Posted by larryhoover on September 4, 2011, at 10:43:27
In reply to what keeps you alive?, posted by g_g_g_unit on August 30, 2011, at 8:51:01
I will reinforce the personal testimony of other posters to this thread. The answer is hope. I have never lost hope. Tomorrow is a new day, and my most difficult times have all been temporary. I cannot predict, and could never know just how long those times will last, but they always have a beginning and an end.
I'm currently doing comparatively well (with some wobbles), but three years ago was probably the worst I have ever been. Each time I find some improvement, I realize that it's because I've done all that I can do to nudge myself towards well-being. Sometimes it seems futile, but it never really is. I focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, not the darkness that serves as contrast to that light.
I hope I am heard in the sense in which I intend this, as advice.....one of the most important things I learned in therapy is the destructive effect of comparisons of myself to others (or to myself when I was well). It's inherent to mental illness that one is not at one's best. I am comforted by the voice of my true self, that every day, I am the best that I can be. I have voices in my head, especially my inner critic, that would jump at the chance to prove that statement wrong. But in my heart, I know the truth. Every day, I AM the best that I can be.
Lar
poster:larryhoover
thread:995246
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110902/msgs/995808.html