From the category archives:

Mental Health

Why Can’t I Sleep?

by Kristen King on January 29, 2009

147586_alarm_clock.jpg(www.sass-pants.com) — It’s solidly the middle of the night here in Virginia and I am wide awake. Well, scratch that. When I’m vertical, I feel like I’m about to fall over from exhaustion. The moment I lie down, I feel like I could run a marathon.

Ever since my car accident, I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I just can’t get comfortable, or I wake up every hour or so for no apparent reason. I haven’t felt rested in a solid month. And tonight, I can’t stop thinking about poor Julius.

The normal things aren’t helping tonight: counting backwards from 100 in Spanish; trying to say the alphabet backwards; counting as high as I can without losing my place; trying to remember the lyrics to Disney songs in the order in which they appear in their respective movies; visualizing myself falling asleep from my toes to the top of my head; watching boring television. Nothing works.

What do you do when you can’t sleep?

Contents Copyright © Kristen King

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If Jesus Is Your Prozac, Depression Is the Least of Your Problems

by Kristen King on November 26, 2008

(www.sass-pants.com) — How’s this for offensive? “Jesus Is My Prozac”

I was test driving my husband’s new truck when I saw that absurd statement on a sign in front of a church in Fredericksburg, VA, and I nearly ran off the road I was so aghast that anyone could possibly be so ignorant as to suggest that depression can be cured by a healthy dose of religion.

Depression is a medical illness, not a figment of your imagination, and being “a good enough Christian” is not the cure. Are you suggesting that I suffer from depression because I’m a big fat sinner? Perhaps because I don’t believe in Jaaaaayyyyyyzus sufficiently for miraculous intervention in my brain chemistry? Gee, that makes me feel SO much better. Give me a break. [click to continue…]

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