Blog
Written for Messy Miracles
Day 16: The Best Place to Scream
There was a point last spring when my therapist told me to quit reading books and sites about anxiety because I was overwhelming myself trying to find the magic cure. As research extraordinaire, I just knew I could find the one thing that would return me to...
Day 15: I Stood Up
Tonight I read yesterday's post as the opening devotion for our church's praise team and band rehearsal. It's one thing to release these words into the digital world, and another entirely to stand up in person and share them aloud. I feel more vulnerable. More real....
Will the Real Laura Please Stand Up?
I look in the mirror, yet who do I see? My mask is down and my is truth out. I write and write and write on the page, the flurry of my hand cannot keep pace with the fears and feelings set free. The little girl who kept it all in, who put on a brave face, is...
Masquerade
If I had to chose the most important lesson I learned in group therapy, it would be the day of the masks. There was a small group of us that morning - only 5 compared to the typical 8-10+. The therapist gave us a choice. We could do a more personal activity because of...
Day 12: One of Them
The intake therapist raised her eyebrows in emphasis as she issued words of caution to me that first day, "Many of these people are struggling with very serious issues," she said. "You will need to be very open and honest in that room." Reading between the...
Day 11: The Diagnosis
Outpatient Clinic, the sign read. I took a deep breath, opened the door, and resigned myself to the experience ahead. A day earlier, I had walked into a hospital and asked for help. It was now time for that help to begin. Acute outpatient program is the precise...