so safe, so loved, so special

21
Thereā€™s this commercial where a woman comes into her house and experiences the unparalleled relief of taking off her bra after a long day at work. I think itā€™s a beer commercial. Thereā€™s a Toots and the Maytals song in it called Pressure Drop. Itā€™s a great song, and if you know it, youā€™re probably grooving to it a little bit right now.
Or,...
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littlejohn22:
I Love reggae, Ā look up burning by Koffee she is a great reggae artist

I didn't have a father; I had a bully.

15

California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris reached out to me last week, and asked if Iā€™d be willing to talk a little bit about my Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) today, to coincide with the launch of NumberStory.org, a new nonprofit organization she founded to help support people like me who had ACEs, and live with the residual trauma as a result.

Before Dr. Burke-Harris reached...
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pointman11:
You are a strong and brave man. MAN being the key word. Keep your head up, proud of who you are and have become despite those who only chose to keep you small. I appreciate you, how far you have come, and how much further you will go. Much respect, sir. Much respect
littlejohn22:
You have become a strong man and rejected reciprocating what you grew up with. I too had a bully of a father and promised myself I would not become like him. Shine on you crazy diamond

Hi. Iā€™m Wil, and itā€™s been five years and one day since my last drinkā€¦

34

Yesterday, I marked the fifth anniversary of my decision to quit drinking alcohol. It was the most consequential choice I have ever made in my life, and I am able to stand before you today only because I made it.

I was slowly and steadily killing myself with booze. I was getting drunk every night, because I couldnā€™t face the incredible pain and PTSD I...
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VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
gnomi:
Itā€™s a powerful moment being able to face your inner child and offer comfort. Good for you, and thank you for sharing!
persephonepitstop:
The hubs shared this post with me earlier and we had a tender moment reading it. Heartbreaking stuff, but so thrilled it worked out happily and those demons (and human monsters) laid to rest. x

up the irons

20

I've been in an unexpected metal mood all day, and listening to a Spotify radio station I made based on Maiden's The Trooper.

It's been really great. A lot of Dio, Judas Priest, Blue Oyster Cult, and obviously Maiden. It's stuff I'd classify closer to the "serious" side of the metal spectrum, far away from the hair bands, which live way down on the other...
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VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
muzo:
šŸ¤˜šŸ¤˜šŸ¤˜šŸ¤˜
dave2338:
Sounds good, i love it. I'm with ya.

every day is a struggle against despair

23

I spent almost the entire day, yesterday, working really hard on something really awesome that I can't talk about.

It felt so good to be working, to be creating something I know will eventually entertain people when it's released. It was several days of prep and several hours of work, and I am grateful for every minute of it, because during the time I was...
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VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
veenine:
Thanks for sharing... stay strong! I slip into the same funk sometimes and its so hard to climb back out of, i feel you ā¤ļø
elixic:
My unease has yet to manifest as despair, or at least not feelings of despair, sometimes it's feels kind of like the recognition that a terminally ill patient has when they finally accept that they will die soon, other times it's nothing like that at all and I'm hopeful. I haven't seen my friends in months, but I am lucky to have an awesome partner, a wonderful son, three adorable kitties, and two derpy doggos to keep me mostly sane during this time. I guess I'm trying to say that I empathize with everyone who's going though this time and feeling unsure, sad, scared, hopeless, trapped, or whatever else they are feeling because it really is hard. I do have hope though, most of the time. I hope you have found some hope too. Thanks for sharing!

No child deserves to be treated the way the man who was my father treā€¦

26

Fatherā€™s Day is tough for me. I donā€™t have a dad, because the man who was my father made a choice, when I was a child, to be my bully, instead.

For my entire life, this man was implacable, inscrutable, and entirely unwilling to have any kind of relationship with me ā€¦ yet he still felt entitled to my adoration an attention. Every day was...
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VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
littlejohn22:
i am so glad you turned it around, you make for one great father i am sure
fullfeeling:
I think your choice is dead-on.Ā  That day isn't about your DNA donor because he was never your dad, as you've articulated so well.Ā  I'm glad you've realized that it's really about you, but intellectual realization and emotional absorption are two separate things, and I hope that you can feel as deeply that Father's day is about you as you're forced to feel that it's not about him.
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