Beyond This
This blog started as a way to get my writing out. My random thoughts, poems, writing exorcises. It has now developed into a record of my recovery from Mental Illness.
Sunday, December 2, 2018
I'm Still Here
I read back over a few of my posts and so much has changed. I have put so much behind me, carried so much with me, and got in my own way more than once.
This Friday, December 7th, 2018 I will complete my Master's program. Four days later on Tuesday, December 11th, 2018 I will turn 30 years old.
There is a call for celebration. A call for moving past the trauma and completing some goals. There is a reason to be happy.
I am happy. I truly am. And through it all the one thing I keep whispering to myself - to one of my ghosts - is that I hope I am doing right by my life. Living it in a way that shows that I deserved to live.
I don't feel I deserved to live but I hope that I can do some good with my life.
Already, 2019 is approaching. I am hoping I can bring this blog back to it's roots. I will have a fresh start with my writing and ideas. I hope to have an opportunity to put more good back in the world.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Too similar
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Omens
Got up and was ready for work while Erich was still sleeping soundly.
He woke up and I knew I needed to get into bed and snuggle with him one last time before leaving. Work was not as important as these times I spend with him. I know that.
As I am driving to work, a 911 Emergency Management Agency vehicle drove in front of my stopped car. It caught my eye in an unusual way. A few moments later I found myself behind that car. Starting at the words: Emergency Management Agency "Call 911." I was in a daze following this car until it pulled off.
On the highway I saw flashing blue lights from the airport. It has never disturbed me before, and now it's flashing in my side view mirror and rear view mirror. It eventually vanishes as I progress.
Then it hits me. A giant Bill Board. The words STAY SAFE are huge. It's a tire add that says "Stay Safe with Winter Tires." But the words STAY SAFE are burning into my mind. I start to look back at the omens from the airport. I try to write it off as a coincidence but then I look over to the truck next to me which says "SAFETY IS REAL." All Caps. Bold font. Across the top of the truck head, as the bed was gone. I feel my breath shorten.
"Life and Death" by the Dear Hunter starts playing on my radio. I am having trouble breathing.
I pull into the parking lot of my work. It only takes me 10-15 minutes to get here in the morning. I compose myself. I walk in to my office, next to a trampoline park. I am always greeted by their door first, but my eyes fixate on a detail that it normally doesn't fixate on when I see their door. In the corner of the door "No Weapons Allowed."
This could all be nothing. I listen to that song by the dear hunter often. Maybe I look at the tire ad frequently, and the truck was a coincidence. I know I have seen the trampoline sign before but because of everything else my mind decided to lock in on it. Maybe I do see the blue lights at the airport flashing but just never notice it. And there are some days where I have nightmares and want to get extra snuggles in.
Maybe, it's all a coincidence.
But on January 6, I didn't take the warnings seriously, and I am now convinced they were omens that I just wrote off. I don't ever want to write off that again.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
All cried out
The last three nights I've cried myself to sleep. I walk in the door after work and start crying for hours until I cry myself to sleep.
Today I cried all day from the moment I woke up, until I finished my homework assignment.
I cried hard at work.
I cried to my new therapist (first time with her).
I cried into my homework.
Crying is supposed to release endorphins that make you feel better.
I will always be rooted to the airport. Gun violence will always force me back there.
I have more tears to shed but it's more than I can bare these days.
My heart has been broken all over again.
Friday, September 29, 2017
Sinking
Tying anchors to my body, and still struggling to swim up.
When I almost make it to the surface, the feelings return.
I tie more weights to my body to keep me from reaching the top.
I am drowning myself,
For the struggle keeps me distracted.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Time for a positive
I am getting better. I know I am.
But I am so depressed...
I wish I had insight to share. I do not. Sometimes improving still means being released from one place and getting stuck in a different place with different symptoms. I was reflecting back on my serious ASD/PTSD episodes. Flashing back, feeling like I am being hunted, not having control of my thoughts or my body...
It's been months since an episode.
It's been a month since my last panic attack.
So why am I not progressing to a point of happiness?
Why am I coping with stress by drinking and being intoxicated all night?
Why do I do this to myself?
