Life of Leah - August 2021
Observations.
If you follow me on Instagram and happen to be invested enough in my content to watch my stories, you have probably observed a couple things, 1) I adore my cat, 2) I occasionally do fun things outside of my apartment, 3) I follow therapists on Instagram and force their content on you, an unsuspecting bystander to my emotional journey via swipe through posts. Why would I perform my emotional journey in public, you ask? Here’s the thing, I am acutely aware there is an audience on Instagram. Hence, I edit myself for public consumption. For example, I only post about 15% of the photos I take of my cat. Please recognize my self-control in this matter. I think he’s the most adorable asshole on the planet but I realize you do not have the same feeling so I only share his premium content on my socials.
In contrast, I post 70% of the fun things I do outside my apartment because I like to look back on my archive and remind myself I am a cool, fun, interesting person sometimes. It’s important to note I am only serving up the highlights for consumption. I do not include the phone calls with my landlord when my rent check gets lost in the mail. Or when my beloved feline pukes on my bedding right after I wash it from his previous puke fest. You don’t need to see all the ugly!
Surprisingly, I only post 10% of the Instagram therapist content that hits me deep in the soul. If I posted every swipe through I swipe through, you all would be questioning my mental health even more than you already do after reading this newsletter!
Instead of posting all the therapist content to my stories, I save them in a little collection called insta-therapy. I love the idea that someday, when I feel like I need a highly concentrated dose of curated mental health content, I can go to that collection of posts and swipe through to my heart’s content. Now, have I ever done that since starting the collections over a year ago? No! But that changed this week, when I was not sure what to write here and thought it would be a fun activity to see what past Leah resonated with on Instagram.
The following three posts are a completely random selection of content chosen by a very scientific method: I closed my eyes, scrolled up and down the collection a few times, then tapped my thumb to see what you’d end up with here. These posts all appealed to me at one time or another for their deep truths and chaotically psychologically confrontational content on a normally very chill app. Enjoy at your own risk.
Okay well shit, this fun activity got real very quickly! Yolanda Renteria does not mess around with her content, I would compare her posts to a targeted psycho-educational gut punch. What I love about this one in particular is the reminder that we cannot reach perfection in recovery. Some things will always be hard. But occasionally you develop new tools to help you through the hard things. Too much for the gram? I think not.
Have I done any of the lovely things described on this list? No, of course not, but I love the idea that I could do any of the things on this list at any moment. Rachel Cargle is a role model for living a fulfilled life.
Hm I saved this post privately when I should have sent it to everyone who speaks to me on a regular basis. Do not tell my anxious ass to relax when I am hyped up on the world imploding! It will not all work out! I am too much! Dr. Courtney Tracy gets it!
Recommendations.
The other day I stepped outside to run some errands and grab lunch and the sun was shining and a breeze was blowing and I briefly considered grabbing my sunglasses out of my bag but it was such a short walk, it seemed unnecessary. Then the breeze lifted some debris into the air and swept it into my eye and I thought it would be fine until my eye was in pain and watering nonstop for about 3 hours. A harried ophthalmologist on emergency room duty confirmed I had scratched my cornea. So, if it’s sunny and breezy outside, I’d recommend wearing sunglasses and saving yourself the emergency room copay!
I thought Power Moves by Lauren McGoodwin might be a little on the toxic girlboss spectrum but the reviews were really good so I picked it up and I have to say, I should not have judged this book by its cover! I really appreciated the solid, down to earth advice and perspective on how to think about your career. There could have been more acknowledgement of structural inequities outside of your control, which I think books like Burnout and Can’t Even do exceptionally well. Overall, McGoodwin’s story and lessons are great tools for anyone who wants to take more strategic actions throughout their work life.
Invitations.
The excerpt below is by writer/artist Eloghosa Osunde, I recommend you check out the whole piece here along with their entire column, Melting Clocks for the Paris Review. It felt like balm to my soul the first time I read through it. Grateful to Chris La Tray for including it in one of his installments for An Irritable Méstis.
As usual, there’s a lot to be anxious about right now. For example, New York City is flooding as I write this newsletter! I invite you to click through the tweets below to learn about the orgs that are making a difference, and donate some funds if you’re able to.