depression – Slanted Spines

Everything from Nothing

August 14, 2020April 16, 2021Posted in StoriesTagged crew tive writing, depression, fiction, gardening, healing, literary fiction, nature, short story, trauma, writingLeave a comment

A short fiction story by Slanted Spines

First, there was the skull.

I was young and in a rut, so I felt most at home among the dirt. When my hands were in the soil, I felt meaningful. I was worms; as significant as the spider crawling over my cell phone in the grass. The existential dread did not bother me while my knees pressed into the ground, my skin softening around rocks’ hard ridges. My sweat was sweetened with the mint leaves, and if the squash were growing, I must be, too, right?

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The Practice of Gratitude

November 22, 2019Posted in Mindful LivingTagged attitude, Blog, buddhism, depression, encouragement, grateful, gratitude, inspiration, inspirational, Mindful Living, mindful thinking, motivation, positive thinking, positivity, Self-Help, self-love, wisdom, writing1 Comment

Right now, I can feel that my body is coming down with a cold. I’ve been stalling it off for a couple weeks, but I think one of those darn bugs finally broke through and got to me. How do you feel when you’re sick? Other than “lousy,” if you’re like most people when you’re sick, all you want is to return to good health. As we’re blowing our irritated nose for the one-hundredth time this morning, or as we’re launched into a coughing fit in the middle of a conversation, we’re probably thinking, “I just want to be healthy again! Then I will feel so much better!”

The “high” we feel when we return to good health after being sick is pretty significant. A friend once told me it’s one of the greatest feelings he’s experienced——we almost feel like a superhero, being able to breathe through our nose again! But after the initial couple days (if even that long) of being relatively healthy again, we forget about how much better we feel by comparison, and we begin to take our good health for granted again.

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Conquering the Great Big Sadness

December 7, 2018February 22, 2019Posted in Mindful LivingTagged depression, encouragement, inspiration, Mindful Living, mindful thinking, motivation, positive thinking, positivity, Self-Help, skitLeave a comment

Sometimes, as feeling human beings, we feel a significant sadness weighing in our chest, inexplicably. It certainly seems as though some are more prone to this sadness than others, and when frequently visited by it, the clarity of peace is obscured, leading us to dull ourselves.

Although it’s okay to feel sad, when it becomes intense and cumbersome, there are ways to work with yourself in order to overcome the heavy feelings. Continue reading “Conquering the Great Big Sadness” →

Compartments of Celestial

August 31, 2018January 22, 2019Posted in StoriesTagged bartending, coming out, depression, fiction, flash fiction, lgbtq, short story, workaholicLeave a comment

I. The Bedroom

I’m awake before noon. It’s not much earlier than noon, but I’m awake. My head feels dense and achy at the base of my neck and sore everywhere else. It’s too hot and my pillow is hard and lumpy. I kick off the afghan tangled around my body and roll to my side.

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