I need help.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Meltdown
My mom came over and talked with me. I told her I needed her.
I unloaded everything I wanted to unload to my therapist:
- I want to quit my Master's program
- My house is in disarray
- I do not want to celebrate Halloween - I feel empty
- I don't know if I want to live anymore.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Appointment today
I need to see her more frequently or longer than these 30 minute sessions. It feel myself regressing with her schedule change.
I might have to quit my Master's program. I can't handle the stress. Too much stress. I am a failure.
I am actively avoiding almost everything causing stress. Avoidance is the number one thing I should NOT be doing, and yet... I cannot even look at Halloween decorations or watch things that are violent.
A sub-point of avoidance: I am avoiding my family.
Depression/suicidal thoughts are coming back. I get triggered by thinking I am dying, by feeling the pressure of a gun because someone is behind me, but now instead of fear, I just don't care.
I don't care about any of it.
UPDATE: She cancelled my appointment... Again... And I really needed her this time.
Friday, September 1, 2017
When the porcelain breaks, you either fix it or toss it
Words cannot express the dire state I've been living in since I woke up and noticed it was September 1st.
Usually, by the time it's July, I am already planning Halloween. Movies, parties, costumes, what treats to give out, haunted houses and hay rides... The list goes on.
Halloween was the single greatest time of the year. I would save up to splurge on decorations, baking themes, and any thing else relating to the holiday. I wanted to have the best decorated house. My party was the party. I wanted to be the cool house with the full size candy bars and the best house to visit. It was my day.
It's September 1st. I should be drinking pumpkin spice lattes, putting the final touches on my costume. Setting up the days to go to haunted houses and starting the two month horror movie marathon. I can't even look at the costumes hanging up in stores. I don't want to put up any decorations. I don't want to see kids roaming the streets. I have a new aversion to pumpkins. None of it seems fun.
In place of smiling kids, roaming in costumes having fun, I only see dangers. They could get kidnapped, poisoned, murdered or worse - they could do that to me. The marathon are now panic attacks waiting to happen; jump scares, guns, danger... I can barely think of it. And the darkness... All I can think about is how dark the night will be on Halloween...
I just can't... I hate to admit it, and it breaks my heart to say it, but I can't do Halloween. I am considering finding a hotel or cabin to retreat to. No decorations, no horrors, and no strangers.
I was supposed to better by now. You weren't supposed to take away my one day a year. But you did. You've made all the thing I used to love terrifying.
I need to see my psychiatrist soon. I'm falling into that deep pit if depression again. Living as the person I am right now, doesn't seem worth it. I just want me back.
But she died.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Haunted and hunted
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
An Open Letter to Survivors
This is a video from the Rebels Project. They are here for you. I am here for you.
I relate to every word. If you read my blog, you KNOW I relate to every word. I am glad I found a community that actually live, breathe and UNDERSTANDS!
Pushing myself too hard?
I am walking into work almost 2 hours early today because I couldn't sleep. The nightmares are back. I couldn't go back to sleep. Every time I woke up from one, I put on one of my Calm app Sleep Stories and it would put me back to sleep, and insert me into danger. I just couldn't risk that again.
I am working 9-12 hour days. It's stressful, even though I love my job. I am also starting classes soon. Decided to try and get a Master's in Social Work so I can be better equip to help others out there like me... I just wonder if it's too much too soon.
I am sitting here, at my desk, with an anxiety level at about a 7, verge or tears, because I just don't know how well I can deal with the day today...
But, I don't want to disappoint people by not trying.
Friday, August 11, 2017
I am trying to find purpose and meaning...
I feel overwhelmed and exhausted. My new job, although it's a great environment and I love being here, has been draining. By the time I go home, I too drained to do anything else. My goal list has been kaput.
I have no energy to waste on exposure therapy.
I have no energy to waste on chores.
I have no energy to waste on my husband (and I know he is starting to feel it).
I have no energy at all.
I have all these other special projects that I want to get to, and I just can't.
I bought a mini-journal - 52 list project - to help me get back on track with writing and finding the good in the day/week/world, and I haven't been able to touch it yet.
