Mental Health

As February Approaches

 "Grateful" © Tom Malavoda, 2014. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Grateful” © Tom Malavoda, 2014. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

February is coming.

We talk about how to plan an attack before I even think about the sunlight we get back now that solstice has passed. The mile-markers fly by with minimal recognition. I’m always bracing for something.

I want to feel like I’m moving forward, but every year it floors me. I try to tell myself that this year, yes, this year I can plan better. I can stick to the plan easier. I can do this. Every year I wonder what I have to figure out to make it different than the last. Then I wonder if it’s time to start blaming myself. Like I somehow force myself into bottoming out just by assuming I will. Continue reading →

Mental Health

Balance

"Balance of Trade" © Jed Sullivan, 2013. CC BY 2.0
Balance of Trade” © Jed Sullivan, 2013. CC BY 2.0.

A friend posted something on Facebook that said, “Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.” What a tragic mindset. A dangerous mentality. I appreciate the idea that complaining doesn’t do anyone favors. But I feel talking about the things that trouble us is one of the most important, powerful, and helpful things we can do for ourselves. That’s one of the reasons I keep a blog. Somehow I hope that talking about depression, about recovery, about the things that are difficult for me removes some of their power and creates a sort of community. Ever-hopeful knowing none of us are alone in this makes getting out of bed a little easier. Continue reading →

Personal Development

River

"Fork you! (bw)' © Éole Wind , 2009. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Fork you! (bw)‘ © Éole Wind, 2009. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

“You have to entertain the idea that maybe you were wrong.”

Not that I did anything bad. Not that I misheard or acted incorrectly. But wrong in the sense that the things we used to do did not mean what we thought they did. That those same things did not make us who we assumed we were because of them.

Our brains make the same patterns over and over again. Connections reinforced our entire lives. Neurons working like muscles in groups. The most often used pathways become stronger and the others wither. Rivers cut so deep into the earth we assume they will never reroute. But they are. With time. With practice. With interference. Continue reading →