Midwest Mimi

  • The Rules Trauma Wrote

    Sexual assault does not only leave memories. It installs rules — rules about safety, blame, and ownership of your own body. Those rules are written under duress by a nervous system trying to survive, and they can outlive the danger that created them. In this essay, I explore how trauma embeds itself quietly in the…

  • You Are What You Consume

    The world asks us to witness everything, all the time. But constant exposure comes at a cost. This essay explores why discernment matters, how what we consume shapes our nervous systems, and how we can model healthier boundaries for our kids without turning away from truth.

  • I Am Not Lazy. I Am Regulating.

    From the outside, my life probably looks lazy. But what looks like laziness is actually regulation. Rest, pacing, and adaptation are not failures. They are how I survive chronic illness and continue showing up for my family and myself.

  • The Guilt Comes Before the Rest

    I woke up already feeling behind. The guilt came before the rest, whispering that if I stopped I was failing my family. But living with chronic illness and parenting a neurodivergent child has taught me something different. Guilt is not a verdict. It is a signal that capacity has been reached, and rest is what…

  • Plan B Still Counts: Regulating a Neurodivergent Nervous System in Motherhood

    Some days, nothing flows. The house is loud, plans stall, and sensory overload starts stacking until your body waves red flags. This is a reflection on choosing Plan B, protecting a neurodivergent nervous system, and why rest and reset days are not failure but wisdom learned the hard way.

  • Neurodivergent Conflict Styles, Part Two

    When one person needs to talk and the other needs to shut down, conflict can feel personal even when it isn’t. This piece explores how different nervous systems seek safety, how misunderstanding escalates conflict, and what changed when we learned to regulate first and communicate later.

  • Neurodivergent Conflict Styles, Part One

    I wasn’t arguing as a child. I was explaining. But explaining myself was often mistaken for defiance, and being misunderstood didn’t just hurt emotionally, it dysregulated my nervous system. This piece explores how neurodivergent conflict styles form early, and why the need to be understood can follow us into adulthood, shaping how we handle conflict…

  • The Hidden Cost of Being Strong

    Behind the calm I show the world is a body fighting to regulate itself. This is the hidden cost of strength for those of us living with disability and sensory overwhelm.