As I scroll near-mindlessly through my Instagram feed, there's an emptiness that comes along with the visual proof that my peers and I are growing old. Every night I sit here on my Ikea couch, fake-watching TV, trying to pretend that this is “me time” and “ self-care ” when I'm really just wasting away while recovering from my demanding daily duties. The banality of my existence feeds both my depression and anxiety, but I'm too damn tired to do something that is actually gratifying with my time…

Gritting our teeth

If you logged onto Tumblr for the first time as a tween without knowing what depression was, you certainly weren't going to log off without learning. If you weren't a teenager on Tumblr in the early 2010s, it's difficult even to describe how insane the content was regarding depression and mental health issues. It was a nearly constant conversation, with Tumblr users sharing graphic details of their experiences with self-harm and suicide. Sure, these posts built a community in some aspects, but…

As a nearly-constant internet user, I often wonder how much reading I do that's just on the internet. Sure, I might not read as much daily as I did when I was an English major, but these tweets and Tumblr posts have got to count for something, right? Allegedly, we read completely differently when using technology versus merely reading on paper. According to research, we skim more when reading online than in a paper book, even when reading e-books or PDFs of scanned book pages. I will admit that…

We're in this together

Ever get hangxiety? Well, let me tell you, it's not fun. As someone who already struggles with anxiety and depression, having a couple too many drinks can absolutely ruin the following day - maybe even the next two days. When anxiety strikes, it's hard to be your best self. You can become self-absorbed, going over all the worst case scenarios that life might throw your way. The thing is, when you obsess over hypothetical problems, it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dreading that netwo…

We are staunchly in the summertime , which means there's no escape from the indomitable orb of the sun and the atmosphere's various strategies of humidifying. Remember, this isn't the hottest summer of your life; it's the coldest summer of the rest of your life. While summertime might be the seasonal favorite of many, I tend to prefer autumn. My favorite thing about September, October, and November is guessing what will be seasonally appropriate to wear. Every day is a different story, resultin…

Dumb people who claim authority over everything

Ah yes, the summer. As a child I looked forward to this. Freedom from school. Warm weather. Maybe going to the beach. Languishing in my incredibly hot house eating fake popsicles made of juice as my mom somehow drank hot tea and chain smoked in the kitchen. The best times were visiting my grandparents and getting to watch cable television. Nowadays, summer is slightly less boring, but mostly because we have to exist as semi-functioning members of society as the season gets continuously unbearab…

Once you leave school and get into the regular routines of life, it can be hard to find new things to do that make you think. It's often difficult to find something exciting to stimulate your brain. Many people use little games and puzzles to keep their brains challenged and active, which is admirable. While doing a crossword every day probably won't make you a genius, it can imbue little nuggets of knowledge into your mind that previously might have just stayed in the newspaper. Personally, I…

Self-deprecation isn't a new concept. People have used the attitude for both bad and good purposes - think of the “fool” of the courts of yore. Hating on themselves was literally their vocation. Comics have embraced this mode for years. But the advent of memes has allowed for self-deprecation to shine more palpably than it ever has before. All across the internet, depressed jokesters make themselves the punchline of jokes that are seen by millions of people just like them. While we don't condon…

God. It has been a year. Or two. Or maybe even three. It feels as though I no longer have a grip on time. Perhaps it's because of the pandemic. Maybe it's because as you get older, time starts to move faster. But it could also be the crippling depression that makes a fog of the days, weeks, months and years. While the sunshine has slowly started to return to New York and peoples moods seem to be improving, I still can't help but feel the weight of the world on my shoulders as I go about my day-…

You're not alone

Everybody hurts

You know what they say. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All play, and all that fun starts to lose it's luster. At the end of the day, it's all about balance. But balance is hard to reach when the stress and demands of everyday life are wearing you down. It almost seems like the hellish and grueling routine will never end. It's Sisyphean, if you will. While it is true that everyone need a paycheck , it really is not worth becoming a fried and burnt out drone in the name of capitalism…

Thanks!