Mental Health Inspiration

Happily Ever After Comes From Me   March 12, 2014 I watched Bridget Jones Diary every weekend eight years. Joel would say, “Why are you always watching that movie about that crazy white girl?” “She’s not a white girl!” She is British and that’s the story of my life. My Greatest fear was that I would “die fat and a lone half eaten by wild dogs.” I guess single women love that movie because it gives us hope that there are some good men out there. So here is the situation, I’m going to be 34 years old on April 20, 2014 and I’m still single. I thought I met my prince charming. I always think I met my prince charming. I’m in love with being in love.             However, I have learned that I don’t need a prince to come carry me in a world of happily ever after. I always said to myself, who will love me? Will anyone ever love me enough to stay? They all break my heart but you know what? I love myself. I love myself so...

Broad Minded People:   Mental Illness in the Philippines By: Maricela Estrada   I was having an intellectual conversation with a credit card customer services representative located in the Philippines. I asked her how mental illness was perceived in the Philippines, particularly psychosis. I asked her if there was stigma associated with mental illness. She said, “ooohh they are considered broad minded people, highly creative, artistic, and authors. They are respected.”   I let her know that I think mental illness is a gift of challenge. It challenges my life but nevertheless it has made me a better person. I told her that in the past I used to see things that other people couldn’t see, hallucinations and delusions in which I thought I was the chosen one or a prophet. I told her that my supervisor told me that he thinks mental illness/ psychosis is a sixth sense. She said, “Oh really? Like the movie. That sounds so scary. I thought those were only things you can see...

MY MESSAGE TO ALL OF YOU MY LITTLE GIFTS FROM GOD!   There is HOPE even for the hopeless, There is joy even for the depressed, There is light even in the darkness, There is love even when you hate. Families grow even when they’re apart, Fights bring us together. Medications help us heal, Hospitals restore our sanity. There are second chances after suicide, Whether you are saved or you go to heaven. Don’t give up now. Tomorrow is ahead of you. Dreams come true, even if they’re far–fetched. Dreams keep us alive. Let your soul dance, Let your soul cry. Just be free. Let things be. It’s okay to be afraid. Just face life. You’ll make it through. You have the power to make it. You have control of your life, Always remember that. You might not have control of those crazy chemicals in your brain, But you can control your life. Gear toward the road of recovery. Learn from all my mistakes; I wrote thi...

      Stigma Stops Here   I was having a smoothie with a good friend from high school. She found me on facebook. I have not seen her since I graduated in 1998. We decided to get together at a coffee shop to have smoothies. Her name is Janet and she works at Shurr High school in Montebello. She used to work at our former high school as well Montebello High. She was telling me that there are a lot of kids that are hurting and have attempted suicide. She also told me that a lot of kids abuse alcohol and drugs. She told me that there is a Suicide Prevention Team on the campus site. She also told me that there was a group of teenagers that called themselves emos and they cut themselves.                                               ...

A Healthier You: Mental Illness, Medication, and Weight loss   I had given up that I would ever be a size 7 again. I was more like a size 16. I had gained 60lbs as a side of effect of medication. Well, it did increase my appetite and given that I’m an emotional eater, I solely blamed my weight gain problems on medication. I hated my body and felt so fat. I learned to accept that I was overweight. Actually according to the body mass index I was considered obese at 5’5. Ten years ago, I stopped taking my medication because I was tired of being fat. I said, “I rather be insane than fat!” That was the worst thing I could have ever done.   I went manic and got liposuction. I charged it on three credit cards. However, I became very delusional. I was psychotic for the entire summer even though I had gotten back on medication. As, the years went by my medication was changed, I gained all the weight back and even more. I was disgusted when I looked at myself in the mirror. Howe...

Our Lives are borrowed from God                                                                                                 June 5, 2007 My mother has always told me that our lives are borrowed from God, so we have to live each day as if it is our last. My mom’s words of wisdom didn’t strike me until the day my cell phone rang and my caller ID said “Reynita.” Reynita is really my gay friend Isaac. I call him Reynita because it means queen in Spanish. He calls me Diva. “Hi Reynita!” I answered with joy. It’s always a...

The World is Ending!   When I was released from Penn Mar, it took months for me to get stable and once I did, I went back to school and work. I also got a second job at a female clothing store, Bliss Girl Fashions. I wanted to help my mother with the mortgage, but we still struggled financially and we lost our house. My mother couldn’t pay the mortgage by herself because my brother Jacob and my two sisters got married and moved out. It was just me, Junior, and my mom, but Junior and I weren’t financially stable enough to help her. We moved into a rundown ghetto one-bedroom apartment. It had an ugly, green rug, thin walls, and no air conditioner. I kept working hard in the hopes of getting out of that apartment, but I also got off my medication and that only held me back from moving forward. I went to work one evening at Hometown Buffet. It was Thursday—family night. On Thursdays, I’d dress up like our mascot, HT Bee, and pass out balloons to all the children. I’d dance...