Struggles with My Voice Lead to Fear and Anxiety
I have always struggled with my voice. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) causes muscle degeneration and weakness. In this case, it means that my voice is quiet.
The Wolf Finally Frees Itself
— Brianna Albers
Brianna Albers (she/her) is a crip-cyborg storyteller living in Minneapolis-St. Paul. She was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 in 1996 and lives with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. By day she works as an advocate, bridging disability and mental health awareness to empower people to live their best lives; by night, she dabbles in imagination, and is currently writing “An Angel in the Garden,” an adult space fantasy with #OwnVoices disability representation. Find her online at briannahopealbers.com and on social media @briehalbers.
Featured Post
Adding a nasal irrigator to my list of rare disease gadgets
It was another appointment in an appointment-packed January. My hopes weren’t particularly high, but no one will ever accuse me of being a less-than-perfect patient, so I braved the cold bite of the new…
Read more
3 Things to Help with Depression, Part 2
In continuation of last week’s column, here are three more things you can try that might help with depression. They’re all things that have made a…
4 Things to Help with Depression
It’s easy for me to hide behind a computer screen and tell you that it gets better. To believe that it gets better – yet still wake up every morning…
It Gets Better
I don’t know about you, but it’s getting harder and harder to keep my head above water these days. Part of it is school and part of it is…
Adventures, Winging It, and the Dangerous Business of Going Out Your Front Door
A few years ago, right around the time I started college, I fell into the deep, dark hole that is depression. Not knowing what the hole of depression usually…
I’m Not Normal, and That’s OK
I always get something out of my therapy sessions. Sometimes it’s a word or a phrase. I’ll never forget when my therapist told me that, even in the…
Saying No to Shame, Embarrassment and Difficult Physical Activities
I’m writing this in the car again, off to Iowa for a weekend of family visits. It was a busy week, so I’m looking forward to a couple of hours of…
Finding Meaning in School and Work — ‘Lightly’
By the time this gets published, I’ll have started the last semester of my undergraduate career, which is exciting … and terrifying in equal measure. People always say it…
Road Trips, Anxiety and Existing in the Public Sphere
We made it home safely after a long road trip! And we’re all pretty much exhausted. We’ve been on some pretty intense trips over the years,…
Rest, Recuperate, and Move Forward
Some of you may know that a year or so ago I founded Monstering, a magazine for disabled women and non-binary people. It started with…
Dating, Anxiety, and Believing in Love
True to my word, I joined a dating site this week. And by this week, I mean the day I wrote this column, since I’ve been putting it off all…
Dating and Disability – to Be Chosen
I went to therapy this week for the first time in, get this — 14 months. I talked about loneliness; a familiar creature, at least to me.
