As the year comes to a close, it is only natural to look back at the past in order to determine future steps. To be honest, I struggled immensely with the idea of continuing to post on this blog over the past few months. I experienced the longest peaceful spell I’ve had since these struggles…
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What is the meaning of life?
So…I was hospitalized again. A couple weeks ago, I went into another mood bungee jump and ended up in the hospital. At first, I thought it came out of nowhere. I even thought I was ‘missing something’ in my recovery process, since I kept cycling between typical and atypical function. As I reflected, I saw…
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Comparisons don’t make sense
We are human. We learn by observing others. It is natural to look at another person and assess their behaviours against our own. In some ways, this can help us to become a greater person than yesterday. But I do not think I am alone in the fact that oftentimes, comparisons can become self-destructive. So…
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Taking a semester off – 7 changes from my mental health break
I’ve been feeling a bit uninspired lately and decided it might be a great time to reflect on my mental health break from January to now (in July). Specifically, I wanted to record all the positive changes I’ve made in my life so far in as condensed a form as possible. This will be a…
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The Path to Perfection – Impossible
I sat in the hospital room last Friday, wondering how the heck I had arrived back at the hospital. There were a myriad symptoms, but really, there must have been at least a partial influence from my own expectations. There always was, after all. This time, the doctors told me I actually have a much…
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Are emotions you? Are your thoughts you? What makes you…you?
Sometimes people ask me what depression and anxiety is like. There are a myriad terms that can be used to describe it, but the best analogy I have found yet is that of a theatre performance in your mind. In my own mind, there is always a drama troupe putting on grandiose shows featuring rampant…
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5 Intervention Points for Mental Health
In my previous post regarding why people go “over the edge” and act impulsively/internalize suicidal tendencies, I explained a theoretical model that my psychiatrist presented to me while I was an inpatient at a local hospital. To summarize: Everyone has a different ‘baseline’ level of distress. There are generally two ways in which someone can…
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Imperfectionism in a perfectionistic society…
One topic that really gets me going is the state of our current educational system. It currently rewards students who follow the rules and guidelines of the system to a T, and does not allow for any freedom to explore true passions. All my life I have felt that I was being pushed forward on…