It’s that time of year again. The holiday season is upon us. From now until New Year’s Day it can be daunting for anyone when it comes to family, stress, work, holiday preparation, and could cause anyone’s thoughts and mood to spiral. Living with bipolar disorder, every year I become increasing cautious and learn ways … Continue reading SGs guide to surviving the holidays
Tag: strength
The last day at NAMI Jax Office, a bittersweet goodbye.
Today was a turning point in my current life, when I left NAMI Jacksonville as Program Director. I was nervous for the week to conclude, and hoping for the best with new horizons ahead of me. Trepidatiously I walked myself downtown to work early this morning. My last time walking into that beautiful building of … Continue reading The last day at NAMI Jax Office, a bittersweet goodbye.
NAMIWalks Jacksonville 2022
Last Saturday was a culmination of months of preparation. It was quite a sight to see so many gathered to raise awareness for mental health. We had politicians in attendance, news anchors covering the story, high school bands, cheerleaders, Jags mascot and cheerleaders, wellness fair, tons of participants. The event went off without a hitch, … Continue reading NAMIWalks Jacksonville 2022
30 seconds or less, my story.
I have been asked to tell my story, of breaking the stigma of mental illness in 30 seconds. There is an upcoming Jacksonville Iceman special event on mental health awareness upcoming. I was asked to tell my story, in 30 seconds or less. My face will be on a Jumbotron. They will shoot the stories … Continue reading 30 seconds or less, my story.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Self- worth, self-love, and self-respect. Somehow those words have escaped me. For 20 years my bestie would tease me that I am a chameleon, a pleaser, a shape-shifter or yes-woman. I don’t think I ever fully understood what she meant until my recent troubles. I admit that I lacked the insight to see that I … Continue reading R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Here we go again.
I managed to keep it together for a rather busy day. I did some work early on. Got hazel out the door (Ella I found out later has strep throat). Met virtually with my psychiatrist and IOP in the morning. Took Ella to urgent care, attempted to fill her Rx of antibiotics twice. Took Ella … Continue reading Here we go again.
All we need is just a little patience…
I took a major step backward yesterday. I pushed myself too hard the last couple days. I trained as an lacrosse official, too many obligations in general scheduled…and then yesterday occurred. It was a mix of lack of sleep from the night before (maybe 3 hours), trying to do IOP and work simultaneously, more work … Continue reading All we need is just a little patience…
SGs Workout Plan reboot 2022
I started this sometime late last year. I was unsuccessful. One of the main reasons for such was my later discovered sleep apnea. Second, I admittedly did not change my diet initially to the point where I was eating at a deficit, nor did I do my best to eat clean. Third, I stopped dead … Continue reading SGs Workout Plan reboot 2022
Reassurance and relief
I continue to struggle as Monday August 29 marks two weeks of interrupted sleep patterns. Two days in from a recent cpap level adjustment, it is still very difficult to continue to sleep past the threshold of 4 hours of sleep using the machine. I continue to awake today at the lovely hour of 230pm. … Continue reading Reassurance and relief
Dream On
Last night I had a scheduled sleepover with Mayo Clinic for a long-awaited sleep study. I arrived in a tizzy at the Basso Building on the West Campus of Mayo Clinic with two giant bags, a body pillow, and a fuzzy Ugg blanket. Along with a full day of school orientation for the kiddos, remote … Continue reading Dream On
Just the way you are
Reflecting on one of my favorite songs by Bruno Mars: Cause you're amazingJust the way you areAnd when you smileThe whole world stops and stares for a while'Cause girl, you're amazingJust the way you are We are conditioned to automatically self-reject compliments, positivity or positive reinforcement. The belief to be perfect and never measuring up. … Continue reading Just the way you are
The Unsinkable Melinda Ruth
In speaking to my father chatting today about Mom, he mentioned the old military favorite of the waiting game when it comes to her health. Hurry up and wait he said, the all too familiar saying and I didn’t swallow that well for many reasons. Mostly as I hardly have the inclination to remain patient … Continue reading The Unsinkable Melinda Ruth









