The day the Senate voted on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act I walked through my day with every muscle in my body taut with anxiety. I checked Twitter regularly, hoping for some clue about how the vote would go. I went to therapy and fretted about the vote and what it might mean … Continue reading Politics, Stress, Illness, and Privilege

Trauma is not something you get over - it’s something you live with. It comes into your house, makes itself at home, and overstays its welcome. If you’re like me, you  walk around it, altering your path through your living room to avoid stepping on it. Or you pretend it’s not there and avoid the … Continue reading Making Tea With Trauma

Arrive on time, wait calmly, know the names and dosages of all my medications, have a pain rating ready, check off my mental list of symptoms and medication reactions - I have become good at being a patient in the medical system. As many before me have noted, this system excels at symptom management, but … Continue reading Healing Touch in Chronic Illness