World Mental Health Day Poem

 

Depression and mania, how do you do?

For a while, I was well acquainted with you

My mind it raced all night long

I stood on the deck and belted a song

I’ll write a movie, I’ll write a book

The consequences got but one look

I could do anything, or so it seemed

I’ll be on The Voice, so I dreamed

Family and friends expressed concern

Anger and confusion began to burn

I thought I was fine, I thought I was great

Yet little did I know, I wasn’t thinking straight

I traveled to places near and far

Going by plane, train, bus, or car

Sleeping little, sometimes not a wink

I gave no thought to what others would think

But then as if a switch was flipped

Lower and lower, my mood it dipped

I sat at home and ignored phone calls

Higher and higher I built my walls

Sadness and despair engulfed my being

I could not believe what I was seeing

I had no hope, my dreams were gone

Scarcely venturing past the front lawn

The spunk, the pep, it disappeared

What will become of me? To myself I feared

Yet the switch came on again with no warning

It was a welcomed change, I tackled every morning

The confidence, the travel, it all came back

Hope and ambition, no longer would I lack

I reached out to people like there was no tomorrow

Eager to share the departure of my sorrow

Instead of being happy for my new state

They began to worry and contemplate

How did this happen so rapid, so quick?

There was no sign, not even a lick

Dumbfounded again at their concern

I had bipolar, I soon would learn

At first with fright and hesitation

I was ready to take on the nation

I fought and fought with all my might

Slowly realizing they may be right

The chemical imbalance in my brain

Doesn’t mean I am insane

Soon I began to take medication

That didn’t come without complication

A new combination proved fruitful

On taking them each day, I remained dutiful

My life’s not perfect to this day

But if you struggle with mental illness, let me say

You’re not alone, not isolated

Many go through this fight

It need not be so complicated

If the treatment is just right

Writing Through It

It is often said people are blessed with certain gifts which help guide them in life. The “Gift of Gab”, as some call it, is one I never quite received. I have been told numerous times that my online presence or presence through texting and my presence in person are two different animals. I would have to agree. For some reason, I have never quite been able to express myself as well through talking as I can through writing. Writing to me has always come easier, been a more natural and flowing way for me to communicate.

That brings me to the title of my blog, Writing Through It. I suppose a lot of blogs would explain the purpose or title in the first post. For me, the story about my mom was, as I explained, one that just came to me that day. So, I kind of went with that for the first post. Writing Through It came to me when I was fumbling with ideas for the blog title. I couldn’t really come up with anything right away, but I then thought of the title when thinking about how writing is a great tool for dealing with problems.

Just today, I was struggling with thinking about my life in general and where it should go. I oftentimes do this and most of the time, it doesn’t really go anywhere, with me just circling in my head. When I started writing about it, I got a result that was a little bit different. Instead of just thinking about things, I began to see certain worries, problems, frustrations, and how I perceive myself on the page. This gave a new light to it, almost as if I was getting a different perspective but from myself. Now, at the end of this writing exercise, I didn’t come up with some earth shattering conclusion that will instantly fix everything. Nonetheless, I was able to come up with a different way of looking at things that I think will help me moving forward.

So, if anyone is struggling with a certain issue, I would encourage them to try to write their way through it. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Today, I wrote in a sort of blog style that I am doing now. Poetry is another useful tool to try, which I also am fond of. A lot of the time, you can end up surprising yourself with writing. More often than not, whether I am writing a poem or just a general freestyle kind of piece, it takes a twist or turn somewhere along the line. I am not quite sure why, but usually I kind of have a shift in thinking somewhere around the middle and am able to go in a different and exciting direction that makes the writing piece better. I guess in some ways, that is what I hope to do with this blog. To write about certain issues I am struggling with, or broader issues that are relevant to anyone. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to find new and interesting ways of thinking about topics I write about, which will help not only me, but others as well.