Monday 9 December 2013

Not Off Bypass Yet


 Living with depression is often an unbearable activity on a bad day. The person who lives with depression must devise a list of coping mechanisms and this list must be abided by because if it is not abided by then the chances of things becoming unpleasant are high.

My list includes exercise, healthy food and a job I can engross myself in. Under no circumstances am I allowed to go anywhere near a man, this is an important one. I can't be put in a position where I am vulnerable and this is something I've spent the last year or so coming to terms with.

 The day I realised that I am too damaged to be anyone's girlfriend was a sad one for me. The reason for this reluctance is down to the equilibrium I hold so dear to my heart. I was unable to see a light for a long time, normal life was too hard for me to contemplate and I had to begin all over again emotionally. I learned to enjoy the simple things first and opted to enjoy making tea, watching TV and going for the bus. Time moved on and I started to enjoy seeing friends and cooking. I was feeling brilliant until NYE 2010 and I took my eye away from the light which was getting brighter by the day. It was an epic mistake because when I looked back again the light had gone out and it months and months to get my eyes strong enough to be able to look at it. Since I became able to see the light again, keeping my eyes focussed on it has become my priority and the sheer fear about what might happen if I let anything stand between me and the light is too great a caution for me to consider anything else.

 I very much hope that this particular anxiety will ease one day and I will be able to walk slowly into the arms of someone who might be able to give me the space I need to think straight and the interest in getting to know someone with more issues than The Independent. Life can be both beautiful and sad at the same time and for those of us who live each day in 2 different frames of mind this is often true at Christmas time.

 Christmas is my favourite season of the year. I love the lights, the events, the decorations and general merriment. However, Christmas is also a time when we remember what we were doing the year before and this can be sobering. I have come a long way in the year just passed. New job, new friends and a healthier lifestyle have all had a positive impact on me but the depression lingers on, reminding me of times gone by and never letting me forget that should Mr Right come along I am likely to find it impossible to accept that he is Mr Right and probably wouldn't let him rescue me even if he wanted to.

  I have become far too self sufficient for my own good, I fell off the horse almost 2 years ago and now I won't get back on. I don't feel negative, I feel as though I have achieved a lot in a short space of time and like I should be proud of it. I hope to be able to one day have emotions as strong as my belief in my own capabilities as far as work and health go. At the time of writing I am still a little bruised and the depression and anxiety I have always felt doesn't help. In basic terms I am unwilling to leave my comfort zone. It isn't easy to write this and the thought of posting it is daunting but if it reaches someone else in some far flung corner of the world then I'd like you to know that you're not the only one who's frightened of ending up right back where you started when you took your hand away from theirs, put it in your pocket and walked away . People like us have had our hearts taken away and put into storage while we wait to feel strong enough to make them beat again on our own; we won't stay on bypass forever but we can't run before we walk either. We need to give ourselves time, be patient and keep on enjoying making tea and walking for the bus until our heart's beat independently again.

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