Beautiful People

We rarely find ourselves when we are hiding among sunshine-y moments, just-alright days, and sighs of contentment. We find out who we really are during the moments that feel too huge to handle.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierOctober 23, 2015anxiety, courage, death, expressive therapy, fear, Featured, hair, healing, heartache, innerchild, love, sexuality, vulnerableComment

Facin' a Fear: The Pieces of Myself I Hate and Hide

I'm sick and tired, literally nauseous and exhausted all the time, of being someone I'm not.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierSeptember 21, 2015anxiety, depression, dissociation, expressive therapy, following dreams, healing, heartache, love, meditation, open up, vulnerable, words, writer, writingComment

Fear, Just a Bully in Our Minds

What strikes me as one of the strangest human fears is our terror of the unknown within ourselves.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierSeptember 7, 2015anxiety, depression, expressive therapy, fear, healing, heartache, meditation, nature, practice, reality, reiki, self love, self-discovery, truth, vulnerable, yoga, yogiComment

What's Been Up With the Moon, and Why It's Been Making Us All Mad

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed: people have been a bit batty lately. Friends, family, neighbors, the cats, everyone seems to be colliding with dramatic emotions and drastic miscommunications.

Navigating Anxiety, Other StuffNiki NapierAugust 31, 2015astrology, expressive therapy, healing, heartache, influence, letting go, moon, mystical, nature, pain, pisces, purging, spiritual, sun, virgo Comments

Heartache and Self-Discovery

I'm terrified of practicing yoga again. I dabble at home, a few poses here and there, but I have been seriously avoiding attending a class since the death in our family. I know now that I'm afraid of what I might feel. I risk a colossal breakdown in public, at my workplace, in front of strong yogis that know me and will continue to see me at the studio afterwards.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierAugust 10, 2015anxiety, depression, dissociation, expressive therapy, healing, heartache, hope, love, meditation, pain, self-discovery, vulnerable, work, yoga, yogiComment

Unsticking From Commotion

I feel so stuck. My writing is stuck. My life is stuck, and in an out-of-control cyclone at the same time. I'm in a hurry, but to nowhere.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierAugust 3, 2015anxiety, blogging, depression, dissociation, expressive therapy, healing, heartache, love, meditation, perfectionism, stuck, vulnerable, words, writer, writer's block, writing, yoga, yogiComment

The Black Hole of Anxiety

There's something that's beginning to eat away at me. I like spending my time reading, meditating, on my yoga mat, practicing reiki, and with whatever other tools feel right for growing a life of love. But despite following these enlightening practices, there is a black hole that continues to stalk me.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierJuly 27, 2015adventure, anxiety, depression, dissociation, expressive therapy, healing, heartache, living fully, love, meditation, pain, vulnerable, wholehearted, writingComment

Be Happy and Free

I still don't feel like writing about anything else. The recent death in our family has taken over everything. I am constantly thinking about my loved ones, even more than I always have, consumed with thoughts of helplessness, mourning, and guilt.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierJuly 20, 2015blogging, death, depression, expressive therapy, family, healing, heartache, love, mourning, pain, relationships, tragedy, vulnerable, writingComment

When Nothing Feels Good Enough And There's Nothing To Be Done

When something unbelievable happens, something tragic and heartbreaking and unexpected, there are no words that exist to describe how shattered we feel.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierJuly 13, 2015blogging, dissociation, expressive therapy, family, grief, healing, heartache, heartbroken, love, relationships, vulnerable, words, write, writerComment

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."

E. E. Cummings really nailed it with this line, because being a writer terrifies me.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierJuly 6, 2015adventure, blogging, courage, creative therapy, dream career, expressive therapy, following dreams, healing, heartache, job, writer, writingComment

"The Truth"

Thought I was being open about everything inside, the shit I hide...

PoetryNiki NapierJune 29, 2015equal marriage, equal rights, expressive therapy, gay, heartache, love, men, poem, poetry, relationships, romantic, truth, vulnerable, women, words, LGBTQ, queerComment

Finding Everything You Need In A Broken Heart

I felt a sting of selfishness stab into me for a long time, knowing that I'm not satisfied with merely being "happy" in life. What kind of ungrateful being was I, to be blessed with a job I love, a caring family, supportive friends, and still feel like something so dark and empty hid within me?

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierJune 8, 2015anxiety, full life, happiness, healing, heartache, honest, joy, loss, processing, real life, selfish, sorrow, suffering, unsatisfied, vulnerable Comment

"A Breath in the Cold"

My flushed cheeks were brave, bare against the frigid air...

PoetryNiki NapierApril 20, 2015heartache, love, poem, poetry, relationships, romantic, vulnerable, words, writingComment

Talking About My Body...

Talking about my body makes my skin crawl. It's crippling to spiel about my physical traits and the seemingly endless battles I had with them. I think the word I am looking for here is vulnerable.

I Am F*cking Sad

Most of the time I at least attempt to find the silver lining, the laughter in the darkest moments to remind me that even though it hurts right now, this darkness will pass and there is sure to be a light up ahead.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierMarch 29, 2015anxiety, blogging, broken hearted, depression, dissociation, expressive therapy, following dreams, healing, heartache, love, photography, relationships, vulnerable, writing Comments

When You Compare Yourself to Others

It's a real mood-killer, but we all do it. When we look around at others and witness their ability to accomplish our goals with more ease or with less heartache, it makes us wonder what we are doing wrong.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierMarch 15, 2015anxiety, confidence, depression, ego, following dreams, healing, heartache, humanitarian, vulnerable Comment

"Breathe" - Inside the Mind of Panic

This was written in the midst of a surging anxiety attack (although I am thankful to say it was the first one in weeks, breaking some unofficial record I'm sure).

PoetryNiki NapierMarch 8, 2015anxiety, breathe, depression, expressive therapy, healing, heartache, meditation, panic attack, poem, poetry, vulnerable, words, writing Comments

Protecting Yourself from Pain? Why You Need to Break Free and Live Fully

We can invest so much energy sheltering ourselves from pain that we gamble away our ability to feel anything at all.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierMarch 1, 2015anxiety, community, depression, expressive therapy, heartache, love, openhearted, pain, vulnerable, writing, yoga Comments

I Could Have Treated You Better

I strive for a life of peace for all, but I am human. Despite my attempts to radiate positive energy, the truth is that quick-to-react garble has been flying out of my mouth too much lately.

Navigating AnxietyNiki NapierFebruary 22, 2015anxiety, create, depression, expressive therapy, following dreams, friendship, healing, heartache, love, relationships, vulnerable, words, writing Comments

"The Urge to Suffocate"

Constant attempts at comfortable corners...

PoetryNiki NapierFebruary 11, 2015anxiety, depression, expressive therapy, heartache, poem, poetry, trapped, vulnerable, writingComment

REACH OUT