. I wasn’t very careful with who I interacted with and the information I gave out. Now I’m much more careful.
What do you think about when you are by yourself?
My mind is like the energizer bunny! I always have so much I’m thinking about! I think about my spirituality and my faith (I’m a Christian). I think about my future and my aspirations. I think about my flaws. I think about my mistakes and my regrets. I enjoy spending time with my own thoughts, need time for that even. Sometimes I’m so wrapped in my thoughts that I daydream or zone out when I’m talking with someone (a bad habit I’m trying to break). Although, there are some times when negative thoughts are too overwhelming and I have a hard time shaking them off. Whenever that happens, it’s nice to have a distraction.
What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?
Well, when I was small I believed in Santa Claus, and wondered how he got into homes that didn’t a have a chimney. My parents told me he uses the windows!
What do you consider to be the 5 most beautiful things in life?
Nature (flowers, snow, the sunset, the sunrise, the aurora borealis, etc)
The company of loved ones
A compassionate heart
A creative spirit
Peaceful moments
Which animal scares you the most?
Roaches, more specifically the large water bug ones!
What song speaks to you the most?
Hard! There are a number of songs that really move me and speak to me! One is Hey Brother by Avicii. I think the world would be a better place if we all looked at each other as brothers and sisters.
If you could go back in time, what historical event would you like to witness?
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to go back in time to witness any historical event. I’m pretty happy in the time period I’m in! If I really had to choose though, I would pick to go to the times when Jesus was performing miracles.
What is your favorite food?
Fruits, chocolate, and fritters!
If you could ask any person in the world, alive or dead for advice, who would it be, and what would you ask?
I would probably choose to ask for advice from Lori Deschene, founder of the Tiny Buddha blog. I would ask her how she was able to make her blog so successful.
Questions from Catherine Mellen
1)❓ What is your main goal being a Blogger?
To share my experiences! I think we all have a story to tell that would motivate or inspire others!
2)❓ Do you read other Bloggers Blogpost
Definitely! I enjoy visiting other blogs! I can’t visit other blogs as much as I would like, but I try to whenever I get the opportunity!
3)❓ Do you feel supported by other Bloggers?
I do! I feel very supported, and it’s such a good feeling! I appreciate my fellow bloggers who have visited my blog, and have given me blogger award nominations and shoutouts! Words can’t fully express how much you are all appreciated! I love you guys!
4)❓ Does your family support your Blog?
They do! They don’t read, like, or comment on my posts; or follow my social media accounts though (one of my siblings is helping me run my Instagram account though)! Their support is a lot more on the emotional side! They listen to me talk about my blog and give advice! They help me with ideas for my blog posts, and give advice on how to run my social media accounts!
5)❓What country do you live in?
The United States of America!
6)❓ Do you prefer coffee or tea?
I’m very much a tea person! I don’t really drink coffee, but if I’m offered chocolate flavored coffee I wouldn’t decline! I have an interesting story about my first time drinking chocolate flavored coffee actually! I’ve told that story to my family so many times they’ve started to get tired of it!
7)❓ What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving for sure! I actually wrote a post about it! Click here to check it out if you haven’t already!
8)❓ Do you promote your Blog?
Yes, but I don’t think I do a very good job at it! To be really honest, I feel like I’m bugging people when I try to promote my blog, and it’s a lot of work! It’s not one of my favorite parts of blogging at all!
9)❓ Do you agree this is too many questions?
😂😂😂 I’ll be nice and say I enjoy self discovery! 😂
10)❓ Would you give Peace a chance?
I think peace is something we need a lot more of in the world right now. 😔
11)❓ Are you Grateful for all you have?
I am! Although I can’t help but think I take what I have for granted sometimes.
My Nominees
I would like invite anyone interested in responding to this post to do a Sunshine Blogger post of their own!
My Questions
Which of your blog posts is your favorite?
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite food?
Do you have a secret talent?
Which season (spring, winter, summer, fall) is your favorite?
What song would be your theme or anthem?
Who is your favorite celebrity?
Do you have a favorite book?
Do you have a favorite movie?
Do you have a tv show you’re binging on right now?
I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award again! This time by fellow blogger Latisha Porter! She is so sweet and so supportive of fellow bloggers! She’s always giving other bloggers a little boost on twitter through shoutouts. She is so positive, and it really shines through her blog. If you are going through a lot at the moment and you need a spiritual and mental boost, head over to Latisha’s blog! There you will find blog posts that will help you with your mental health, self esteem, and spiritual growth through emphasis on the importance of journaling. Click here to visit Latisha’s blog! A big Thank-you Latisha for this nomination! What an honor!
THE LIEBSTER AWARD RULES
• Give a shout out to the blogger that nominated you for this Liebster Award. Make sure you link their blogging site as well.
• Write 11 facts about yourself.
• Don’t forget to post the award on your blog.
• Answer the fun questions setup by the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 11 deserving bloggers. Don’t forget to tag them.
Questions from Latisha
What do you enjoy writing or blogging about?
I love blogging about my experiences. I share them on my blog to inspire others, and maybe even help others learn something new. I mentioned in one of my previous award posts that I keep a diary. My inspiration was Jewish diarist Anne Frank. Anne Frank mostly wrote about what was going on around her, what she observed. Reading her diary is like reading a story. I tried to copy her style, but quickly realized that that style of writing doesn’t fully suite me, at least not for journal writing. I’m more of an expressive writer. I write in my journal about how I’m personally feeling at the moment, not really about what I’m observing.
What kinds of books do you enjoy reading?
I am willing to give any book a try! The genre I generally read though is realistic fiction.
Where do you like to write?
To write my blog posts, I mostly use my phone, and I write anywhere I’m comfortable! I’m usually nice and comfortable in my bed whenever I’m writing in my journal.
Do you visit your local library often?
I practically lived in the local library in my neighborhood when I was a child! During the time, everyone was still reading books the traditional way. I don’t make much trips to the library anymore. A lot of the books I read these days are bought, and often in electronic format.
What do you use to stay organized?
The calendar app in my phone!
Do you have any pets?
My family has had pet fishes before. We had a pretty red one we grew attached to, and we were sad when he died.
What is your favorite color?
I have two favorite colors: pink and blue!
Do you enjoy traveling?
I don’t really travel often. I would still say no though, because I get motion sickness sometimes.
Where do you prefer to exercise?
I honestly don’t exercise much. Whenever I do though, I prefer to exercise at home or in a park. I’m not really a fan of going to a gym.
Have you written a book?
I’m working on that actually!
What are your writing goals?
I don’t just enjoy writing blog posts. I like writing poems too! I’ve also been working on writing stories! I’m hoping to one day publish a collection of poems and short stories, maybe even a novel as well!
My Nominees
Any fellow bloggers interested in responding to this post!
My Questions for my Nominees
What your favorite color?
What’s your favorite snack to eat?
Do you like salty treats or do you have more of a sweet tooth?
What’s your favorite music genre?
Do you like taking risks or do you prefer playing it safe?
Life with Charli 