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Black Bear May Prompt: Music for the Soul

Black Bear May Prompt: Music for the Soul

Tell me about how music has helped you through a stage in your life
Go to the profile of Michele Maize
Michele Maize
Black Bear Submission Guidelines—Updated 2024

Black Bear Submission Guidelines—Updated 2024

And becoming a writer with our publication
Go to the profile of KiKi Walter
KiKi Walter
What Does the Name “Black Bear” Mean?

What Does the Name “Black Bear” Mean?

(And what does it have to do with mental health and addiction?)
Go to the profile of KiKi Walter
KiKi Walter
Black Bear Is Now Part of the Boost Nomination Program

Black Bear Is Now Part of the Boost Nomination Program

Looking for high-quality personal stories about mental health, addiction, and sobriety
Go to the profile of Michele Maize
Michele Maize
Latest
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Gifts of Sobriety

Gifts of Sobriety

Staying grateful for what I have
Go to the profile of Shannon
Shannon
I Wonder if They Wish

I Wonder if They Wish

Like I do
Go to the profile of AJ Wood
AJ Wood
I Was a Ritalin Baby — Part One: Teddy Hot Fire

I Was a Ritalin Baby — Part One: Teddy Hot Fire

How to have ADHD in the 70s
Go to the profile of Not Even Wine With Dinner
Not Even Wine With Dinner
I Relapsed — Addiction Is a Cunning Beast

I Relapsed — Addiction Is a Cunning Beast

After three months, twenty-five days, and seven hours of sobriety, I’m back to day one
Go to the profile of Judy Walker
Judy Walker
The Day I Stopped Fighting My Thoughts

The Day I Stopped Fighting My Thoughts

Luckily, I learned to listen to them
Go to the profile of Madison Clarke
Madison Clarke
The reality of antidepressants

The reality of antidepressants

They promised freedom and brought a different kind of capture.
Go to the profile of Moe
Moe
How Music Can Define Each Moment

How Music Can Define Each Moment

The sounds of a lifetime
Go to the profile of Julio Angel Rivera
Julio Angel Rivera
Is My Borderline Mother’s Behavior My Fault?

Is My Borderline Mother’s Behavior My Fault?

The constant confusion that pervades my brain
Go to the profile of Varun Joshi
Varun Joshi
“Have You Been Drinking?”

“Have You Been Drinking?”

Ya’ Think?
Go to the profile of Tom Gavea
Tom Gavea
I Was a Ticking Time Bomb in My Adolescence, Eventually Something Exploded

I Was a Ticking Time Bomb in My Adolescence, Eventually Something E...

We grew up together in chaos. One of us didn’t make it out
Go to the profile of Saumya Sharma
Saumya Sharma
Cannabis: A Solution to Anxiety or Just an Addiction

Cannabis: A Solution to Anxiety or Just an Addiction

Even if cannabis relaxes people, is it always the best solution?
Go to the profile of Thomas Morison
Thomas Morison
From Master's Degree to the Morgue

From Master's Degree to the Morgue

My sister's addiction didn’t discriminate
Go to the profile of Not Even Wine With Dinner
Not Even Wine With Dinner
I Spent Years Treating the Wrong Illness — And It Almost Broke Me

I Spent Years Treating the Wrong Illness — And It Almost Broke Me

They said it was depression. It wasn’t. It was something no one ever looked for.
Go to the profile of Tamseen Fatima
Tamseen Fatima
Fight or Flight

Fight or Flight

One Person’s Epic Journey with Schizoaffective Disorder
Go to the profile of Phie Mish
Phie Mish
Tearless Sobs: How My Body Learned to Cry Without Tears

Tearless Sobs: How My Body Learned to Cry Without Tears

A childhood with a fear so loud, my tears turned inward — and my body found its own language of pain.
Go to the profile of Sylvie
Sylvie
“When Survival Looks Like Normal: The Trauma I Couldn’t See”

“When Survival Looks Like Normal: The Trauma I Couldn’t See”

We say we don’t know what we don’t know — and it’s true. How could we?
Go to the profile of Luke Westbrook-Manhattan
Luke Westbrook-Manhattan
Depression, Alcoholism, and The Other Ghosts I Inherited From My Father

Depression, Alcoholism, and The Other Ghosts I Inherited From My Fa...

Addiction, absence, and the burden of breaking the cycle
Go to the profile of Saumya Sharma
Saumya Sharma
4 Rules I Live By Since Getting Diagnosed with ADHD

4 Rules I Live By Since Getting Diagnosed with ADHD

Getting diagnosed with ADHD didn’t change anything overnight, but it did eventually change everything.
Go to the profile of Elizabeth Lord, MA, CPC, CDTS, ELI-MP
Elizabeth Lord, MA, CPC, CDTS, ELI-MP
Why Productivity Advice Fails ADHD Minds (and What Actually Works)

Why Productivity Advice Fails ADHD Minds (and What Actually Works)

Why ADHD Brains Don’t Work Like Neurotypical Ones
Go to the profile of Luke Westbrook-Manhattan
Luke Westbrook-Manhattan
Who Needs a Time Capsule When You Have Spotify?

Who Needs a Time Capsule When You Have Spotify?

Of all the things that came with my childhood, this one sucks the least
Go to the profile of Tiffani Haught
Tiffani Haught
How I Fell in Love with The Godfather of Shock Rock, And He Made Crazy Okay

How I Fell in Love with The Godfather of Shock Rock, And He Made Cr...

Music that saved me as a teen
Go to the profile of Barbara Carter
Barbara Carter
Dating While in Recovery Was Harder Than I Expected

Dating While in Recovery Was Harder Than I Expected

Learning to Let Someone See Me Without the Armor
Go to the profile of Tamseen Fatima
Tamseen Fatima
My Kitchy Kitchen: A 1970s Music Experience

My Kitchy Kitchen: A 1970s Music Experience

Black Bear Prompt: Music
Go to the profile of Not Even Wine With Dinner
Not Even Wine With Dinner
I Was Not a Good Person

I Was Not a Good Person

Hurt people hurt, and I’ve done my fair share.
Go to the profile of Jacquelyn Luby
Jacquelyn Luby
Why Recovered Alcoholics Possess Unique Gifts for Helping Others

Why Recovered Alcoholics Possess Unique Gifts for Helping Others

The Wounded Healers
Go to the profile of Tom Gavea
Tom Gavea
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