What are your plans for tomorrow night? I hope that you can be with people, have fun and know that you are important to the world. I certainly want that for myself. Depression doesn’t want that for me – so I have come up with 2011 trusims that I am going to repeat to myself for the next few weeks- because of the pressures of the new year- because I turn 47 in a week and because I want 2011 to be better than any other year of my life.
1. Dates don’t matter. 2010 and 2011 are the same thing. We just label them differently.
2. Age doesn’t matter. I am the age I am. Nothing will ever change that.
3. What happened last year is done- either positive or negative- fantastic or terrible. It’s done.
4. Life can always get better. Life can be good.
5. The things that bipolar says to me are not true. I can’t trust them and I have to always remember who I am on the inside and go from there.
6. I am loved by many people.
7. 2011 is a new opportunity to manage this illness more effectively and reach more goals and dreams.
My brain wants to reject this even as I write it! Depressoin can take every one of the above statments and make them UN truisms. I can’t listen. I’m going to put this list in my journal and read it when times are tough.
What about you? Please don’t be hard on yourself for what happened in 2010. Let’s be kind to ourselves and look at what we have accomplished.
Julie
Just wanna say that I just re read a blog I posted a minute ago and was appalled at how badly my symptoms show through just in a blog!!! Wow Im really nervous what Im sure I look like and seem like in person right now…help is coming soon……..I hope!
Sorry about that hopefully my next blog I post will be with a less ill brain and can make better sense.
Thanks again!
Alison B.
I love how real you are on your blog. You truly are wildly successful and yet are just like the rest of us in our struggles and I admire your strength to share that with all of your readers. I don’t struggle from your illness but the same rejecting thoughts sneak into my mind when I am doing my best to redirect what my intentions are for a brighter future. Thank you for letting me know I can really give it my all and make a difference this year over last. I will write my truisms in my journal and reflect on them when I start to be hard on myself. I will join you in celebrating 2011 already as my best year yet!
Julie –
Thank you! Your truisms are in my journal, along with my own.
I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 December 14, 2010. I found your book “Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder 2 and this site. Both are helping me understand what I thought was “just” Major Depression, and me, is much more than that. Now I know that all of my feelings of wanting to run away from my family and (actually) disguarding friends are actually symptoms and not just because I’m a “bad” person.
Thank you again for your guidance in leading me to a road towards healthier living. I’m so sorry you are having a bout of depression. I hope you head toward “even” soon.
– Mary
feeling more “even” than I have in years