The Uncustomary Housewife

Being a Geek means never having to play it cool about how much you like something.

[tebanks]

Love Thy Neighbor is a Commandment not a Suggestion

Unconditional love Accepting the Lord and the promise of Heaven is an incredible demonstration of unconditional love from God. It’s a gift freely given, with no strings attached, solely based on God’s love. However, within the Christian faith, this acceptance is just the beginning of the relationship. Beyond the act of acceptance lies a deeper calling for those who choose to follow Jesus. As…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Let go and let them misunderstand you: Embracing Ambiguity

Human Limitations Misunderstandings are an unavoidable aspect of human interaction. We can never really guarantee that others will perceive us accurately or fairly. Generally, people have good intentions. Most misunderstandings arise due to human limitations rather than malicious intent; our diverse perspectives, communication styles, and personal biases can all contribute. Simply put, our…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Toxic Begets Toxic: Self-Accountability and Relationships

For as long as I can remember, whenever I’ve felt mistreated or undervalued in most relationships, my default reaction has been to blame myself. It’s almost as if I carry this deep-seated belief that if something goes wrong, it must be because I’m not good enough or I don’t fit in somehow. This pattern has followed me throughout my life. And to this day, I find myself spending sleepless nights…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Echolalia Unmasked: Navigating Social Misconceptions

Imagine a teapot sitting on a stove, the heat slowly rising beneath it. As the temperature climbs, the water inside begins to bubble and churn. The pressure builds and builds until finally, with a sharp whistle, the steam bursts out, releasing the pent-up energy. This is how echolalia feels for me. Echolalia is when someone repeats sounds, words, or phrases either silently in their mind or out…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Handling Mother’s Day After Pregnancy Loss

Handling Mother’s Day After Pregnancy Loss

A day celebrating motherhood is a wonderful thing, but for some of us it can be a tormentingly gray area. Pregnancy loss is something that many of us experience privately. We sit alone, cloaked in shame and grief. And we experience one of the most emotionally and physically painful things life has to offer — the death of a child. But we aren’t alone, pregnancy loss impacts 1 in 4 women. I want to…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Torture Disguised as Hope - Infertility Treatments

Torture Disguised as Hope – Infertility Treatments

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

The mind can be the deadliest arrow

I don’t wanna share this, but I feel a responsibility to. I’ve been struggling for a few years. I’m having some trouble keeping my head above water. And I need to share my thoughts with you. I feel like, everyone I know is in an old school LOTR style battle together. Everyone has small injuries, but are doing fine. And I’m running around putting bandages on everyone’s scratches. But I have a…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

A road with promises and potholes

A road with promises and potholes

A little over four years ago I decided what I wanted to be. Life is weird like that, isn’t it? We exist, we try our best, and then one day we realize what we should be when we grow up. Well, I’m 34 so I guess you could call me grown, but you get the point. My decision was simple; I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted one of the world’s most thankless jobs, and y’all I was ridiculously…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Self-Acceptance on the Spectrum

Self-Acceptance on the Spectrum

If I were a tree mental illness would be layered in each of my rings. It’s not something topical that can be fixed, nor should it. If you take it away I wouldn’t be me. It’s been over a year since I’ve published a new mental health blog post. During this time my mental health diagnosis has changed. I am autistic. Trees embrace change, so I can too I’ve realized a lot about myself since…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

I won’t be a puppy today

I won’t be a puppy today, a story by Cisco.

I want to tell you a story. I’ll start by introducing myself. I have a lot of names; when we wake up my name is “Good-Morning-Cisco”, when her heart beats too fast my name is “Cisco-I-Need-You”, when she cries and I hug her my name is “Thank-You-Cisco”, before she falls asleep my name is “Cisco-I-Love-You”. I have a lot of names, but I think my real name is just “Cisco”.

The instant my eyes…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Bipolar Disorder and Friendship

Today I want to talk about friendship. Someone recently said to me; “You’ll lose all your friends if you keep posting about being bipolar. No one wants to be seen with a crazy person.”

If you think this way — I want a shot at changing your mind. If people say things like this to you — I want to show you that you aren’t alone and that you deserve unconditional friendship.

I deserve unconditional…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Self-Care on My Cell Phone

Mental health matters. Self-care matters. Most of us always have a cell phone within reaching distance. I want to help you turn your cell phone into a self-care tool for your mental health.

Self-care is a broad term, it can be defined as something we do that tends to our mental, emotional, and/or physical health. Broad, right? When you hear “self-care” you probably think of showering, drinking…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

How I Create Normalcy During Isolation

I’m a housewife, farmer, and blogger who is living with bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. For me becoming socially isolated is commonplace. Mental illness often causes me to isolate for days, weeks, or even months. I guess you could say I’m a time-tested expert when it comes to coping with isolation.

Sometimes the isolation can be debilitating. It’s easy to get stuck in spiral…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

So You Think OCD Jokes Are Funny

So You Think OCD Jokes Are Funny -- People have been making a lot of “hand washing OCD” jokes lately. I see you sharing them. I want to tell you something.

People have been making a lot of “hand washing OCD” jokes lately. I see them on Facebook, I see them on Twitter, I see you sharing them. I want to tell you something.

I actually have OCD. Yes, me. I’m living with obsessive compulsive disorder. And I sincerely wish you would stop using OCD as a punchline. I wish I had the energy to write a beautifully elegant post about this, but I don’t. I’m…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

I Write About Mental Illness Because People Tell Me I Shouldn’t

I’m living with bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. I share my experiences with mental illness openly on my blog and social networks. In the beginning it was a nice way to spread awareness and show people like me that they are not alone. It felt necessary. Over the years it has turned into something else entirely…

I come from derogatory whispers

Growing up I didn’t understand…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Are You Listening to Understand or Argue?

Are You Listening to Understand or Argue?

I want you to ask yourself some questions and sincerely consider the answers. Ask yourself:

Do I listen as passionately as I argue?

When someone shares their opinion do I listen to understand them or am I more concerned with arguing my point?

At what point do I stop listening to someone and start formulating a reply/argument in my mind?

Which is more important: arguing my point or understanding…

View On WordPress

[tebanks]

Mental Health Crisis Lines and Communities

Mental Health Crisis Lines and Communities

Every time you call out, you’re a little less alone. In this post you’ll find two lists; a list of Crisis and Help Lines and a list of Supportive Communities. You are not alone. You deserve help and support. I want to make the process easier for you.

Crisis and Help Lines 

In this section you will find a list of mental health crisis and help lines. Scroll through and find what fits your needs. If…

View On WordPress