Hi – will write more soon – until then, enjoy these helpful lists of helpful things…
❤
archie.
Hi! Thank’s for clicking.
I’ve been reaching some milestones in my life of late, and it had me thinking I ought to share some of that with you the reader.
So in the spirit of Death waiting for no one, let’s get on with it:
Hey so YAY for Black History.
BHM is important to talk about because it supports efforts of reclaiming a sense of self for everyone.
We all need to make room for knowing about the Past to help understand the legacies we carry with us. Intergenerational magic exists for all of us, but the West suffers from a bout of extreme white supremacy – in so many ways but most definitely inside culture and media.
As such, one way of changing this reality is to give more attention to reading Black made and Black centred stories, and to learn what we can while we may.
I finished 2 books and can share some of my interpretations… Okay, let’s do this! Continue reading “what archie reads – Black History Month”
Hey, y’all.
For those who know me, or visit this site on the regular, you will know that I am fairly open about my own dealings with mental illness and mental wellness.
It’s not something I apologize for or regret – quite possibly making me more of an empathetic person and a better writer as result – but it is something I do struggle with, some days more than others…
So, having survived nearly 3 whole decades now, I thought I’d share my own go-to strategies that help me get by when the world is looking especially bleak.
This post is for all us folk needing help (tips, support, hacks, resources, pep talks, etc.) to maintain our health, for today, like, right now –
Or in other words, this is to help you get through the short-term by trying some new solutions in the next few minutes.
I have no formal education in mental health (medical, psychiatric, or otherwise), so am only speaking here from my own experiences of spiralling into acute episodes, and what things have helped me survive to tell the tale.
Most of this draws from the area of CBT – cognitive behavioural therapy – and my intent is to offer up some handy resources because it is not easily available elsewhere.
The self-help info below is listed in no specific order, and some may apply better to anxiety attacks or depressive episodes, but regardless it will always be most helpful when you are better able to identify HOW you feel.
So, try moving away from vague words (like “good”, “mad”, “bad”) and try to be more specific in identifying what emotions are being felt because it helps with self-expression, which helps with diagnosis and treatment.
Finally, not everything below is going to be of interest to you, so skip it if so.
Without really meaning to, I seemed to have become a writer’s stereotype.
Since late 2017, I have been living up north in the Arctic tundra, on an island of snow, ice and the occasional sunlight. It’s a small town here, the type where everyone knows everyone, or just about any way. Did I mention there was lots of snow?
More to the point, life in the Arctic for me turns out to be damn similar to those few famous authors who found a log cabin in the woods to write their books without any distraction. (As an aside, Thoreau comes to mind as the most iconic cabin-dwelling writer, but how often does that image neglect less-romantic realities such as how Thoreau’s momma lived nearby to do his laundry for him? That truth not only speaks to the unpaid labour of women behind the scenes of famous men but really thwarts that idea of any person as an island onto themselves.)
Total peace and solitude – a writer’s dream come true, right?
Well, um, yeah, actually, sort of…
Continue reading “archie lists… 5 reasons writers should live in the Arctic”
A while back, I shared news about a free online writing course.
Since then, I’ve been keeping a list of some others to share at a later time.
That time is now.
*Cue dramatic music* Continue reading “archie reviews… online writing courses!”
archie writes 