JLakis

When I was a little girl and had just started a new school, Cabbage Patch Kids were a craze. Parents waited in lines outside stores for hours to get them. They were also expensive. They were a status symbol. My parents were not the standing in lines for hours for a doll types, which seemed reasonable to me even then. But, as a special surprise, my Grandmom made my sister and I handmade versions…

I miss you Baby Abbey. For more than a year and a half I’ve been living with a man who forces me to sleep in a tiny, cold room whenever he has to do some ridiculous thing I’ve told him to do like pay his taxes after three years or call the police on the chop shop the rapist across the alley is running. And if I show a feeling like exasperation because he hasn’t paid his taxes in three years, he…

My Last Nerve. How I learned to handle emotional overwhelm. The mind-body connection and nervous system regulation. Now with science! New blog! #anxiety #depression #healing #mentalhealth #chronicillness #neurodivergence #ptsd #thebodykeepsthescore #trauma #wellness #yoga #blog #writing

I’m fine. The last nerve. My mother often warned me I was on hers. I’ve visited my own many times and probably stepped on a few others’ as well. I have physical and mental health issues that cause “dysregulation.” That means I am more likely to experience overwhelming emotions that override the logical part of my brain. I’ve learned a lot as I’ve worked with this over the past few years. The…

Stop that Brain! Arresting my brain train and staying calm. How I practice calm and quieting my mind. New blog post! #anxiety #blog #breathwork #calm #coping #healing #meditation #mentalhealth #mindfulness #neurodivergence #ptsd #feelingsafe #writing #yoga

If my brain would shut up, maybe I’d remember that address. “Won’t somebody stop me from thinking, from thinking all the time? About everything. Oh, somebody, from thinking all the time. So deeply, so bleakly, so bleakly all the time. About everything (Who I am, how I am, why I am? Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody?!).” That’s how Morrissey desperately croons his way out of the…

That Super Bowl Almost Killed. Why Philly fans riot. Life usually sucks. Celebrate every W. Drink up all the joy. New blog! #blog #blogging #coping #Eagles #joy #mentalhealth #Philadelphia #SuperBowl #wellness #writing

I can’t explain why this is hilarious. In the play The Philadelphia, a man finds that no matter how normal his request, he cannot get anything he wants. He can’t even get aspirin from a drug store, they have Advil and Tylenol, but no aspirin. And the pharmacist acts like he’s crazy.  Turns out he’s stuck in a “metaphysical” Philadelphia. That captures the essence. And nowhere is that better…

Obsessed with life. How I Survive in a World of Stupid. TLDR: I adapt. New blog name! New post! #mentalhealth #writing #wellness #coping #survival #depression #healing #anxiety #blog #neurodivergent #ptsd #trauma

The Jewel is in the Lotus. I have lived an improbable life. I moved from Salem NJ, to Lancaster PA, to Haddonfield NJ, then Mullica Hill NJ and back to Lancaster again. This was by the eighth grade. My parents had vicious fights, separated, got back together, and then my Dad died three days before I started my senior year of college. At twenty-three, I was thanking the Academy. I raised money…