There are many pieces to the puzzle that makes me up, but the biggest four are Recovery, Mental Health, Spirituality, and Queerness. That’s why my blog is built around them and why you’ll frequently read about them in my writings. I’ve written a little about each of them and why they are so important to me. Hopefully this gives you a little insight into how my mind works and what inspires me to write.

I was always destined to have addiction as a part of my story. My addiction issues predate my birth, as it runs heavy in my family. I started using at a very early age, encouraged by family and friends and it carried all the way through my life. I’ve had my major ups and down, attempts and successes with staying clean, and lots of relapses along the way. Recovery to me means I’m always trying, even when things don’t look like I would want them to at the time. Recovery to me is an ever evolving and progressive piece of my life. It will always be there.

Having a Dual Diagnosis is very common when it comes to addiction and mental health issues, and I am no exception. Mental health diagnosis also run deep in my family history. I am diagnosed Type I Bipolar with rapid cycling and mixed features. Meaning I can go up and down very quickly with my polarities and can experience both mania and depression at the same time. Working with one diagnosis can be hard enough, but balancing multiple is a lot of work. This is why I am so open about my struggles with having a mental health diagnosis.

I consider myself a spiritual person, not religious. In general having belief in something is crucial in development, even more so as someone who struggles with life’s circumstances. One of the biggest things in recovery is identifying and having a Higher Power. I have found this through Buddhism. Buddhism, being a way of life and not a religion, fits my life and what I am looking to attain from it. I’m not perfect, and always growing, and Buddhism has helped me find that way.

It seems like a common theme here, but this is another one that runs through my family. I am queer and have a lot of relatives on the LGBTQ+ spectrum as well. No denying its genetic. Being queer has always been a struggle, especially as a youth, but I still see pieces of that insecurity and fear in parts of my adulthood. I share in detail about this part of my life because what you often see out there is either its really bad or its really good. There is no in between. I share the balance of the bad things and the good things equally so it relates better to others and also shows others its possible to navigate this difficult world as a queer person.