Family Traditions

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

My sister Kristin is the Official Tradition Enforcer in our family. She likes us to do the exact same things from year to year, and when we change things up, she freaks out. It’s kind of adorable.

Right before Christmas, our family bundles up and goes out “light looking”– looking for the best Christmas lights displays in the area. We also stop at a couple houses and sing carols, which is a bit hilarious because no one would call our family a musical one. From there, we would usually end up getting chicken McNuggets and eating them with our own bread from home. This last carried over from the days when we were young and Dad and Mom were too cheap to buy anything more. Now it’s kind of a joke, but one that we love. Our friends get a kick out of it too. (“You bring your own bread??!”)

We eat pizza for Christmas Eve. We usually try to watch both the main injury sequences from Home Alone and Home Alone 2. We go to a service at the church where I grew up. We take pictures with the Magnuson family, and we are the last family to leave (every. single. year.).

We read from the book of Luke and pray together before we open presents.

Oh, and Santa still comes to the Sommers house. I said to my Mom last month, “Santa’s been very good to me.” She wryly replied, “Yes, she really has.”

Haha!

Better than a Bandaid

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

“Healing” cancer with a Bandaid is the same as “healing” OCD with compulsions. In short, you’re not healing ANYTHING.

In other words, all those things that obsessive-compulsives do to alleviate the tremendous anxiety they feel? Not helpful. Asking for reassurance, obsessive confessing, reciting prayers and phrases, repeating rituals that make you feel “okay” or “balanced,” washing your hands, etc.– they are just Bandaids plastered right over the cancer of OCD.

To effectively go for the “root” of OCD, you have to resist those compulsions. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy is recognized as THE best treatment for OCD.

Skip the talk therapy.
Skip the (many) reassurances.
Skip the rituals.
Skip the confessions.

Go for the jugular with ERP.

Schrödinger’s Book

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

I think this might be from a Neil Gaiman book. In any case, it’s funny. To me.

On the other hand, it would send my character Laurel (from Truest) into a manic spiral. The many-worlds interpretation does not sit so well with her.

The Whole Range

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

Okay, so I have no idea who “Lori” is, but I thought this quote was valuable. I think there is pressure to create “strong” female characters, but the truth is that one woman can feel a hundred things at once.

Hermione already knew that:

Lights All Around in 2014: the future of my blog

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

I would be so honored if you would take this five-question survey for me. It will take you probably 3 minutes, but it will greatly help me figure out my plan for this website in 2014.

Thank you in advance, friends. I appreciate you.

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell surrounds that curious subculture of fan fiction. For those unfamiliar with it, fan fiction is where people take characters and worlds already invented and then write their own scenes and stories using them. There is a massive amount of Harry Potter fan fiction, and even in Fangirl, the main character Cath is writing fan fiction about Simon Snow, which is essentially a thinly veiled Potter.

Cath is a super awkward freshman in college, and her twin sister Wren has chosen not to live with her. While Wren is out partying night after night, Cath is cooped up in her dorm room, writing fan fiction, and hiding from new people and new situations.

There’s a boy, of course, and while he’s quite lovely, he was a little too over-the-top for me (though I think the rest of the world has fallen in love with him). While there were definitely some great moments in this book, I didn’t love all the long passages of fan fiction involved. I also didn’t feel like there was enough conflict (or really, a climax), and the characters’ personalities seemed to change too suddenly for my liking. I, of course, still think Rowell is absolutely marvelous, but this wasn’t my favorite of her books.

While I was more drawn to the characters in Eleanor and Park, those of Fangirl are definitely going to attract their own following. If you’re fascinated by the fan fiction element, definitely give this one a look!

From Hit-or-Miss to Hard Work

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

In undergrad, my best writing mostly came about by accident. I stumbled into the right story or else caught myself on a “good” writing day or else was incited to revise in order to better my grade. Even then I knew that you couldn’t wait for inspiration to strike, but it was hard to imagine that anything could get done if inspiration never arrived.

These days, though, my best writing is produced by hard work. It comes about because I show up and sit down and force myself to produce words. I know that even an “uninspired” night– after night after night after night– can still be productive. I have learned that showing up produces a bad first draft. After which, showing up then produces a better second draft. Rinse and repeat.

Showing up matters. In some ways, it’s what matters the most.

I love fan art.

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

I cannot get enough of my favorite stories– I’m an avid re-reader, of course, but additionally, I love anything that will take me back to those worlds, even for a moment.

Here’s some fan art I found on weheartit.com recently.

Best New-to-Me Authors of 2013

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

How I Fall Asleep

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Jackie Lea Sommers

Obsessive-compulsive disorder. If you can put two and two together, you probably realize that falling asleep is difficult for many of us with OCD. Our minds won’t stop processing. Sometimes I’d imagine that my roomie could hear my head from the next room over, churning like a coffee grinder as I rehashed the day, worried about tomorrow, and let my mind chase its own tail as I ruminated on unknowable concerns.

The same thing unfortunately happened on long car rides.

My solution for both was simple, though there’s no guarantee it will work for others.

Audiobooks.

Instead of trying to turn off my mind, I instead gave it something specific to think about, to dwell on, to follow: a story.

And not just any story, but a story I was already familiar with. This was important because then I could fall asleep without worrying that I’d miss something.

I also take risperidone (can’t sleep without it!) and melatonin (to help me stay asleep through the night).

Anyone else have any clever ideas for falling asleep with OCD?

Related posts:
When Thinking Hurts
Amazing Audiobooks

JACKIE LEA SOMMERS

Author & Advocate

Monthly Archives: December 2013