False hope. "Progress, not perfection.

yes we have serious mental Health issues but it doesn't mean we have to give in. You fought your way back from a horrible situation. You found some degree of stability and happiness. You have friends, your 84 be proud that you made it so far. Yes for all of us here will be rage, doom and gloom but there are some awesome days. I'm proud of you for making it this far.

Thank you, Victoria's Mom. Thank you for your compliment abouy my age. Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers, wrote her autobiography, which I read years ago. She said that people used to call her "Young Lady," and she'd snap back: "I'm not a young lady ! I am on old woman, and proud of it!"

But, with a major mental illlness, do you think this is harder to live with than, say; someone who was borh with spinal diffida, and never walks in their life? Or who has blindness? I wonder of opeople with other varisous disabijlities sufferi as mudch as I do.sssss Sorry for al the mistypes.

I have ceribral palsy, bipolar and schizophrenia. While the ceribral pasy makes walking painful and unsteady, hygiene difficult, cooking almost impossible and cleaning forget about it, I can hire help, not that I want it but my mental health makes me question everything all the time. My feelings, others feelings, other opinions and real intentions. My reality, everything. Like mental health there's a scale I'm moderately physically disabled but seriously mental illness.

So I forgot to answer. I think it depends on the person. I live with sh thoughts all day everyday. Not because I want to act on them but because they're in grande into my every day life from a young age. I was 7 when I started hallucinating which became my horrible best friend for about 25 years. So I really think it depends on the person. My mental health keeps me from getting help for my physical health. And my physical health keeps me from getting proper help for my mental health.

Dear Victoria's Mom,

So, so sad for you. But you have already said never to give up.

I was in a 12 step group years ago, and we were told that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. People are social animals. We need other people to help us. I do not live with the three conditions you are burdened with, but I am 84 years of age, and tottery, weak, off balance and have a hard time. I have multiple helplers, paid for by Medicaid. They are wonderful. They make my life worth living. Because they do things for me, that I cannot do for myhself, leaving me time to do the things I do well, like playing my guitar and singing.

IMHO, I see very weak people all the time, who try to do everthing on their own. They think that asking for help shows that that they are weak.

Please try to become willing to ask for and receipt the help that you need to manage your life. Sending this with love.

Currently I have my husband to help. I have a great life, just l depression sucks. I have therapy 3x a week one day we will work on not being as hyper vigilant as I am. Currently I won't even let matanince in without my husband here. Try not to feel bad for me because I don't. I was just given context to why I felt I could answer that question as many would shy away from it because comparison is not healthy. Everyone has struggles. My family and I have more then most but that's okay.

Dear Victoria's Mom! I am so happy that you have a wonderful life and a super wonderful husband that is so great!

I have a super wonderful life too. Yes depression is terrible. I visualized this huge wrecking ball smashing into the building of our perfect lives.

You say you have therapy three times a week? Did I get that right? Me, i have started art therapy. I have a two hour session once a month. And the art therapist is a wonderful, wonderful woman, I love her!

Have you ever had
Process therapy in art therapy? I guess that's the way to describe what I have processed. Therapy
Because some art therapy is so to speak crafts
I am certainly not knocking crafts. I love to do craft myself. I'm not doing crafts now, but for years, I did knitting, and then I spent over three years doing embroidery, which I love. But at my age, I don't have the eyesight or the fingerdexity to do these things. Anymore. However, process therapy for art therapy is deep psychological work. It is beautiful and wonderful. One can't go through off sorts of emotions and come out more wonderful than ever. So to speak, ha, ha ha ha.