v YOU know you are strong inside despite what mental illness has dealt you.
v YOU know you are doing the best that you can, with what life has handed you.
v YOU can pat yourself on the back right now, for a job well done. Mastering and surviving each day with mental illness, in my eyes, is a full-time job.
v Only YOU will know when it’s time to return to the working world; if that is your goal. It’s alright to be coached and nudged, but you are really the best judge.
v Only YOU know the blackness felt during depression – how the pitch black mud swallows you up and is unforgiving.
v Maybe YOU don’t know how very precious you are, and that you didn’t ask for this illness, and you didn’t choose to be ill, and that mental illness is not a character flaw.
v YOU are not going to change society’s thinking and attitudes on mental illness. There will always be stigma, but YOU know YOU, and that is all that is important.
Written by: ME
cathielacey
/ September 4, 2007Amazing. Tears fill my eyes and that is a rarity. I am what you write. Sad to say, but it is a comfort to read what depression is like for someone else…reminds me that I am not alone and maybe, that I’m not crazy. I’ve added this blog and your Living In Stigma blog to my blogroll. Your writing is inspirational and encourages me and most likely many others to fight like hell.
cherished79
/ September 4, 2007You are not alone, nor are you crazy. You are someone who was dealt a black hand – and you are just trying to live day by day the best that you can.
And yes, you have to fight – but it is so very tough when you are at the bottom of a very deep hole and cannot see the light above. This is a tough fight, and we need other’s strength in our lives too, to achieve success. But…keep on fighting as best as you can.
Take care.