I was two miles away from shore with two and a half more to swim before I reached the other side. I stopped for a second, treaded water and said to myself, “I’m going to die. And I’m NEVER doing this again.” I was just one of 569 other swimmers participating in a 4.4 mile...

I’ve long been interested in the connection between mental health and addiction because the worlds of recovery are so similar and yet so different. One of my biggest frustrations in addiction recovery circles is the lack of awareness of mental health–especially the physiological nature that threatens lives. And many depressed folks don’t take seriously enough the addictive...

Recently I described symptoms of panic: Indecision: sorting the laundry is excruciating. My God! I don’t know if these plaid shorts go into pastels or darks. They include both light and dark colors! Guilt: I’ve given my husband a rash because I’m causing him stress and stress does evil things, shame on me. I’ve also caused...

A very wise editor once gave me a simple piece of writing advice: write from where you are, not from where you want to be. In naming this blog, “Sanity Break,” my hope is that it becomes a place of trust and honest rambling among persons who are struggling to live life normally—to function at work and at...

Flow is the mental state of a person when he is completely immersed in one activity or event—a moment in which all of his energy is focused on one thing so that he is oblivious to the world around him. It is a single-mindedness that harnesses all emotions into one action to produce a kind...