Our attempts to destigmatize teen mental health may have gone too far I am allergic to lithium. I discovered this at 14, in an adolescent psychiatric facility. My parents had attempted to have me admitted for months. They saw my hormonal teenage attitude, growing rebellion, and occasional marijuana use as indicators that something was wrong with me.… Continue reading Teen Mental Health: Are We Overanalyzing and Overmedicating Normal Teenage Angst?
I’ve Been Trailing Mandy Doyle for Longer Than I Realized
I was 13, in the inaugural moments of my troubled teen era. It was one of what would be many trips an administrator’s office, at a time when people still had hope for me. “How about trying to be less like this Mandi,” she says, hands pointed towards me like she was holding a small… Continue reading I’ve Been Trailing Mandy Doyle for Longer Than I Realized
Love is Blind Season 6 Recaps
Love is Blind Season 6 was cast and filmed in Charlotte, so naturally, we at Charlotte magazine had to cover the spectacle. I was crowned the official recap-er, and I accepted my assignment like Rudy Ruettiger being called from the bench. Writing op-eds on reality TV? I had been training for this since the premiere… Continue reading Love is Blind Season 6 Recaps
Psilocybin Therapy Gave Me 10 Years of Talk Therapy in 2 Days
Last year, I went on a two-day retreat to try psilocybin therapy. I had never taken a psychedelic in any form, so the idea terrified me. I feared falling into a torturous hallucination I couldn’t escape. But my desire to be the mother my children deserve, and my hope to grow past my emotional plateau… Continue reading Psilocybin Therapy Gave Me 10 Years of Talk Therapy in 2 Days
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: It’s Not Garcelle’s Job to Educate Dorit, But I’ll Try
I love the Housewives. I don’t get off on recreationally tearing any of them down, because I appreciate the opportunity they give us to both distract from and reflect on our own lives. And last night’s episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills offered the latter. Dorit gave us white women a good glimpse… Continue reading Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: It’s Not Garcelle’s Job to Educate Dorit, But I’ll Try
To Nikki, Serena, Jane Doe, Rashika, and Countless Others, With Love
I recently heard #MeToo founder, Tarana Burke say, “If we are living in community with each other and one person has harmed another, if you can’t get accountability from that person, I, at the very least, need to try and stand in the gap.” This is my attempt, to link up with Tony Mecia, Cristina… Continue reading To Nikki, Serena, Jane Doe, Rashika, and Countless Others, With Love
Being white saved my life
This post was originally published in a group newsletter I manage in June 2020. Dear Fellow White People, I don’t know about you, but being white has saved my life. White privilege is not an absence of hardship or struggle, it just means our whiteness hasn’t contributed to any of our woes. My childhood and… Continue reading Being white saved my life
The Cult of Mom Friends
My husband and I lived in our South Charlotte neighborhood for about a year before we had any meaningful interaction with our neighbors. Then one weekend, I showed up to the pool sporting 38 weeks of pregnancy. Suddenly I was the new neighbor to meet. When you enter motherhood, you’re instantly baptized into a cult,… Continue reading The Cult of Mom Friends
In a Free Country, Those That Make the Law, Must Be Subject to It
At the 1976 Republican National Convention, party leadership came to the table with an objective: shifting the support of traditionally Democratic Catholics to the GOP. Their solution? Temporarily adopt a pro-life stance and promise an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. At that time, the majority of the party was pro-choice, with fewer than 40% of delegates at… Continue reading In a Free Country, Those That Make the Law, Must Be Subject to It
The Terrifying Isolation of Postpartum Depression
It hit me when we were packing up to leave the hospital. As I dressed my daughter in her first outfit and placed her in her carrier, I got an anxious feeling in my stomach. It got worse as we got on the elevator, then into the car. By the time we pulled into our… Continue reading The Terrifying Isolation of Postpartum Depression