Encouragement and Hope

Your alone and depressed. You don't have an idea what to do with yourself and your afraid you might do something stupid (or you assume what you want to do is stupid). But in reality your not alone. There are millions of people out there who have felt or are feeling the same exact way that you are right now. The difference? Is how you deal with it.

For many people they get over issues fast, but do they really? Could it be that they are just better at hiding things from everyone? No matter how much you think they are over something, the truth is they aren't. They have yet to deal with the issues that are bothering them and eventually they will be in the same position again.


Find things to do that will aid you in over coming your issues....

1. Talk to someone who understands you but isn't going to validate everything you say or do. When you find someone who will validate everything that is going on in your life, they are just enabling you to sit and fester as you think about it. 
2. Join a Support Group. There are basically support groups for everything under the sun out there now, from drugs to shopping to bullying to eating. We all need a support system in place and what better way to find one then from those who are going through the same thing that you are.
3. Learn to let go. People with a mental illness have a harder time processing and letting go of information. But you have to learn to let go of what is hurting you so that you can move forward. You don't need all that excess baggage tearing you a part. That is what truly holds you back, your ability to not let go and push forward.
4. Forcing yourself. Sometimes you need to force yourself to move forward. Once you have done this a few times a week, you'll find your self doing it more and more often. I don't want to get out of bed most mornings, but I find that when I force myself to, I feel so much better about myself then I would if I had stayed in bed and not done my school work or not gone to this or that appointment.
5. Find a new challenge. Looking for a new and exciting challenge can help put you in a different frame of mind. Look for something outside of your normal interest range. Look at things that you would never even think of doing, then go for it. You might just find that you love doing this new challenge.  

We all need hope and some of us find it in the strangest places. Some people find it in helping animals, some find it in cleaning, some find it in doing school work, for some it's reading a good book or self help book, some find it in looking up at the sky, others find it in watching other people. No matter where you find your hope keep a hold of it.

This past week, I found some of my hope in a group of 23 people. I went with another trainer and helped train 21 people to become Peer Support Specialists. This group showed so much enthusiasm for Recovery that it was amazing. I have never seen so much love in one room. They showed inspiration, hope, courage, and even gave me new ideas. They made me feel good about myself, they told me how I had inspired them, and they even shared their stories with me. Thank you all!

The point is that no matter what find your hope to help pull you through even the smallest of obstacles, you deserve it and ARE WORTH IT!