I signed up for the Crisis text line, got approved, and this was the first week of training... I have two days to do it before I get kicked off :( I want to try it but, again, no energy.
I have special projects from work that I was supposed to do last weekend, that has been asked for me to produce yesterday, and... it's not done.
NOTHING IS DONE.
My last session with my therapist was short. She started a new schedule and my appointment was 30 minutes long. I got out all the stuff I felt was important from over the last month, and got no therapy. It felt like it anyway. I left her office for the first time feeling like nothing was accomplished. I know I can schedule more frequent visits, but I just don't have it in me right now to do that.
I don't know if I will ever get back to feeling complete. To have energy to DO stuff after work. To have energy to BE with my husband, instead of just existing next to him. I don't know why I am existing now. I don't know why I am alive.
I am just wasting space.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Flying...
They didn't even ask me.
They know better than to ask me.
I wouldn't be able to go if they asked me.
But the jealousy is there.
...I wish I could go too.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Fight, Flight, or Hide
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Remembering Aurora
I stayed up all night thinking about it. Hoping that those survivors and those hurting find peace today.
My co-worker got threatened today on the road. A man said he was going to shoot her. She was telling the story.
I had a panic attack...
I am still recovering from it even now.
But they are warm and understanding.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
New job anxiety and a healthy environment!
During lunch I asked my immediate supervisor if I could have a short chat with her. She sat me down with her supervisor/my head supervisor as well (which is fine because they all acted concerned and was already sympathetic to what I was about to disclose).
I told them the condensed version of things. It was hard. I teared up, but I got through it. They were completely understanding. Not only that, but my supervisor also has experience with anxiety and panic attacks! So she told me to let her know if I needed anything at all.
Later on today, she came walking into my office area and startled me and apologized. I said it's okay, it wasn't a big deal and she insisted that she would be more aware of things! She also volunteered for us to do breathing exercises and meditations together if I got too anxious! I was working an intense spot at an orientation tomorrow, and she moved me to a position that would have less traffic and would feel safer (which I didn't ask for, but she insisted and I feel very relieved)!
So overall it went very well. My new office knows about my PTSD and panic disorder and everyone is being accommodating and understanding.
Let me just say, since I've been working at my job EVERYONE has been loving and understanding. I have let my other secrets trickle out. "I am a vegetarian." My work has been super accommodating about that as well! "I am mixed race!" And they gush about how much they love my hair! Since I've been working here my anxiety has been way down! Nothing really triggers me at work. Here are the few things I have noticed about my work location:
1) Most of the rooms only have one exit. I keep going over emergency/escape plans in my head (fight, flight, or hide) and my brain cannot seem to feel really safe in many of these rooms. My office is also in the very back of the building. I literally either have to hide under my desk or break out through a window (a few stories high) and hope that the fall will be better than the enemy... Yeah, my brain is still trying to find a better solution but cannot.
2) I get scared out of my mind when someone sneaks up behind me, but I guess because they are new people to me, I try to contain the crazy as much as I can. So I jump in my skin and feel my heart rate pulse (and turn red!!) but I try my best not to scream at them. So... crazy is officially containable.
3) I've only cried once since I got to my new office (since July 15th) from something triggering. I've only had one mild panic attack (at work) since being here as well! Outside of work is still a different story...
I honestly believe this job is good for me. Slight pay and benefits cut, but the environment is healthy for me. If I can learn to control my symptoms, then I can survive almost any situation. This is a good training wheels for me to get over some of my anxiety. I just have to learn to feel safe in some of these no real exit rooms!!
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Fireworks and PTSD
I went to bed at 10, which is a bit early for me. Woke up at 12 literally thinking there was a shooting on our street. Loud screams and several bangs.
I flipped out. I was convinced it was a shooting. The shrieks and shrills were coming from kids and adults before and after each bang.
I looked out the window and saw people with their flashlights, giggling, about to light the next firework.
I put on my headphones and cry myself back to sleep.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
It's official. I left a major part of my soul at that airport. I had hope I would eventually be whole again. But tonight reassured me that I will never have that piece of myself again.
All my life I've loved film. I love going to the movies. I love making movies.
