.
.
oNCE upon a time
I was planning to get a Phd
I had all of these plans and goals and ideas
I’m not planning to anymore.
Because of Bipolar
and some not because of Bipolar
and yet even the reasons that seem to me to not be Bipolar
have been made by Bipolar
so yes
I guess it is all because of Bipolar
there is an example of how Bipolar effects everything….
not just with its symptoms and episodes
but also with what we learn through it…..
.
Because the truth is
I don’t want one anymore
I don’t care about it anymore
.
So you see…
I know how hard it would be for me to pull off with the Bipolar
AND
living with Bipolar
has shaped my values and feelings about
life
and my priorities.
.
It seems to happen often…..
an illness or health crisis takes a person
all the way down
ushers them all the way to the gates….
until they see and contemplate their own
end
their own
death.
And then……
the reprieve
the save
.
maybe a new kidney
the chemo
the triple by pass
or the Xanax Lithium Abilify combo………..
or
just the something else inside
that somehow
drags you
back
to the
surface…….
.
New lease on life
New appreciation for life
Values shift
priorities change
what once mattered…..
doesn’t matter anymore
what once didn’t seem to matter…..
Matters so very much
.
And sometimes when a person lives through immense suffering….
their experience of the mundane…the daily…the small…the routine….
excuse the huge cliche but
the simple things
the little things
become embedded with worth
.
Because when you have lived with pain…..
and when you know that the pain will be back….
again
and
again
and again
.
Then every day……
every moment….
without pain……………………
becomes precious
.
And getting to live in those moments…..
and getting to have as many as possible
is
all
I
want
.
When you’ve woken up so many mornings in swirling anxiety
when you’ve hated your life
when you’ve hated yourself
when you’ve lost
all joy
all passion
all hope
all
everything you were and are and had…….
and then
you fight
and you get it back………
you want it so much more.
Life is different after that
I am different because of that.
How can you not be different after that?
.
And after you’ve had those times and days and moments….
making a cup of tea without effort…
looking at the sky and actually
seeing it
listening to music
and actually
hearing it
having someone tell you that they love you
and actually
believing it
is
what
matters
.
Just being able to sit at your kitchen table
and
your thoughts move forward into the future
whether five minutes from now
or five years
and you DON’T feel
terror
and dread
and a suffocating
overwhelmedness
uncomfortable
dead numb pain
an apathetic torment
but rather
feel
good
content
dare I say…happy.
and you can just think to yourself
what should I make for dinner?
and the only thoughts and feelings that come are about food…and what is in the fridge….and what would you like……
NOT a paralyzing swirl of deadly sludge
.
I fucking love that.
.
If I am totally honest…
many of my reasons for wanting to get a Phd
were completely ego based
they came from the desire
to be validated in that way by the world
I wanted to prove something..
prove what?
I don’t know
my brains?
my worth?
To win something so everyone could see how awesome I am?
.
tHAT means Nothing to me anymore…..
I left those flimsy desires on the bathroom tiles along with tears.
tHEY were eaten by the pain that has permeated my very being…..
.
And I now have
nothing
to
prove
.
Bipolar is NOT who I am
Bipolar has SHOWN ME
who
I
am
.
Bipolar has shown me
how strong I
truly
am
.
Bipolar has shown me
what is
real
what
matters
what
I
really
want
from this
precious
one life
of mine
.
And in this way
what Bipolar has taken from me….
is nothing compared to the
blessings
I have wrested from its grasp
.
.
.
.
And you know what?
most of the rest of the reasoning I had for wanting a Phd
was about
helping people
and you obviously don’t need to go to school
to learn how to
help people
.
So who gives a shit about a Phd
not me
I can’t even find traces of those desires in me.
I guess you could say I got my “Doctorate” degree from Bipolar university….
(although I am obviously “continuing my education”)
I got my degree in
fighting for my life
my health
my happiness
my everything
.
And I am more proud of that continual work and accomplishment
than I ever would have been
of a
Phd.
.
a Bipolar life
is not only a life…..
worth
living
.
It is a life
worth
fighting
for
.
.
.
Brilliant. FUCKING BRILLIANT!! Absolutely spot the fuck on!! Reblogging!!
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[…] https://bipolarfirst.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/a-bipolar-life-is-a-life-worth-fighting-for/ […]
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I ABSOFUCKIN’LUTELY LOVE this!!
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I need to hear this right now. Thanks for posting.
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I would trust, respect and like a therapist that had there training in the university of life rather than someone who had just a Phd.
You so understand what your illness has taught you rather than what it has taken away and that is so refreshing to hear. Far to often we are made to feel ashamed of our illness. If you ever say I’m glad of my illness then your burnt at the stake. But I am glad of what my illness has taught me, I have bpd and it gives me the ability to feel on a level that most people will never feel. I’m proud of that fact, yes at times it can and does hurt like hell and take you to places people can’t comprehend. To have the ability to feel someone else’s pain and mean it when you say to them “I feel your pain ” I think it is an honour and privilege to really be able to have that empathy for someone.
I’m proud of what my illness has given me
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Well said Adam! I agree completely. I think you would love the Pride In Madness blog. Her post about this that she linked is awesome.
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Beautifully said!
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smooch
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