The Blogging Platypus

Remember you are water. Cry. Release. Flow. Although the views may be changing, showing emotions openly in society is still a bit of a taboo. When we are young, crying is one of our main methods of communication, as our verbal ability takes a while to develop. We are trained, in a way, that through using our voice, we will eventually get our desired outcome. As we grow older, our cries morph into words and language, but the goal remains the same. As we mature to adulthood, our voice becomes stifled by society and the norms by which we are expected to adhere. However, this also includes part of what makes us compassionate and empathize with our peers and family members. When we are told to refrain from crying or are told that doing so equates with weakness, we prevent an integral aspect of who we are. We feel deeply, yet are told to only show surface feelings. Don’t even get me started on the effect society’s need for stifling emotions has on violence and toxic masculinity… There i...

Image via Pexels I finally got around to printing and cutting out the 60+ affirmations that I compiled earlier this year. Sure, some may consider affirmations to be hokey, along with witchcraft, but that’s not my view. As I have been on my journey of rebirth, new things are appealing and call out to me. While I am fortunate to have lived so many different lives, the one that is currently in my path is not one that I would have expected or chosen for myself. However, there are times and circumstances that are out of your control. I had my life lined up and was working towards my well-established goal. I did all of the coursework, attended my residencies, changed my degree, then graduated with my MS degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in applied research. Research was what made my brain light up and become flooded with all of those feel good chemicals. I was working towards my goal of becoming a principal investigator (PI) and lead my own research studies in an atte...

Cannabis has been a part of my life for the last couple of years. I started out with my medical card when we lived in New Mexico. I still remember the first strain I bought. Let me tell you, after not having used cannabis in a decade or two, starting out with Gorilla Glue may have not been the best idea, but it gave me a good couch lock. For those outside the chronic illness community, couch lock may sound like a boring vegetative state, without the artificial life support. However, for me, and I would guess many others, the couch lock effect is exactly what I need at times. In some of the research I have been doing to figure out what exactly is going on with my body, I stumbled across something that made total sense. In addition to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and hypermobility, there’s something called autonomic dysfunction, or dysautonomia. The autonomic nervous system regulates so many of our automatic responses that keep us alive. From breathing and blood pressure, to digestion a...

Have you ever felt like you caught a vibe, feeling, or energy from someone as easy as some people catch colds? If you enter a room where there was an argument between two people, can you pick up on that emotion? It has been suggested that these sensations could indicate that you are a highly sensitive person, or HSP. It can be really easy for highly sensitive people to become overwhelmed with not only what’s going on in their lives due to a deeper processing of information, but also the emotions and energy of others. The differences in processing information also means that those who identify as HSP are often more creative and empathetic. You can’t have a blessing without a curse, right? Self-care is an integral part of our overall health. However, due to the high levels of stress that HSPs experience, self-care is an essential step. Fortunately, there are some self-care steps HSPs can take to combat the emotional and physical effects of living with the stress and energy of othe...