I no longer love it. Being in the theater is so painful. The one thing that made me unique; that made me really stand out... It's gone forever.
I don't ever want to go into a movie theater again
Monday, July 10, 2017
Fireworks
Tell me why fireworks started going off at June 28th.
Tell me why they have been going off every day since July 4th.
Tell me why they were still going off yesterday night!
Fireworks make me jump out of my skin. I can not fully crawl back in my skin until they stop going off for the night.
For two weeks I've been jumpy, I've cried, and I've panicked.
Please for the love of all things good in the world, let last night be the last night.
The noise cancelling headphones can only cancel so much :(
Friday, July 7, 2017
Prolonged exposure at SDF
Monday, June 12, 2017
Its like a dance! One step at a time
Proof that when you take a step back, you find a new path to go forward on.
My step back? I started the new season of Twin Peaks this weekend. Halfway through episode one, there was bang/pow music through a creepy woods. My anxiety spiked and I tried to push through it even though I felt the panic rising. It ended at a small cabin when a man steps out with a shotgun. I. Lost. It. I screamed, cried, panicked. It was awful. We stopped watching the episode.
So, still dealing with the triggers. No matter how minor.
But! The step forward! I did the dishes! Remember last time I did the dishes? That didn't happen this time. This is the first day in months that I've been able to do the dishes. I didn't cry. I didn't panic. It was like normal! I am so happy with myself I feel like I can do anything!
So sometimes there are set backs, but you got to recognize the step forwards too!
Friday, June 9, 2017
Gasp!
- Whistling
- Mario Kart player missing a jump and falling off the track
- Someone saying "This is bad"
- The turning of a doorknob
- Shutting the refrigerator door
- Someone sneezing down the hall
So you can see, very mundane things. Of course the main things that previously triggered a panic attack, still do, but at a lower capacity. For example, while at the cabin last weekend, my brother put on one of the new Planet of the Apes films. I believe it was Rise of the Planet of the Ape. There were a few gun shots. I did my gasp and jump at the first one, and felt my heart rate rise. Then by the time they showed another gun, I was out of the room. Guns and Loud noises trigger the "gasp and jump" reflex but it also comes with the panic attack. I am becoming quit well at keeping them under control for the most part. I think 2/5 times, I get triggered into an intense panic.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
New tattoo secret
I got a new tattoo a few weeks ago. There is a dark secret hidden within it though. I've only confided in my husband and my mother this secret, but it's probably time I told the whole truth.
This tattoo is a life preserver.
I started having really dark thoughts that surrounded me starting around the beginning of May. I used to be a self harmer, but nothing that I used to be can compare to the desire I felt a few months ago; what I currently struggle to keep at bay.
I had this reoccurring, and extremely intense, desire to end it all. I kept imagining the ways to do it. The plan. The note. How it would effect everyone. As a former self harmer, I knew which way I wanted to do it. After seeing the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, I felt there was no other way to go.
As a rational and logical human being, I knew it was just the trauma talking to me. I knew I could get out of this thought pattern. I knew I could curve that desire. So, on one particular day, spontaneously, I got a tattoo.
The tattoo is a colorful phoenix. I wanted it to be abstract and colorful to remind me of the beauty in the world. I wanted a phoenix to remind myself to rise above this trauma. I got it on my arm to tell myself not to cut through something so pretty and meaningful.
It worked! I felt happy again. The endorphins from the pain of the tattoo made me feel happy. I could look down and remind myself of all the good in the world and how strong I am! It worked extremely well, for a while.
After it healed, it seemed like the goal slowly faded away. I started to sink again. It seemed like I was sinking faster and deeper than where I was at before I got the tattoo. There was a heartache I couldn't mend. I wanted to die.
It was about to happen. It was a week or two after our first visit to the lake this year. I was drowning in sorrow. If I could claw out my heart to end it all I would have. I needed to escape my skin. I needed an out. It was going to be as spontaneous as my decision for a tattoo. It was going to happen without much preparation.
But first, one more talk. My rational brain needed to try and reach out to Erich. It wanted to let him know what was about to happen. It wanted me to try one more time to keep going.
