mental health Archives

mental health

Practical Magic

a silver and green shopping cart sits in the center of a grocery store aisle, with snacks visible on the shelves to either side

food and drink

Practical Magic: How to Nourish Your Body When Executive Dysfunction Has Other Plans

There’s a saying they mention when feeding babies: “fed is best.” That principle’s not just for babies, my friends!

Darcy —

Dec 28, 2022

Empty Magic

mental health

Two Black women eat salads while smiling. There's a large bowl of salad and leafy greens surrounding them.

first person

Empty Magic: Lunch

In my quest to destroy the body I had known, this new body was not safe from me either.

danijanae —

Sep 26, 2022

af+ personal essay

mental health

a pair of painterly pale legs rest against an amethyst colored background with a suburban town behind them. Execerpted text from Drew's dream journal is layered in different colors in the background. The excerpt is "March 14, 2020 I’m in my high school auditorium. It’s dark and late at night and I’m really scared. I get a call from someone and it’s really unsettling like a phone call in a slasher movie. Then I realize the person on the phone might be behind the curtain. Part of me knows they probably aren’t and I feel crazy for being scared but I am so scared."

af+

Is There Life After High School?

“I wanted to have nightmares about monsters or mass shootings. It was too embarrassing — in the midst of global catastrophe — to be concerned with something as frivolous as…

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Sep 8, 2022

mental health

Sober Series

A figure is reclining on the ground against a purple, watery background

first person

Here’s How Our Lives Have Improved Since Quitting Drinking: A Candid Conversation Between Sober Queers

“I love that sober sex is so much better for me. Even masturbating is better.”

danijanae —

Aug 5, 2022

Lists/Top 10s

mental health

Three self-help book covers: How to Stop Overthinking, Set Boundaries, Find Peace, and You Are Not the Target

health

10 Self Help Books Whose Titles Healed Me Without Having to Actually Read Them

Is reading nonfiction case histories of women who love too much really what I want to do with my one wild and precious life?

Darcy —

Jul 22, 2022

amber heard

mental health

society + culture

Obsessed, Everyone: The Celebrity Defamation Trial

It’s been impossible to avoid news of the Amber Heard / Johnny Depp trial, and its verdict isn’t sitting so well.

Riese —

Jun 3, 2022

mental health

An illustration of a brown woman with long dark hair pulling a string out of her brain

first person

Measuring My Queerness By Different Therapists I’ve Had

If I had a dollar for every therapist I’ve had, I’d probably have enough money to buy a relatively decent meal at a nearby bodega.

Lily Alvarado —

May 26, 2022

mental health

A Black woman with curly hair wearing a pink T-shirt and jeans sits cross-legged on a white bed with her head in her hands. Windows covered in gauzy white curtains are visible in the background.

breakups

Did My Partner Leave Me Because of My Bipolar Disorder?

My bipolar disorder may have caused my breakup, but I can’t and don’t want to separate my disability from who I am.

anneaxinn —

Apr 19, 2022

mental health

A woman with long, brown hair wearing jeans and a beige sweater sits on the edge of a bed with a white bedspread. She rests her chin on her hand. In the background, there are open windows covered by gauzy white curtains.

first person

How I Manage the Sexual Side Effects of PTSD

My care team couldn’t help me with the sexual side effects of PTSD — I had to figure this one out on my own.

Varuna Srinivasan —

Apr 13, 2022

gender affirming surgery

mental health

A pink and yellow shapeless object with a rainy cloud in the foreground that contains a question mark.

gender

Surprise, It’s Depression: Recovery from Gender-Affirming Surgery

After gender-affirming surgery, many trans people experience post-operative depression. Awareness and the knowledge that you aren’t alone can help.

Alex Petkanas —

Mar 29, 2022

mental health

Time Zones Week

A sketched white outline of a person has their hands on their chest, and a light glows where their heart should be.

first person

Grief Exists in Its Own Time Zone

There’s a reason people say things like “grief isn’t linear,” and “you won’t feel this way forever,” and there’s also a reason it feels like you’re hearing those things through…

Rosemary Donahue —

Feb 24, 2022

mental health

A fork, an empty white plate, a knife and a spoon are against a teal background.

health

What I Wish People Knew About Eating Disorders, as a Queer Person Who Had One

It’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and I’m choosing to create the queer media coverage I want to see.

Ro White —

Feb 23, 2022