Breaking Free From My Demon

Breaking free from my demon from my depression, was definitely without a doubt not at all what anyone may think to be on the scale from easy to hard/challenging. To many of those of our society who haven’t experienced a mental illness won’t have a good understanding or idea of what it’s like with mental illness.

Mental illness is not something any human being would ever expect themselves to be part of their life. But it’s true and it’s always possible to come out of these hard yet most challenging moments so much stronger and wiser! I know I am one who stands by this and is one of the millions of others who are proof of this statement.

Mental illness is not something that society can be viewed as a normal or rather real thing in our reality and world. Because of their own education on all else in school that helped form their judgments of how mental illness can be just not realistic or normal in any understanding. And we can’t expect anyone who doesn’t have any experiences with anxiety, depression, any other mental illness, eating disorders or addictions to understand the reality of it all in the right perspective.

But had doesn’t meant that we have any right to lash out at them for what they don’t understand. I believe Phil Collins has this well explained:

Why can’t they understand the way we feel. They just don’t trust what they can’t explain. I know we’re different, but deep inside us. We’re not that different at all.

Lashing out at others for what they don’t understand, isn’t gonna solve or fix anything. Same goes with fighting, stuffing and complaining. If you really want to solve or fix something, whether you are trying to fix an object or a problem such as something that’s between two or more people, you gotta pull out everything that you did that lead to the problem. The things you said or the things or steps you made which brought you to the problem.

And then you see or think of how you could go down a different path to different results. Try it out and see what happens, until you get the results you are looking for. Which can go with both fixing objects and problems between two or more people. Though in another perspective, you can change your way of thinking to help you fix problems between two or more people, by:

• Simply, calmly and peacefully tell others who were and are involved in the problem, that you need time alone to think everything through and will come back to come up with a peaceful plan to resolve the problem when we’re ready: which I recommend everyone who’s involved do the same thing
• Think everything through and figure out what method or option would be the best and peaceful way to resolve the problem with no war or anger. Remember what Selena Gomez inspires in “Kill Em With Kindness” (refer to “Kill Em With Kindness” article)

No war and anger has ever won.

• Then come back and discuss each other’s ideas of how to resolve the problem and hear everyone’s in a way that’s understanding of their perspective of their method being possible to consider trying with resolving the problem at hand.
• Refer to “Bell Let’s Talk” 5 Steps To End The Stigma:

1. Language matters: words, attitude, body language, intentions, actions are all included and part of our language so it’s vitally important to use them wisely and stand by them along with thinking before speaking and acting in the real world!
2. Educate Yourself: education on the mental illness and mental health epidemic is crucially important in the process of knowing how to better communicate and treat those who you know who have mental illness, addictions and eating disorders. Education and knowledge is power!
3. Be Kind: Kindness needs to be encouraged more often. The holidays is one time where others in society are more caring and kind to others but that shouldn’t stop ever! We need to be kind all year round! How would you want others to treat you? Well wouldn’t it make sense to treat them how you want them to treat you? Think before you act!
4. Listen & Ask: listening is the best way to learn about the human experience. And regardless of how not human-like we may act during our episodes of mental illness, there’s no excuse or bad judgement to not listen to others. If you want others to listen to you fully 100% mindfully, and to make the effort to understand you, doesn’t it make sense to do the same for them to expect the same thing in return? Think twice before you act!
5. Talk About It: language is one part of this but talking about it makes it easier to reduce the stigma and to not feel as though talking about something as shameful as mental illness gets shamed, doesn’t make it the reality of putting that into reality.

Society wants you to keep it all bottled up inside because of what they believe is wrong, too selfish, and other reasons on their list. But that doesn’t mean either that you must follow their demands to live your life that way: to live a happy and purposeful life. No life is worth putting at risk or out to waste.

Time come and it goes. So stop waisting by following society’s demands, expectations and standards. Believe me, I’m one who can stand and speak about this, because I’ve been there and I’ve done it. And with how I’ve chosen to look at these moments and make the right choices, has brought me to where I am and who I am today. And I would never feel any regrets or wonder how my life would have been different if I had done it differently.

I choose not to because I’m not going that way. So many of us are going backwards though we all say that we wanna be free and at peace with our past and make our life better, but that doesn’t happen because we:

• Repeat the past (old habits)
• Become so stubborn, blind and ignorant to what we are making for ourselves: we say we want something yet we find ourselves doing the complete opposite. We say we want something to happen yet we don’t contribute any real work towards those results that we are looking or seeking. And this quote brings my point across very nicely:

In every moment there is a possibility of a better future, but you people won’t believe it. And because you won’t believe it, you won’t do what is necessary to make it a reality. So you dwell on this whole terrible future, you resign yourselves to it. One reason because that future doesn’t ask anything of you today. So yes you saw the iceberg, you were on the Titanic, but you all just steered for it full steam ahead. Why? Because you want to sink. You gave up. It’s not the monitor’s fault, that’s yours.

• So what I’m saying is: “dreams don’t work unless you do” so if you want something to happen, you can’t just wish it and hope it happens like that; you gotta work for it. You get what work for: that’s how you earn the results!

And I’m here to say that I’be been choosing and will continue choosing to walk forwards, and not backwards. Because my past is behind me and I’m looking hopeful and optimistic into my present and future! But mindfully being present right now in this moment! And for that, I’m free from my past and my demons! Because I’m choosing to not let any anxiety, depression, stress, worry, or fear have power over me because I’m choosing to not let it have power over me.

Peaceful mind, happy life!