As I hid myself away, and the tears were flowing erratically, I unleashed the heartache I was holding within. I told him I got the tattoo on my arm to curb the desire to slit my wrists. I told him that everyday I felt I was getting closer. That living with survivor's guilt is a fate worse than the void of nothingness. That I know people love me, care about me, and would be sad that I'm gone and it all meant nothing to me. I cried my heart out. I cried my lungs out. I cried for hours.
He told me that when he feels that way, he goes some place different. Anywhere than that ledge of suicide is better than that ledge. Then, another spontaneous decision. Just as he finished saying that, I told him we need to leave the house right now. We jumped in the car and started driving.
I tried to call my mom. No answer.
I tried to text and call and text. No answer.
It was late. She was asleep. But I needed her. I needed her to know and to understand. After a few attempts, I told Erich nevermind and let's just drive around until I stopped crying. And we did. And we ended up at my mother-in-law's house. She was able to calm me down after another hour or so. Then we went back home.
So that's the story of my tattoo. I look at it and I still see all the original promises and hope. I know it does help keep the thoughts away.
But the thoughts are still there, bubbling just under the surface.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Treat Yo Self
After having a sudden, and violent, life or death experience (and seeing terrorist attacks all over the news this month) it really puts life in perspective, and just how instantly it can end at any moment.
Life is short. There is no guarantee that you will make it to age 90, and even if you did 90 years is still a short time. I still can't believe I made it this far. I am shocked that Erich and I were both alive to see him turn 30. It almost didn't happen!
Lately, I've been treating myself. I've been treating myself to new shoes, coffee, chai, or tea several days a week. I've been on edge of quitting my crappy job since I got back. Life is too short to have to worry about bad bosses. Life is too short to continue to wear shoes that are tattered and falling apart. Life is too short not to treat yo self to even the smallest things that make you happy.
For a few months, that's what I keep telling myself.
I should go get that thing I want because, I could die tomorrow.
I should get Erich a very expensive birthday gift because I want his moments here to be as happy as they can be.
I should treat my neighbor to dinner every once in a while.
I shouldn't turn down that invite to a small reunion party.
I should help my friends pay for groceries.
I should give that homeless guy money.
I should do everything I can to make the world a better place for friends, family, future generations, strangers and myself. This is a positive that has come from a negative. I am just getting there, but I will continue to live life to the fullest as best as I can. Now, I am sipping on a delicious Beekeeper Iceberg from Heine Brothers at 9:00 AM because I deserve it!
And you deserve it too.
Monday, June 5, 2017
"Keep Going"
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
I don't know what to post about
My days are better when I have friends around.
I am not doing chores, still.
I want to quit my job.
I keep imagining dying. I can't stop.
I had a panic attack this morning.
I hate myself and this life I am living.
Will quitting make me feel better?
How can I get motivated to do chores again?
I am gaining weight, why can I not stop myself from eating?
Why can I not find the motivation to exorcise?
Why does my heart hurt everyday?
Why am I still crying everyday?
Am I all better yet?
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
The Dear Hunter "Things That Hide Away"
"Things That Hide Away"
Waking up I felt that hesitation
Like I wasn't meant to wake up at all
Letting out a soft, cynical sigh
My God, it's just the answer
To the question I can't find
Marching on, it's one foot then the other
Better than one foot then none at all
Biting off way more than I can chew
Like I sometimes do
I never know just when and where to stop
Why are we here, why do we die?
Maybe we're just never meant to know why
Why are we here, why do we die?
Why, why, why?
Why are we here, why do we die?
Maybe we're just never meant to know why
Why are we here, why do we die?
Why, why, why?
Monday, May 22, 2017
My brain makes everyone around me someone to fear
Saturday, May 20, 2017
My letter
It was one of the first steps to my therapy: writing this letter. I've written it so many times, and many early drafts were incoherent and consumed by survivor's guilt.
After meeting with our FBI Victim's specialist on Thursday, she informed me the family is not ready to receive letters... Probably never will be. I have accepted that. I am posting the last and final draft of my letter here.
