As Mental Health Awareness Month draws to a close, here's my story, shared in the hopes that it can shine some light onto a path leading toward wellness and contentment. At least, away from pain. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression. Those diagnoses were a long time coming.… Continue reading (Not) Fine
Author: gailmariecole
Write, write, write, write, write
While discussing an essay written by a grocery store employee, the hosts of a favorite podcast of mine recently riffed on how important it is for anyone who has any interest in writing to be recording as much as they can right now, in this bizarre-o time we're all going through. At the time, the… Continue reading Write, write, write, write, write
What are you grateful for?
Strange times we’re living in with COVID-19. My husband and I are working from home and the cat is irritating the hell out of us. My gym is closed. There is no goddamn toilet paper to be found at the grocery store. It’s so inconvenient to go to Costco right now (lolz, when was it… Continue reading What are you grateful for?
Disordered living
Several posts in my Instagram feed last week brought to my attention that it was Eating Disorder Awareness Week. One in particular from an amateur runner I follow briefly documented her experience with binge eating. I sat up as I read it. Binge eating is a form of disordered eating? Well. Shit. I’ve never been… Continue reading Disordered living
When to skip a workout
Earlier this week, I jotted down notes after an evening run with my pup. It wasn’t a pretty one. Ginny lollygagged, more interested in sniffing mailbox posts than keeping pace at my side. Thus, my pace wasn’t great. Never mind the fact that the GPS on my watch wasn’t working and I missed recording a… Continue reading When to skip a workout
The pull
After I started my current job in October 2018, most Fridays I’d find a reason to stop by the grocery store. We need bananas, hand soap, oh, right, some chips and salsa. Always in my basket would end up beer. Without fail. The week was long, the evening was young, the weekend ahead of me.… Continue reading The pull
I’m not drinking
Today is my reddit cake day. I created an account with an anonymous name a year ago to post in the daily check-in on r/stopdrinking, and I’ve posted twice on my own and made many comments on others' posts in that sub. If I will ever do anything more formal with regard to recovery remains… Continue reading I’m not drinking
Puppy life
While I scrubbed the bathroom floor on one of those Sundays that necessitated a thorough house cleaning, I heard the front door open, followed by my then-fiance’s voice. “Don’t be mad!” Oh, no. He bought a pickup. (We’d been weighing the idea of getting a cheap-o pickup truck to help with house remodeling projects, to… Continue reading Puppy life
Dispatches from a month out
A little over a month ago, my dad passed away. I’ve documented here how his then-imminent death would be a blessing, and in many ways, it was. He suffered. He would not have chosen to live or die in the way that he did. I wish that he could still be here, but such a… Continue reading Dispatches from a month out
Are you juggling, or just procrastinating?
I’ve had a nagging feeling of late that I haven’t accomplished much in terms of creative writing. My morning pages has fallen by the wayside, I wasn’t putting in work in the evenings besides a scribble here and there. After putting in a ton of work and submitted several pieces between January and mid-March, I… Continue reading Are you juggling, or just procrastinating?
Gail Marie Cole 