In video games food seems so simple. PacMan eats the fruit to gain powers. Mario eats a mushroom to grow. You eat a piece of meat or a candy bar and your health restores. In the real world food is smothered with shame and moralizing and control. For generations our dominate culture has taught us…… Continue reading Nourishment
As part of my trauma therapy I did a big personal narrative project where I went back over all my journals and wrote my life story through my adult eyes. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself and I gained so many insights. One that particularly struck me is how…… Continue reading Reclaiming Movement
When you dig down through all the hype and the noise about diet and exercise to what science has proven to be true and effective management for all human bodies, you will find nothing there. There is nothing in existence that will work for each of us in all our diverse needs. Our bodies just…… Continue reading Nothing is Just One Thing
It took me a lot of life experience before I started to internalize the idea that care was something people are entitled to. I was raised in a way that made me ashamed and embarrassed for needing any help or care, and by a family that also gave me age inappropriate responsibilities to provide care.…… Continue reading Care is our birthright
My big health crisis that started this new approach came right on the heels of leaving the high demand religion I was raised in. I was deconstructing everything I’d ever been taught about the world, holding it up to the light, and examining if it was still worth keeping. The faith community I come from…… Continue reading Diet and Exercise should feel like care
During the subscription box boom of the mid 2010’s, I was an entrepreneur. My business partner and I launched a subscription box themed around self care supplies. We had bonded over some shared traumatic calamities and knew how important self care was to our survival, so in the girl boss theme of the time, we…… Continue reading Self care isn’t for sale
Sometimes I wish I could be less snarky and just embrace the soft voices and flowy fabrics of the typical healing spaces. I would love to see a barefoot woman with wild hair and loose clothing and a beatific smile and accept the positive vibes she offers. But I can’t get past the cynicism. I…… Continue reading When your body is your enemy
A while back my former business partner and current friend Meredith and I started a company called HavenTree that sold self care subscription boxes. It was the heyday of subscription boxes and we thought it might be a funding model for the other creative projects we had planned. People were universally intrigued and supportive, until…… Continue reading What makes self care so hard?