It's OK Not To Be OK! - Do you have Mental Health Issues?
I felt it necessary to repost this as I'm feeling quite anxious and insignificant at the moment.
I know it's just the wave I need to ride, but reading this post that I created last month is helping me through this quagmire of uncertainty.
Thanks.
This following motivational, life coach type message, really resonated with me.
It's from a conversation I had with friend and Helpienaut @meno
https://steemit.com/@meno
let's pose the hardest of questions?
let's say, that you spend the rest of your life
protecting it,
making sure that you never disappoint yourself,
that you stick to your guns, and never show weakness!
when you had to eat emotional shit with a silver spoon
to play that game, and you are getting ready to say bye to this world,
Who brings the trophy?
your ego/pride was intact your whole life,
in the 2 minutes you got left to bask in the knowledge, you earned it.
Spoiler! no one... no one does...
Not even you!
We only get one shot... let's have fun and laugh as much as we can
Author - @meno
https://steemit.com/@krystle
During March-April of 2013, I wrote my first 5 track EP 'Never Grow Old' which was due for general release later that year. The songs almost wrote themselves and sprung out of me like an emotional whirlwind of emotive feelings and memories of past events. It was a year that saw me play over 50 gigs, various folk festivals and a few radio shows here in England, to promote the pending release of this physical and digital CD. It never really made it further than the few hundred people who bought it at one of those gigs. They were mostly signed copies, so I really hope they're worth something one day....
I have found with my own struggles, it really works best for me to do what you did, focus on family and the things worth fighting for - they are the reason to wade through all the shit and find a way to make ourselves feel whole again, it can take time, but with support like you obviously had from your partner it can be done.
I'm lucky that I have music to channel my energy and a loving and supportive family that understand my little quirks and triggers. I'm a very lucky man in that respect but, I fear others are not so lucky , but I want them to realise that, THERE IS always someone willing to listen...Be it 'The Samaritans', Your neighbour, a Teacher, Friend or total stranger... Just talk to someone and don't feel ashamed of how YOU are feeling.
Contact The Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/ - UK
Contact The Samaritans - http://samaritansusa.org/ - USA
However, intertwined within all of this chaotic unchartered territory that I was experiencing, came an extremely beautiful and positive moment in my life. A few weeks before, at the end of October, our beautiful daughter was born (second child) which I swear, kept me strong and saved me from completely sinking into oblivion! My son was only 4 years old at the time, and didn't really understand why 'Daddy was so sad' Thank goodness....I'll explain to him one day when he's old enough to understand, and I'll also let him know how much he helped me to realise how fortunate I really was to have him, his sister and mum.
We can analyse the causes of our mental health issues until the cows come home, but we just need to accept them for what they are, random and sometimes completely Irrational thoughts.
I had failed my family somehow, maybe it was the aftermath of such an amazing summer?, or the fact that I had finally addressed a lot of heart ache and bad feeling towards certain people?, or maybe, just maybe, some self realisation that I had messed up so many things in my past relationships, with my Ex girlfriend and estranged mother.
When I say 'Messed Up' what I really mean is, letting THEM control MY feelings towards THEM and strive to make them happy or accept me for who I am! but you know what? we should never let anyone dictate to us in this way, force us to accept their love, time and energy or indeed , control how 'they want us to be.
By the following April I had undertaken Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Counselling sessions to alleviate those anxious feelings, thoughts of being a failure or third rate citizen, and it REALLY helped...
Months and a few years ticked by and I slowly managed to drag my self away from that mind-set, with the help of my now partner and close family members! It's been a bumpy ride full of tears and laughter, but now, mainly laughter and happiness.
The Rocks - The Ones That Hold Me Up
You can download my EP here
Stay tuned for my next song release which I'll be posting soon...
Stay safe and remember, someone is always listening.
Much love
Darren
This is the smile I try to wear now! Not the fake one I used to know, wear yours with pride too.
Awesome post man... I really think that one of the best things we can do, is talk about our problems, our feelings, be true to ourselves... I admired James hetfield so much because he, being a rockstar, acknowledges this and thats the reason he is now sober.. "we should never let anyone dictate to us in this way, force us to accept their love, time and energy or indeed , control how 'they want us to be" this pretty much sums it all.. and finally, being a musician too I´m also glad that we have music to let it all out.. \m/
Cheers man! I'm in the middle of a low point and had to re write this post just remind myself that things aren't always as bad as they seem. Music is my therapy and I'll go and write a new song later as a coping strategy! Cheers for the support.
Posts like this need to be trending in my opinion!
Have a good week.
Kindest
Darren
I completely agree with you man! This kind of post need to be trending... Sometimes just knowing that you are not alone with this kind of feelings helps a lot... That's why I love songs like fade to black by metallica... I mean.. If they were so low that they wrote that song.. And now are one of the biggest bands ever... What in the world can stop us?... Btw.. Can't wait to hear your new song.. I recently wrote a song as a closure from my last relationship.. It's in my blog \m/
Great article and glad to know there are many others that had to go through similar stuff for years but decided to do something about it like you explain in the post, I have struggled for many years with social anxiety and many of the feelings you explain here are so familiar that i could say they are my own. I would also have to add that reflecting in the dark sometimes makes the light shine brighter, so many times we believe that we have to be fantastic and great all the time and neglect those moments of self reflection. We have to also learn when we are deep in the descent ... we need to understand that moments like this are necessary to build a stronger more accepting self. Positive attitudes should be crafted inside our minds and not created out of thin air just for the sake of being temporarily happy... Thanks for writing th
ese type of posts is always refreshing talkin about things that are so hidden and people tend to ignore for fear or disbelief...be strong and know that there is also a way up the downward spiral....\m/
Hi Dave and thanks for the support in reading my post. I'm struggling at the moment and needed to re write this blog post from a few months ago, just to remind me how far I've come! Being a musician is fantastic and being able to write a song is also a gift, I believe. Music has been my comfort blanket since I was a child and will always be. My current bout of having 'Self Doubt' and feeling of 'Worthlessness' will pass, I just need to ride the wave! Thanks again for connecting with my post.
I wish you a good day my friend.
Upvote/Resteem: https://steemit.com/news/@bible.com/6h36cq