One Day at a Time This past year in therapy has taught me more than I ever expected. I have learned that it is okay to be me. I am autistic. I have depression, anxiety, and a handful of health problems. I can still take life one day at a time. I have learned that needing help is not failure. I can rely on my supports without guilt, my mom, my friends, my therapist. I can have meltdowns or shutdowns and know they will pass. I can use the tools I have built to keep them from spinning out of control. Here is the deeper truth that I found. I could lose the job, the books, or the blog, and I would still be okay if I had my people. My mom and my friends are the reason I am still standing. The rest is the bonus. I am still depressed. I am also here. I am still trying. I am still learning. I am still me. For once, that feels enough. Written by Caleb Powers, Chronicles of a Quiet Fighter End note. If this helped you, you can join my Q...

Autistic, Exhausted, Alive: My Fight to Keep My Promise Autistic, Exhausted, Alive: My Fight to Keep My Promise Sometimes I wish I could just end it. That’s the truth, as raw as it gets. I don’t want to die—not really. But the exhaustion, the noise, the endless effort... it wears me down until the idea of not existing feels like a kind of relief. But I made a promise. I made it to my mom when I was 23 after the last time I came close. I made it to Miranda too. I told them I wouldn’t try again. And I meant it. Even when I’m at my lowest, that promise is a lifeline. Today, the noise sensitivity is brutal. The bugs outside are screeching, the white noise in my brain is up to max, and even my best coping tools—my Nee Doh, my stim toys, my earplugs—aren’t cutting it. I’ve been rubbing my feet together to try to soothe the overwhelm. Still, it builds. I wish my brain would just shut down. Funny thing is, it often does—just not when I need it to. I’ve always pu...

When Life Is Full of Square Holes but You're a Round Peg Reflection: Everything I've ever tried to do has been a challenge for me—from tying my shoes to reading to maths. It was never easy. I’ve always had to take extra time, use up more spoons, push through more frustration just to get the job done right. While others were walking through open doors, I was trying to reshape myself to fit into keyholes that were never made for me. I tried. I always tried. But when the world demands speed, neatness, sameness—it doesn’t care that my brain works differently. It doesn’t wait for me to catch up. And that pressure builds. Every little task eats a piece of energy I might not get back for days. Add all the sensory overload that stacks up throughout the day—the lights too bright, sounds too sharp, clothes too scratchy, smells too strong—and eventually it’s not just tiredness. It’s meltdown. It’s shutdown. It’s trauma, piling up like bricks on my chest. Over time, that toll becam...

Life Update: July Check-In 🌱 Hey everyone, It’s been a minute since I sat down to write an honest life update, so here we go. July’s been heavy, messy, weirdly hopeful, and exhausting all at the same time. That’s real life though, right? Facing Bankruptcy (and Anxiety) Earlier this month, I had my second appointment with the bankruptcy attorney to file Chapter 7. Walking into that office felt like dragging a hundred pounds of invisible weight. My mom couldn’t come with me that day, and that absolutely threw me. I didn’t realize how much I rely on having someone I trust nearby until I was sitting there trying to process legal talk that felt like it was in another language. The woman helping me finally noticed I was struggling, and I handed her my autism card that explains I sometimes need things repeated or said more clearly. Honestly? That was a small win for me. Asking for help instead of masking my way through confusion isn’t easy, but I did it. I still don’t remember...

Life Lately: A Quiet Fighter’s Update 🌿 Life Lately: A Quiet Fighter’s Update It’s been a lot lately. And honestly? I’m tired—but I’m still here, still trying, still fighting quietly. The past few weeks have felt like living inside a pressure cooker. Between work stress, prepping for bankruptcy to finally breathe again, health flares, and just the weight of existing as an autistic, anxious millennial in this loud world… it’s been overwhelming. Some mornings, before my feet even hit the floor, everything already feels loud and heavy. My health has been a maze of high blood pressure numbers, chest tightness, weird heart rate spikes, and nights where sleep feels impossible. The sleep apnea, insomnia, and random buzzing sensations through my body don’t help either. And the sensory overload? Still there. Three streets over, a truck backup beeper sounds like it’s right beside me, even with earplugs shoved in. Emotionally, it’s been messy. There are moments of laughter—like...