A girl in my area recently died by suicide, and it’s all over my local news as well as town Facebook pages and friends’ posts. My heart aches as I think about what her family is going through. I’m not going discuss the girl specifically- the local news and my neighborhood is doing plenty of… Continue reading When Discussing Suicide
Author: oliviaepley
Modern Love: Hospital Goggles
Some of you may be familiar with the New York Times weekly column Modern Love. This is inspired by it. There is a phenomenon known in the circles of the severely mentally ill as Hospital Goggles. The term describes the tendency of inhabitants of mental hospitals and treatment centers to romanticize their fellow patients, sometimes doctors. You’ve seen it on Survivor or Big Brother, perhaps; in… Continue reading Modern Love: Hospital Goggles
My relationship goals? Mentally healthy.
I’ve dated a robust handful of people. Some relationships were ended by me, some weren’t. Some went out with a bang, others simply petered out or ended sweetly. Some were intense and romantic, some abusive, while others were more casual and non-committal. If there’s one thing I have learned since my first “relationship” in seventh… Continue reading My relationship goals? Mentally healthy.
VIDEO: Dermatillomania (Skin-Picking) in Pictures
Below is a video that I made of my skin-picking story, and pictures of my journey. I hope this sheds some light on a pretty shrouded disorder. The transcript is below it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBsi0C0SelE Hey everyone! My name is Olivia and I run a little blog called Millennial Girl Interrupted, the link to which you can… Continue reading VIDEO: Dermatillomania (Skin-Picking) in Pictures
The Empathy Dialectic
Nearly every characteristic of a human personality is acceptable at some point on its continuum. Emotions are the same way. A healthy person is neither too giddy nor entirely lacking in joy, neither frequently outraged nor meek, neither paralyzingly brilliant nor oppressively stupid. The key to these conditions is their descriptors: too, entirely, frequently, paralyzingly,… Continue reading The Empathy Dialectic
VIDEO: My Mental Illness Timeline: A Descent into Suicide and a Rise into Recovery
Below is a copy of the original transcript for the following video. In it, I discuss my mental health timeline from childhood through my first hospitalizations. Please be warned, there is lots of discussion of self harm and suicide, as well as a brief picture of blood. If those will be upsetting to you, please… Continue reading VIDEO: My Mental Illness Timeline: A Descent into Suicide and a Rise into Recovery
When is a relationship abusive? Let me show you.
Spoiler Alert: You don’t know him unless I want you to, so don’t try to find out who he is. But you almost certainly know people like him, though I wish you didn’t. Allow me to present to you a few of his facets. If you recognize this person in your life, at any point,… Continue reading When is a relationship abusive? Let me show you.
2020 Democratic Candidates on Mental Health
Primary declaration season is finally upon us, and I know this is an unpopular take, but I’m ravenous. Receiving news of political tumult (at best) and terror (at worst) day in and day out is exhausting. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like for folks (minorities, furloughed workers, the lowest economic classes, etc)… Continue reading 2020 Democratic Candidates on Mental Health
VIDEO: Daily Anorexia Recovery and the Exchange System
I made a quick video to accompany an explanation of the exchange system, which is a method of meal planning that I was introduced to in treatment. Read on, try to ignore how flushed I am, and make sure to watch in HD 1080! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ZdAqaAAAo One exchange is, essentially, a quantity of food that can… Continue reading VIDEO: Daily Anorexia Recovery and the Exchange System
VIDEO: A Mental Health “Haul”
Below is a video I put together in which I show you all an accumulation of little gifts, books, and trinkets that I accrued over the last month or so and that I'd recommend and/or wanted to share. These items both enhance my mental health and promote mental health awareness. Hope you enjoy, and remember… Continue reading VIDEO: A Mental Health “Haul”