I hope it doesn't seem cold. I truly felt this was the best way to get my feelings out, give her condolences, and not remind her too much of that day. This took me 3 months and 5 drafts to write.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Stay on your medicine
I am sorry to report... Although I've been doing well with my main medication, I've unfortunately I've been slacking with my Prazosin. Prazosin helped me sleep through the night by taking away my nightmares or by not allowing me to really remember them. I know it sounds too good to be true but it worked.
I've been off the pill for maybe a week. Shame on me. The nightmares have gradually come back and it climaxed today. Slowly my dreams started getting worse - something bad, but not horrible, would happen. Today I woke up from an attack dream. Stuck in a shooting situation waiting to be shot.
I will start taking my medicine, all of them, again today.
I am disappointed in myself but I think I'm more disappointed that my nightmares will never stop being about the shooting. It will always return to that. I will never escape my ghost.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Melancholy
Now I live it.
The movie is currently available on Netflix. The style and direction is not for everyone, but it is a very important film because it shows depression in a way the world never sees. Depression is just "sadness" to many people. Something to over come and get over on your own. No one can fathom how it takes over both mind and body in a debilitating way.
Now I know it.
There is a sequence at the beginning setting up what to expect from the rest of the film by using visual metaphors for depression. The first half of the film shows the spiral of depression the main character, Justine, experiences while all the characters around her are oblivious and full of happiness and life. The second half is the characters dealing with an external problem causing chaos and despair around them. As soon as the act starts, we are faced with a scene where Clair - Justine's sister - is helping her out of bed and into a bath. You can feel the weight of Justine's body as she cannot control it. As she has to be pulled out of bed. As she has to be forced in the tub. She then has to be brought to a table to eat and her body hangs as she tries so hard to eat the food in front of her. She then weeps.
This is who I am.
I haven't seen the film in years. In fact, probably only one more time on DVD a year or two after seeing it in theaters. But that first scene in the second half keeps popping in my brain. It's because this is who I am now. I am becoming Justine. I feel like this body isn't my own. That the weight of this thing around my soul is too heavy to lift, or my will is too weak to try. It takes me so long to get out of bed. It takes me so long to get off the couch. I cannot do anything. While I am at work, I cannot seem to bring myself to do anything. That continues at home as well. The chores are still not being done. Remember the dishes? Remember how I said I would try? Mentally I am trying to pull myself up. Out of bed or off of the couch. I am mentally trying so hard to get up and do something, but I am stuck. My body is too heavy to move.
Yesterday a friend came over and brought dinner. I couldn't lift myself off of the couch to greet her. I stayed, laid, under the covers, crying, for the first 10 minutes she arrived. Eventually I started to sit up, slowly, but I didn't leave the couch the entire time she was there.
This is what I am.
There is a light inside me. It's small, and dim, but it's still there. The light is what was me, not this heavy case around me that is gluing me to the ground. The real Jessica is buried deep within. Sometimes I see a flicker of her when I look at myself in the mirror. Sometimes she comes out during a fun song that makes her sing. Sometimes the people around her can bring her out and let her shine. But the leaden body swallows it in moments. I looked at myself in the mirror this morning, smiled as I saw a glimmer of myself, then watched as my smile slowly faded again. The literally definition of Happiness fleeting.
I am still here.
I am still here.
I AM STILL HERE!
This is the only thing that keeps me going. Even as I write this out, I am slumped over my desk because the weight is incommodious. I am smiling to those around me, but I just cannot will myself to do anything. But I am still here. I got up in the morning. I made it to work. I am still here. I will do it again tomorrow. And then again the next day. And again. And again. Again.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Prolonged Exposure
Then I had to read it aloud. It caused a major emotional reaction from me reading it to my psychiatrist. It then caused me a very stressful, emotional week after reading it aloud. Then slowly I started talking about it. Answering questions people had, telling my friends in person or via Skype about my experience. Just slowly exposing myself, and accepting, what had happened.
This is my experience from yesterday:
Monday, May 8, 2017
Love, Friendship, and Family
I am so lucky to have so many supportive and understanding people in my life. To hug me when I need it. To stand next to me, ready to comfort me, as I head into an uncomfortable situation. To constantly check up on me in person, and from afar. To remind me of how far I have come, and telling me to be proud of myself, especially when I only seem to focus on the negatives.
