I was resetting the clocks in my home for daylight savings time when I had a flashback to my first clock-radio. My parents told me that when I learned to tell time, I could have a Disney AM radio with a clock, nightlight, and alarm. It was pale yellow melamine, and had a parade of…

It’s been a difficult year. The pandemic, changes on the home front, and some lingering orthopedic injuries have left me in a funk. My mental health hasn’t been all that swell for a while, and has been complicated by some poor choices I’ve made regarding food and alcohol, so I’ve been looking forward to Halloween,…

Oh happy day! My NeuroTarot has arrived! Created by neuroscientist and artist Siddharth Ramakrishnan, the NeuroTarot is a cluster of the 22 major arcana that come in a sweet cloth bag printed with the Brain Mystic logo. That logo is on the back of the tarot too, along with the tagline “insights from neuroscience”. I…

Clothing tags! I can’t stand them. I’ve been like this since I was a little kid, completely unable to tune out that scratchy sensation of a tag at my nape, my waist, or wherever. I’ve been driven to tears by loops of tough fabric intended to hang a coat, and I’ve squirmed in my seat…

I was text chatting with a friend this morning who showed me a photo of his dog, a big Labrador/Weimaraner mix. She’s a gorgeous pale golden color with stunning green eyes, a truly beautiful creature. For the briefest moment, as I was commenting on Playa’s light jade eyes, I almost told my friend that my…

It’s been a tough summer for so many reasons, including my concerns about the Delta variant, and some challenges with my mental health. Neurodivergent traits like synesthesia, ADHD, and misophonia have their known co-morbidities including depression, anxiety, and insomnia. All three have been my companions over the last few months, rendering me tired and on…

I’ve just returned from a Midwest vacation and my hands are a mess. Before I left, I went to the salon on the corner, just a few doors from my home, and got a brilliant red manicure. I wanted that hue because it felt right for the 4th of July, and because I personally like…

But I don’t have giant bears… #PANDAS I was horrified but not shocked by a recent paper in the prestigious journal The Lancet Psychiatry noting that 1 in 3 persons diagnosed with COVID19 have developed neuropsychiatric symptoms in the months following infection with the virus. Anxiety, depression, and mood disorders were the most frequent phenomena,…