Why?

I'd like to share my experiences of living and loving my boyfriend who has been diagnosed with Bipolar. Hopefully I can help others in similar situations by expressing the ways I've dealt with both the good and bad times. I would like this blog to be a platform where we can help each other out by sharing our experiences. In turn, it'll help spread awareness to help break the stigma of Bipolar and other mental illnesses.

1.31.2010

Feelings--Fact or Fiction?

Have you ever thought with your feelings? Making decisions or speaking because of the way you felt at that moment? I know I have and still do! As a part of my personal growth journey I have realized by doing this I may be thinking with irrational thoughts.

During my personal history inventory, I came across many times when I've reacted (and often times made the situations worse) by thinking something along the lines of "I feel this way so it must be so!" I never used to question my negative feelings, I just believed them. Feelings are often based on powerful memories from our past and they aren't always telling us the truth.

Daily I try to remind myself this. I'm consistently becoming more aware of my negative feelings. Instead of accepting them from the start, I challenge them. Is there any evidence for the feeling or is it just based on things/events from my past? If there's no evidence let go of it! The only thing it's going to do is turn into a negative loop of thinking (mind virus). By doing this, I'm getting closer to achieving my inner peace....which is my ultimate goal in life.....Mar


1.29.2010

Victim of the Past

As I mentioned in my previous post, part of my latest epiphany is to "let go of the past". With motivation from someone I hold close to my heart, I am finally looking in the mirror to find the truth. I found that I've been a victim of my past....the things that have kept me "coasting thru life".

By hanging on to (and believing) things like other people's judgments/labels, my father's death, my failed marriage (just to name a few) helped me justify my self-defeating behaviors and the lack of things in my life. Without realizing it (or maybe I chose to look the other way), what I really was doing was labeling myself with the "poor me" status. For instance, I have had many "middle-of-the-road" jobs, never pushing myself to my true potential or passion. Since, I gave myself this status (and believed it), I kept up with a pace where I couldn't fail. With this label, it made it OK.

What I've learned is that by holding on to the past the only thing it's doing is preventing myself from healing and keeping myself from living life in the present moment (this is where I want to be...in the now...so I can truly live this life I was given). We need to Embrace, Examine, Understand and Accept our past. Once we do this then we need to LET GO of it.....I truly believe that I had to go through what I went through in order to be where I am today.....Mar

1.28.2010

My ReBirth

I cannot tell you how powerful it is once we figure out that we don't have to rely on other people's affirmations to survive. Being the sibling of a twin is a gift and a curse. The gift being that having someone I love and cherish in whom I've shared a womb with.....the curse?.....being always compared to someone other than myself.

I lost my father to cancer at the age of 23. My knee jerk reaction was to marry the one that I felt was my soul mate. Bad move. I can remember right before our divorce he looked me in the eyes and asked, " Did you marry because of your father's death or because you loved me?" Falling prey to the oh so common trap of not wanting to hurt people, I answered, "Because I loved you". When in reality, it was just the opposite.

I'm now 32 and I've had the epiphany that we need to let go of the past and know that the only people we can count on are ourselves........................................Holla MF's......Mar