Why me? Why am I so lucky to have so many great people in my life? How did I end up so lucky to surround myself with positive people who care about me? To remind me to have fun. To help me forget that I am in a crowd of people. To help me to remember to take time and look back and see that there is progress!
I am grateful for the love I have in other people. I am lucky to have this support system. I want to be able to repay them all some day.
If you are reading this, I love you. Because even reading this to try and understand me better, is a way to support me. Support comes in many different forms. I feel like I've experienced them all over the weekend. It pulled me out of the darkness I kept writing about. It made me laugh and smile and have fun. It made me open up to my mother and my husband about what was truly going on inside. It made me be vulnerable around my friends and family.
I was told a few weeks ago, that the "new normal" doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's just another thing. The new normal can be full of positives. I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become. I need to remember to keep pushing forward.
I got my peer support application. Hopefully my new normal includes helping other people out there like me. Wish me luck.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Anxiety, Panic Disorder, and living with Depression
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
I encourage you all, to look through his full set of pictures on his Facebook page. This was an inktober challenge, so there are 31 mental illnesses that he drew and showcased.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Drowning
Friday, April 28, 2017
Good days and... days like today.
I don't know what else to say. Soul crushing comes to mind. My eyes are watery because tears keep rising to the surface. I feel heartache.
I just don't feel like being here anymore. I just don't feel anything positive today.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Pills. Pills. Pills.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Brown Shoes
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
I die every day
As you can see from the entry that proceeds this, I had a PTSD episode. I can only blame myself. I was the trigger. I was reading the story and thinking about my weekend. How many times I freaked out because of how dark it was outside or in a room I was occupying - remember, I am scared of the dark - and then like magic, a panic attack comes over me. I've been getting better at handling my attacks. Learning to breathe is the biggest thing - but that's a whole other thing.
After I put the book down, I turned on my side. I started thinking about why I was scared of the dark. What is the connection bridging the attack that happened in daylight inside a lit airport, to make darkness so triggering for me. I figured it out - as I laid on stomach, with my head tilted to the side facing my ghost. It was because that's all I could think about when I was waiting to die. I was thinking about the blackness that comes after your heart stops beating - the nothingness. I started to cry. I just wanted to go to bed.
As I crawled into bed, with freshly washed sheets, I couldn't stop lying like that. On the stomach, head to the side, facing my ghost. I thought of his shoes. I thought of Terry's shoes. I started going back there. I couldn't stop myself. I couldn't stop remembering Terry. Everything around me seemed hyper-realistic. It felt like a reality beyond our own, that wasn't meant to be seen. Like looking through a telescope, pointed at a camera lens, that is pointed at a magnifying class. I could see into something that we ignore everyday, a reality that is just out of sight to the untrained eye.
I was there again. I could see him in front of me. I was still on the edge of the bed but his shoes were right in front of me. The ghost's shoes are pacing back and forth from our area. Terry is already dead, I can sense it. I know what I am seeing is not real, but yet it is real to me every single day. Erich helps me snap out of it. I didn't realize tears were streaming from my face. He was asking me questions, but I couldn't communicate with him. Even a simple head nod seemed impossible. That's when the paranoia kicked in.
So what was a PTSD episode like this time? It was a massive panic attack. I mentioned earlier that I am getting better at handling my panic attacks. I can keep them under control to an extent. This, however, I am a slave to. It's like my brain and body forget how to breathe. My breathing is short, fast, and erratic. No amount of preparation can keep me in control. I then think I am going to die.
When I say I think I am going to die, it's as close to literal as I believe you can get. I truly, honestly, believe that I am about to die. I can vividly imagine the gun going off at my head. I know I can never fully put into words how it feels, because it's a feeling most people never experience. Having your brain work so hard against you to make you believe that each moment, a gun will go off and then the blackness will set in... It's something I don't think anyone should have to experience.
I am crying as I type this out because I know how I felt yesterday. How terrifying it is to feel that way. To feel that way almost every day right before a panic attack. To feel that way almost every minute during an PTSD episode. I am not me during an episode. Looking back on what happened last night, it feels like it was a completely different person it was happening to. The me I am now wants to go and hug that girl. To tell her she isn't going to die. To tell her that everything will be okay. To lie to her until she feels better. I am in tears now because my heart breaks for that girl, and I know next time I see that girl, I still will not be able to help her.
