Photo credit: PlusLexia Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy, but they don’t have much empathy for the autistic kid who is screaming at the baseball game because he can’t stand the sensory overload. Or the autistic kid having a meltdown in the school cafeteria because there’s too much stimulation. Temple Grandin We have all heard about it and may know someone who has it.

Early 2018 I started volunteering at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. Here they teach horseback riding lessons adapted to the client’s physical and/or mental abilities as well as provide therapy (physical, occupational or speech) on a horse. I loved it from the start. Being around the horses is therapeutic for everyone and seeing the clients smile and enjoy themselves is so worth it. After a few months, I discovered they also had a group for Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) and started volunteering in that group.

A little ode to fountain pens and notebooks. As much as I love my surface, nothing beats writing with a fountain pen in a beautiful new notebook. That clean slate, the ink that flows onto the paper. It’s one of those little things in life that make me happy. I could own lots and lots of fountain pens and notebooks without ever using them, just because they’re so beautiful. Also, when I study, I prefer to make notes on paper rather than on my laptop.

I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. Mahatma Gandhi We all have our good and our not so good days. That is part of life. But in short time life has changed in a way no one has ever experienced. And though it has changed more for some than for others, it has changed for all of us.

The most dangerous stories we make up are the narratives that diminish our inherent worthiness. We must reclaim the truth about our lovability, divinity, and creativity. Brene Brown When you haven’t learned to love yourself, when you have been taught to diminish your worthiness, it can be a challenge to reclaim it. At times it can feel like everyone is out to crush you and you feel lonely and vulnerable.

There it was that heavy load I thought it was mine to carry so I did And you let me leaning on me adding some more I did all I could and lost myself I tried to break free and you cried Why don’t you love me! You meant no harm but left me bleeding nonetheless And still you can’t see I carried on be sweet be perfect suck it up

Michelle Robinson via Flickr The other day I was asked how I survive the turmoil of a depressive episode. That was kind of interesting, because I never consciously thought about it. I realize everyone is different and what works for me doesn’t necessarily work for someone else. Nevertheless, I think I’m on to some good stuff 😊. Obviously, it’s not going to take away the depression. These things are meant as self-care to make the journey a little easier.

I have a friend, a wonderful, kind and caring friend. She’s the kind of woman who can handle anything, the kind of woman who has always something going on, the kind of woman who talks to everyone, the kind of woman you can laugh with. She’s the kind of woman people would never believe to be suffering from depression. She’s social, she’s active, she’s smiling… How could she possibly be depressed?

Click here for the English version: Call me crazy Toen ik halverwege de twintig was, worstelde ik met een zware depressie. Alles leek inktzwart, ik voelde me ontzettend eenzaam en niemand leek het echt te begrijpen. Het blijkt dat ik me in goed gezelschap bevind. Lady Di, Winston Churchill, Jim Carrey, Charles Dickens, Audrey Hepburn, allemaal leden ze op enig moment aan depressiviteit. En ik ben zeker niet de enige, volgens de WHO (Wereld GezondheidsOrganisatie) wordt bijna 1 op de 5 mensen op enig moment in hun leven depressief.

She’s wearing her father’s hoodie, making her look smaller than she is. She sits down next to me on the couch, nestling herself into my arms. I’m soaking up her scent and savoring the moment. At ten years old we’re on the threshold to young adulthood and I’m not ready for it. Only five years ago she started Kindergarten in a country she didn’t know and didn’t speak the language of.