Hi, I’m Darling! I run and created this site Dopamine Darling Diary as a place to share my life and story with others and also give people a place to share their story. You can read the journey of why I created this blog here. I also run DopamineDarling.com which is my “main site” where I blog about recovery and mental health with a lifestyle, beauty, and fashion spin on it.
Now, who am I? I’m a 26-year-old living in the Boston, MA area who works in arts & entertainment. I love music, especially live music, I could live at concerts and I collect vinyl records. I love to dance, I used to be a competitive dancer, but now I just do it for fun. I’ve got a passion for fashion and design, and an obsession with colors and color pallets. I love to travel when I can and can’t wait to visit more countries in the future.
Now that you know some of the many positive things about me, let’s talk about the less fun things I deal with. On this blog, I talk a lot about my problem with polysubstance abuse (drug addiction) and alcoholism. I also struggle with mental health issues like major depressive disorder, C-PTSD, OCD, anxiety disorders, anorexia nervosa, and more (yay!) On top of all that I have major issues with trauma, isolation, chronic illness, and chronic pain.
I’m also neurodivergent, I have ADD-I (ADHD) and was one of the first and youngest girls to be diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome under the DSM. I guess you could say I’m an early adopter of a developmental disorder, do I get a prize? Women with Asperger’s/Autism don’t usually fit the stereotype of autistic people; I’m creative, I love art, I love fashion and dressing eccentrically, I am obsessed with music, and I do really like to be social
Despite all that I was able to build a life for myself and now am self-employed running my own business. I live in a lovely townhouse, I’m engaged to a wonderful and patient man (with a British accent!) So overall I’d say I’m doing pretty well for a 26-year-old. My day to day life looks nothing like the average person, but I don’t want it to, sure some of the accommodations I have to make for myself are a pain, but overall I love what I’ve built for myself.
I hope this blog can give you a better understanding of some of the issues I face or make you feel less alone if you’re fighting a similar battle.
Also please note that I am in no way a writer, and I’m not claiming to be one. I was actually diagnosed with dysgraphia which is a “deficiency in the ability to write” and I dropped out of high school. So don’t expect published author quality from me, just expect real and raw emotions and truth expressed in the best way an autistic person with dysgraphia can.
Hope you enjoy reading!
With love,
Darling