Live & Learn Archive

The Red Sox Win The World Series & I, Once Again, Remember I Come From Hardy Stock

JoEllen taking a selfie in bed, wearing a t-shirt that reads "tough, proud, brave, free, Boston"

This is way off-topic for me but I figure as I am both my own editor and web master, who is going to stop me? That’s right, I’m drunk with

Note: Please be sure to read the addendum to this piece. I have considered deleting this post entirely but, as I always hope my foibles could benefit you, I

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been hit with a barrage of stressors. Some have been physical, some mental/emotional, some financial and some just have to do with my

So, I went camping over the weekend. Surprising, right? Wait, allow me to elaborate. Over the weekend I slept in a tent at an event attended by an overwhelming (for

A year ago today I was in the grips of an existential crisis. I felt certain that I wasn’t fulfilling my calling (as it were) but I wasn’t sure what

You know how when you are dating someone and you start meeting their friends you inevitably field the question “So, how did you meet?” a million times? Picture that except

I have been living in OR for 6 weeks. I have required medical attention 4 times. WTH? Anyway, it reminded me of this piece I wrote for Good Vibrations last

Sometimes you meet folks and know that if the circumstances were right you’d nail them. Enter the sexual bucket list Last summer when what had been billed as “let’s meet

I feel like I’ve spent the last month going almost non-stop with reviews and shop write-ups (There are still a few more of each to come) stopping occasionally for some

Last night I got an OkCupid message from a dude who had been peppering me with “small talk” messages for two weeks. It had gotten to the point where seeing

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JoEllen Notte is a writer, speaker, and mental health advocate whose work explores the impact of depression on sex and relationships. Since 2012 she has written about sex, mental health, and how none of us are broken here at The Redhead Bedhead.

JoEllen has led workshops nationwide on sexual communication, navigating consent, having casual sex kindly, and dating as an introvert. She has toured sex shops, spoken at length on dildos, and even started a sex school but she is happiest and most effective when writing and speaking on behalf of quiet people who have sex. Check out her video series on attending conferences as an introvert and her extensive writing on sex and depression.

JoEllen has spoken at Clark College, University of Chicago, University of Tennessee, the Guelph Sexuality Conference, Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit, and the Playground Conference

JoEllen’s first book The Monster Under the Bed: Sex, Depression & The Conversation We Aren’t Having was published by Thorntree Press in March 2020. Her new book In It Together: Navigating Depression with Partners, Friends, and Family was published by Thornapple Press in March 2023.

Live & Learn Archive

The Red Sox Win The World Series & I, Once Again, Remember I Come From Hardy Stock

Setting My Facebook Relationship Status Made Me Cry

How Mae West is Helping Me Get My Groove Back

Tents, Naked Strangers, Boyfriends and Revelations

The Birth of the Bedhead- One year ago…

I’m an Introvert and I’m Dating a Burner. Let’s Discuss.

STI-gmata: What happens when you think your pleasure warrants punishment

Poll: The F**k-it List, Because No Way Am I the Only One Who Does This

I put my dresser in my living room and it, for reals, changed my life

I Had to Block Someone on OkCupid Last Night And Here’s What I Learned