I feel like I have more to say, but I just can't right now. I am too emotional and I have to put on a fake smile for work. Please, everyone who is reading this, go hug someone you love right now. Please do that for me. Let everyone in your life know that you love them. Pray for those who cannot find love in their life. Pray for me, because I feel like I will not feel love today.
Monday, April 24, 2017
That small line
This weekend I picked up A Mother's Reckoning. I mentioned doing so in my last entry. What made me actually do it is all profits go to mental health charities, including Mental Health America (MHA), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), American Association of Suicidology (AAS) and Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. I have to admit, I am not very far into the book. I will definitely dive into it soon, but I after making the purchase I've been questioning my own brain health and what keeps me from crossing the same line others have crossed; the line that stops me from becoming one of these tragedies.
I imagine myself sitting at the edge of the line. I am there alone on my side, but look out and see so many others on the opposite side: Columbine Shooters, Virginia Tech Shooter, DC Snipers, Sandy Hook shooter, The Facebook Killer, Aurora Theater Shooter... It's massive on the other side of the line. The person staring directly at me is, of course, my personal demon, The Fort Lauderdale Airport shooter. They have all been accused of mental illness and shooting their victims, or participating in a mass shooting. Most of them went into it knowing they would kill themselves after. Shootings, suicide, and mental illness. It's been a slight obsession with me lately. I can't help it, it's apart of my magnetic pull.
I've read their stories many times trying to understand them. Trying to figure out why each and every one of them stepped over the line. Why are they on the other side, and I am over here? I have been wondering if it is inevitable that I will end up on the other side. Not that I would ever kill anyone else. Let me say that again: I will never kill. Not an animal, not a human, not even annoying flies buzzing around my head. It's why I chose to go vegetarian; it's why I am a humanitarian. But I have to admit that the thought of killing myself has been coming up often. But why?
I think it's just apart of my journey. Just a phase where I ponder the meaning of life, of living with mental illness, and living with survivor's guilt. It's something that I know will pass and even now, the thoughts are more passive than anything. Typing this all out scares me. I am scared of the stigma that will come about me even talking about the line existing. Talking about the thoughts that come into my brain. But that's just it. We all need to talk about it. We cannot allow mental illness, and all that comes with it, to be swept under the rug. We have to bring awareness to it. The more we stigmatize it, the less likely we are to seek help, the more likely we are to cross over.
With that said, I am going to do something extremely scary. I am going to post this blog's link for everyone. I am going to open up my thoughts, my suffering, for all in my life to read. With this act, it will be my first step on the road to helping others out there. I will talk about it openly, and if they choose, they can talk to me about it openly. Then we can help and support each other. I am also signing up for peer support specialist training, if I can find a date that I can attend! If I can save one person, that would give my life meaning...
Until then, I will sit on my side of the line, and look out to those who were so unlucky to be sitting opposite of me.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
"My son was a Columbine shooter. This is my story"
I found this link today. Through a series of reading about all the horrible things in the world, and all the people causing those horrible things to happen... I found this. This might sound strange or silly, but this lady is an inspiration. She is out there fighting for mental health issues. I just want to be able to do the same as her. I want to be as brave as her. I think I might order her book now.
...I've had a sucky day. I just want to cry and be alone. I've already cried a lot today. I am just done with the day...
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Not doing well posting
I haven't been taking my BusPar. I know, I probably should start taking it again. I am having panic attacks and crying fits again. I guess I will start taking it tomorrow. I just wish I didn't have to take it all. I had 5 panic attacks last Sunday. They were back to back to back. I had one this morning and had to sit in my parked car for a few minutes before composing myself to move along.
Even when I feel good and confident I am still scared in public. I am scared that someone will shoot me in the face for no reason. Someone will come up and just senselessly murder me. That at any moment gun violence will break out.
I am crying right now... I guess I really need to start taking those pills again.
I am just not ready for the world. The world terrifies me.