Hello, anxiety: my old friend
“Hi, Joyce! How are you?” “I’m good,” is how I would usually respond when asked such question. But deep down,...
What happens after you ask for help
Trigger warning: This article contains references to suicide and self-harm. In November 2025, I admitted myself to a psychiatric ward...
Learning to slow down
For most of my life, I believed that being busy meant being successful. In college, I wore my packed schedule...
‘Pilipinas, ang hirap mong mahalin’
Last night, I witnessed one of the scariest moments of my life. My best friend spent her only day off...
When the mind speaks, listen
There was a time during my mid-20s when I had a migraine almost every day. Along with the migraine came...
Stickers
I exist to be torn—to be wanted, used, and pulled apart at the seams. Like the stickers I left in...
That grounded feeling
The thing about seeking professional help is it can make you reliant on your meds. The thing about this statement...
Eating with two spoons
There is a sense of survivor’s guilt I feel for having made it out of there alive, appearing almost unscathed....
The aesthetic of sadness
Looking through my stash of clutter, I stumbled upon my 12-year-old self’s diary. Written amid the mask-clad, sanitizer-soaked reality of...
Location and depression
Moving out to live on your own is a rite of passage that many college students go through, but who...