{"id":582,"date":"2016-11-01T16:46:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T16:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katrina.effexhost.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/01\/life-lessons\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T03:03:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T03:03:56","slug":"life-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/01\/life-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the past few days, I’ve had this post in my head and yet, as I go to write it, that same mind is completely blank. This happens when the fog of depression begins to lift. The things that I had thought about while it covered me seem to dissipate with it. Still, I want to put down what I can and I hope that by sharing it, it will help those who care about me and those who may be having similar struggles or know someone who is. So…let’s see what my brain wants to share…<\/p>\n

Last week was absolutely horrible for me. You see, I was supposed to be spending the week near someone that means the world to me and a few weeks ago, that trip had to be cancelled. I’m not sure that I realized just how much I had been counting on that trip as a chance to recharge. At least I didn’t until Monday.<\/p>\n

You see, for as long as I can remember, I’ve set targets…points to get to…when I drive, I mentally break the trip down into little chunks so that it doesn’t seem so long. When I have a period of time where I’m insanely busy, I find some point to get to. I tell myself that if I can just get to that point, it will be okay. It helps me keep going when I’m tired, rundown, and just want to give up. This trip was that point for me. If I could just get to the hotel, everything would be okay. I wouldn’t have any responsibilities or anywhere I had to be.<\/p>\n

Then, that was snatched away from me and I fell apart. That’s the only way to put it. I woke up Monday morning and all day, my brain kept track of where I should be on the last stretch of the drive, of what I’d be doing in the hotel room, how long until I saw my friend…I mentally tortured myself and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t stop it. Bipolar brain was fully in control and the more I fought it, the harder it got. I spent so much time in tears just wanting things to be different but knowing that there wasn’t anything I could do.<\/p>\n

Then, it got worse. When I wasn’t thinking about what I “should” be doing, I started thinking about death. No, almost obsessing about it. I wasn’t at any risk of killing myself then. I kept thinking about what would happen to various things if I were to die…my websites, my belongings…I became obsessed with the idea of creating a Death file on my laptop. I wanted to fill it with files laying out what I wanted to have happen…how I’d want Nick’s original drawings returned to him because I truly feel that I’m only a temporary caretaker of them…how I’d want Geek-o-Rama<\/a>\u00a0offered to Brian and then if he didn’t want it, I’d want a post placed on the site and left there for 6 months before shutting the site down. Every 30 minute drive in and out of town for 3 days, I obsessed over this.<\/p>\n

Something changed on Wednesday evening…around the time that my friend would have been leaving me to go home…the fog started to lift. You see, in my head, the week had been planned out and when it reached a point where I would have been alone again, somehow it started to get easier. In some ways, it was as if I was living one week out loud and another in my head. At that moment, I came to some realizations and they’ve been floating in and out of my head since then.<\/p>\n

Two paragraphs I said that I was at no risk of killing myself then, but that’s not really true. I wasn’t going to slit my wrists or take all of my medication at once, but I was killing myself…just slowly and in a way that nobody would realize what I was doing. I was going between starving myself and eating so horribly that it would eventually kill me. I stopped taking care of me and was so lost in the fog that I didn’t notice. I was wandering blindly, desperately hoping that someone would reach out and give me something to hold onto.<\/p>\n

It didn’t happen though. Even though I pretty much disappeared from social media, didn’t do the site’s work for the week, or talk to anyone, nobody noticed or if they did, they didn’t reach out. I was lost and there was nobody looking for me. Please don’t misunderstand…I realize that other people are busy or just may not have been aware. I don’t blame anyone. I’m not upset with anyone. It just hit home that the only people who said to me, “You matter” were on a Facebook post<\/a>. It brought home just how isolating the fog is.<\/p>\n

So here we are…a week out from the fog…and I’m not quite okay, but perhaps I’m no longer lost. I found my way through and I did it by myself. It was harder than if I’d had someone there to hold my hand but it shows that it can be done. I know that more dark times will come but I also hope that I can remember that I’m stronger than I seem and that I can be brave.<\/p>\n

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