Tales of an Anxious Soul

Hello fellow humans 😍 As many of you know, I am currently in a two year therapeutic community for drug and alcohol treatment. I'm open about it. I have no shame in the fact that I have needed help. One of the beautiful things about this program is this letter you have to write about the worst time in your addiction, and what were some things that lead up to your substance abuse. You have to open up and put your balls to the wall. Really open up your old wounds and tell the 50 guys here everything about yourself so they can get some insight into what your life was like before coming into the program. It has been about a year since I read that letter in front of everyone who is in the program with me. After my last blog post I began reminiscing on that time, and I realized how much of a turning point it was in my program. (Side note: I know there are some good parts of the LDS church. It’s not all bad. But maybe that’s a bit Stockholm syndrome(ish) of me. And no. My whole life w...

**Rant time**   Dear Latter Day Saint (Mormon) parents,    I know you want the best for your kids. You have been given these "guidelines" for how the perfect family should look, and act.  So  when your kids go off that course at all, it is problematic for you. Your white picket fence has been ripped apart. You feel like you are losing your spirit babies.  However  that is not everyone else's reality. That is yours. Your kids should not have to live up to your expectations.    If your kid watches porn a couple times they are not a porn addict. No matter what your bishop may tell you. Your kids will watch porn and they will probably masturbate because  lets  be honest, everyone does. If your kid  vapes  they don't need to go to rehab for vaping. If your kid drinks coffee so what? Maybe you should be more worried about pre-workout and energy drinks (god hasn't published his opinion on that yet though so mayb...

The week of November 4th, 2015,  changed the course of my life, the dynamic of my family, and the way I saw the world. The November policy had permanent effects. I have been publicly open about my sexuality since I published my blog on October 1, 2014. I was trying to make sense of religion and sexuality. In the beginning, I was trying to find any way possible to be Mormon and gay. According to the Bishops I had during that time  fram e ,  it was just not possible. I went back and forth trying to reconcile being celibate for the rest of my life because, at the time, I thoroughly believed my eternal salvation was on the line. I was taught to have blind faith, follow the prophet; he is the voice of the lord. Don't question it. I was taught that if you struggle with any sinful thought, feeling, or behavior you talk to your bishop   The first time I was heavily set on leaving the LDS church was when I went to see my bishop shortly after I was taken advantage of. ...

To whoever stumbles upon this: Let me first start off by saying, I am NOT in conversion therapy, I cant believe people still think I am.  I am in addiction recovery. Homosexuality is NOT an addiction despite what some may think. I am learning how to love life and live life without drugs or alcohol.  Before coming into treatment I was a resentful person (still working on it but getting better). Resentful towards family, towards friends, towards religion as a whole. I took things so personally when it came to any form of mistreatment of people who are marginalized and pushed to the side. Everything was about me. I automatically started hating people based off of one ignorant opinion or comment. Instead of seeing it as a teaching opportunity I automatically turned to hate. I didn't have a healthy way to process the feelings of betrayal, anger, disappointment, and lack of self love I had bottled up and developed over the years.Growing up. I had set up little mental blocks t...