You might recognize these five questions from yesterday’s blog-post. Thank you for your testimonies. Is there anything more powerful than hearing someone’s personal story? I think not! Here is what Bipoblogger has to say.
Q1: What does being a friend to yourself mean to you in real-time life practice?
A1: That’s easy, but not so easy, LOL! Being “a friend to yourself” means that I acknowledge I need to respect myself, just like I do other people. It means not sabotaging my self, plans, job, relationships, etc. I love myself enough to not kick myself when I am down.
Being bipolar can be so detrimental to my being, but just like normal people, I still have the need to …allow for room and time to grieve about whatever horrible circumstances (were) caused (by) the bipolar disorder.
…Stop every once in a while to acknowledge my accomplishments and own that.
Q2: What helps you do this one time vs. another?
A2: Yes, I have found that BPD is in part an anger disorder and knowing the true source of the anger can help me go forward.
I have chosen to no longer hurt myself cause when I do, and anyone else, I build up layers of hurt and it hurts to start to take the layers off when I’m ready, so why even do it? …
Also it helped me so much to learn that God doesn’t deal with me the way I deal with myself or another. I’m not a fanatic, but I just believe in what makes sense.
Q3: What still hinders your efforts?
A3: Wanting to be better than I already am. Not accepting that the balance I have is better than having less or no balance at all, …(which means various kinds of) risky behavior.
Q4: What has pushed you past those barriers?
A4: Really just forgiving myself for how I was affected by BPD and remembering that I am breakable and valid as a human, just like all of us. If I keep practicing a constructive way of life, I will be okay, and that has been true for the last 3 years.
Last push.
Q5: How do you understand the interplay between biology and choice in being “a friend to yourself?”
A5: I was created with the choice to choose how I live my life and I do, BPD or none. Natural inclination is to do the wrong thing because I am imperfect. I seek power, fame, notoriety and in someway someone, including myself is gonna get hurt in the process. …People without mental deficiencies don’t experience or don’t carry out to this degree. So in short, biologically the deficient brain makes more extreme choices, overly withdrawn or overly outward and destructive.
Whoa, I smell smoke. I never think that hard. LOL.
Questions for you:
- Anything you’d like to share with Bipo Blogger?
- If you had a blank page for this, what would your own questions be? What would you answer?