May 2, 2017  •  In Depression, Personal

A Bizarre Side Effect

Over the course of my history with mental illness, I’ve tried a myriad of drugs, and I’ve experienced a multitude of side effects. Dizziness. Tremors. Dry mouth. Insomnia. Sluggishness. Weight gain. Weight loss. One even gave me tics along the right side of my body! (I discontinued that one right away.) But none has produced a […]

Apr 24, 2017  •  In Depression, Personal

A Decade-Plus-Old Misdiagnosis

I was first diagnosed with major depression in college, at the age of 20. Since then, I have gotten better and I have gotten worse. I have been in and out of therapy. I have been on and off meds. But I have never been with the same therapist for more than a few months. […]

Apr 2, 2017  •  In Aerin, Blogging, Claire, Depression, Personal, Relationships

Chirp, Chirp

It’s been a whooping 1 year and 2 months since I last wrote in this blog. …Is anyone still around? During my hiatus, I seriously contemplated shutting down the site. I was feeling uninspired and unmotivated. There were a lot of things going on in my life I did not feel comfortable sharing with the world […]

Oct 1, 2015  •  In Depression, Geek, Personal, Relationships

The Evolution of Happiness (And an Announcement)

We all know that what made us happy as children may no longer apply. But is it just a matter of our tastes changing? Social psychologist Jennifer Aaker, PhD, theorizes that your happiness is not based on your likes and dislikes, but rather, the motivating forces that drive you. Our definition of happiness tends to shift every 5 or 10 years, […]

Jun 6, 2015  •  In Asian, Beauty, Depression, Korean, Personal

On the Upside…

I’ve been battling some health issues as of late. And with the addition/subtraction of various meds and therapies in an effort to properly treat the problems, I’ve predictably been in a bit of a funk. I’ve made no efforts in the past to hide my struggles with depression, and I am not about to now. However, at […]

Oct 17, 2013  •  In Depression, Parenting, Personal, Relationships

Screwing Up My Kids

In all my years of receiving therapy, there is one psychologist who stands out in my mind…and not in a good way. She was an empathic woman who immediately helped me feel at ease. She certainly had a way of helping me feel warm and comforted and understood, and I almost always felt better after our […]

Oct 7, 2013  •  In Depression, Personal

Darkness Comes Again

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the following comic strip in a Buzzfeed article titled “21 Comics That Capture the Frustrations of Depression“: (source) There were many comics on that list to which I could relate all too well, but this one particularly hit me hard. And before I knew it, tears were flowing […]

Sep 5, 2012  •  In Depression, Personal, Travel

In a Funk

It’s easy to act happy. It’s easy to say, “Good!” and paste a smile on your face when someone asks you how you’ve been doing. It’s easy to get off your ass and do things that are required and/or expected of you. Heck, it’s even easy to act all chipper and upbeat on your blog, lest […]

Aug 9, 2012  •  In Depression, Personal

Medicated, and Uninspired

“Let’s see…I see that you’re now on 450mg of Wellbutrin and 40mg of Prozac. How are you feeling?” “Much better. I’m still not quite where I would like to be, but I am crying less, smiling more, and I haven’t had a breakdown in over a month. I do, have a question though…” “Yes?” “I […]

Jun 25, 2012  •  In Depression, Personal

Experimenting with Drugs

One of the most frustrating factors in dealing with depression — at least for me — is finding the best medication (or combination of meds) for yourself. Back in my early twenties, I had tried various meds before finding the combination that worked best for me: Prozac and Wellbutrin. This time around, since it had […]