With depression and COVID-19 swirling around, it is easy to forget the one thing I can control. Approaching my first anniversary of being diagnosed with MDD, major depressive disorder, I am glad that I have learned many coping statements for depression. This and other tools have given me a firm foundation as I build my new life with my disease. Now I am adding in the … [Read more...] about I Get to Choose My Attitude
SMART Recovery
I Have the Tools, Why am I Not Using Them?
It seems very straight-forward. You encounter a problem. You decide what tool you need to repair the problem. Then you use the chosen tool and fix the problem. Problem solved. This works great for when the lawnmower is sputtering and won’t start or your zipper in your coat is stuck and needs fixing. Applying this to my mental health issues is a … [Read more...] about I Have the Tools, Why am I Not Using Them?
Counting Down, While Everyone Else is Adding Up the Days.
I’m seeing more and more articles with headlines: Day 18 of Self-Isolation. It starts with a dire warning, “The kids broke the toaster.†Then they go on to tell you about how the kids are doing beyond the toaster and the baking they have done. All of this is important in their lives and is mildly amusing at times. My … [Read more...] about Counting Down, While Everyone Else is Adding Up the Days.
I Don’t want to be Closed Off
Non-essential businesses are closing. The mall attached to where I work is closed. It is an eerie sight. With gates down, access is limited to the occasional security guard making the rounds. And at first, there were custodians cleaning the floors and seating surfaces. At another local mall, Chick-Fil-A has a tent set up near a mall entrance door. They are doing … [Read more...] about I Don’t want to be Closed Off
People Thought I Was Dead
That is a very sobering thought. Six weeks after getting out of the hospital, I finally contacted my mentor. He had been checking the obituaries. And while I had stayed in touch with another person for over two years, I fell off the grid last summer and stopped responding to her emails. I had the nerve, finally, to reach out today. Here’s what she wrote: I am … [Read more...] about People Thought I Was Dead
