Jul
18
After the quiz she wanted me to read an article entitled, “8 Tips to Finding and Maintaining Happiness”. I was not opposed to reading the article. I can definitely use these tips, which is why I decided to post the article here. I believe you may benefit from reading it as well.
1. Adjust your attitude.
It is vital to have an upbeat attitude to maintain happiness. This doesn’t mean that you have to become a Pollyanna who overlooks problems and thinks everything is peachy even when it isn’t. Developing a postive attitude takes repeated practice, especially if you have gotten into the habit of being critical or looking on the dark side. It is important to consciously focus on what’s positive in your life because this can spawn a sense of optimisim and hope. When you approach life with an upbeat attitude, you set yourself up for greater joy and satisfaction. That is because a positive state of mind gives you confidence and a sense of vitality, which helps make the expectation of happiness become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The secret to turning your outlook around is to start thinking positively right now. How? By expecting to have a joyful day everyday; by identifying negative thoghts and countering htem with positive or neutral ones (instead of viewing a mistake as a sign of incompetence, look at it as something you can learn from); and by embracing challenges instead of fearing them, realizing they will help you grow as a person.
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Jul
18
Do I Have What it Takes to be Happy?
Filed Under Treatment | Leave a Comment
I started going back to counseling Monday. My case manager gave me “homework.” The homework was to take the following “do I have what it takes to be happy?” quiz.
Answer yes or no to the following questions:
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Jul
17
12 Ways to Care for a Depressed Person
Filed Under Mental Health | 1 Comment
The person with depression usually can’t see a way forward. They may fervently believe that nobody can help them, and life is pointless. That doesn’t mean that they’re right, and there are plenty of things that you can do to help. The type and amount of care that you can give will depend on your relationship with the person, but here are some ideas.
1. Understand the illness.
Learn all that you can about depression. The better you grasp the illness, the more effective you will be in giving your care and understanding. It will help you to understand why the person behaves the way they do, and better equip you to respond appropriately.
2. Seek Appropriate Treatment
This is such a far-reaching, wide-ranging topic that I would be foolish to give advice. Suffice to say that it will be helpful for you to explore the treatment options available in your area and suggest to the person that they need professional help. It might be helpful for them if you go along to the first or subsequent appointments. If he or she won’t admit their illness then explain why you are concerned and perhaps provide them with some helpful written information to chew over.
3. Provide Emotional Support
Your partner or friend needs patience, care and understanding. They have a real illness, and just like someone with cancer they can’t just “snap out of it”. If they could, they would. Saying things that show ignorance about the illness is counterproductive and will reinforce their negative thinking. The best way to communicate is to empathize, listen more than talk, and ask questions like “How can I support you?” or “How can I help?”
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Jul
16
Objectivity and Fear
Filed Under Thoughts | 2 Comments
Current Mood:philosophical
This morning, I found myself with the gnawing feeling of being on the verge of overwhelmed. There was so much that I wanted to do and get done right then, but I didn’t know where to start. I was having a hard time setting my priorities so I decided I needed some objectivity. I found a little over half a joint that had been leftover from a couple days ago and took a few hits.
When I use marijuana I consume about a ¼ of a joint. I usually don’t do it to get high, I do it because it allows me to step back and look at the direction my life is going and decide if that is the way I want it to go. In short, it slows my body down and allows my brain time to figure things out.
It went a different direction than I thought it would. Instead of figuring out what to do first I realized some things about my life and myself. I’m sensitive and empathic; I feel things very deeply. Many may think of it as a flaw or weakness, but I am no longer one of them. Granted, I have found an enormous amount of pain in my life because my hypersensitivity, but for the same reason there has been a great amount of joy – I have experienced both so greatly I thought I could literally burst at times.
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Jul
15
Tamara’s Marriage
Filed Under Family & Friends | Leave a Comment
Current Mood:
Around 1:30 this morning I was drinking and hanging out with Tamara. I signed into yahoo messenger and her husband messaged me. He was saying things like “I just want you to know i still wish you would have shown up by yourself.” I told him that it didn’t matter; he got laid out of the deal. He said, “yeah, but not by you.” He had thought I wouldn’t be able to resist his advances. Egos like that is a huge turn off.
I am not the slightest bit interested in her husband. Even if I was, I wouldn’t pursue anything with him for the simple fact that it would be wrong. I have never cheated and I have never violated the friendship code. I’m sure as hell not about to start now. I wouldn’t even do it when we were fighting for those six weeks, despite his continued request to meet with me.
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Jul
14
DirecTV’s Acquiescence
Filed Under Events | Leave a Comment
Current Mood:
This morning Tracy Tibbels left me a voicemail regarding our conversation July 9th. The following is a transcription of the message.
Hi, Jennifer, this is Tracy calling from Directv. After, um, speaking to you last week regarding your request for information out of your personnel file I did call Corporate to be sure that I had given you correct information. And I can give you copies of anything in your personnel file that, uh, you were required to sign. That would include: like your scorecards and, uh, like I said anything you had to sign or were given to sign. I’d be more than happy to make copies for you. Um what I would need you to do is just call me back and let me know how you want to pick up these documents or how you want me to get these to you. I can definitely drop them in the mail to you, but I would need to verify to make sure I have a correct address before I do that. I would hate to have them end up somewhere in La-la land. So give me a call back, my number is 280-****. And we can make arrangements for giving you those copies. Thanks.
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Jul
13
I’m Getting Back on Track
Filed Under Events, Recovery, Thoughts, Treatment | Leave a Comment
Current Mood:
Friday, Tamara went with me to see my case manager at Family and Children’s Services. I had to sign papers designating her as my treatment advocate. Tamara also wants to get an intake appointment for herself and wants me to be her treatment advocate. She thinks she may be bipolar as well and I think she may be right.
I told my case manager I want to get back into groups and counseling. She said before the counseling I need to have 3 appointments with her to discuss my recovery goals. She wanted me to think about what those goals are over the weekend and then come see her Monday afternoon.
I believe the number one thing I need to address is how the Jonathon situation has affected me. After a lot of thought I have come to the conclusion that the effects of the rape combined with the medication adjustment, cessation of marijuana consumption, and near-hostile living arrangement, and the return to work at Directv are the root causes of this episode. My secondary goals are to brush up on my coping skills; setting boundaries; and building healthy relationships.
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Jul
13
Dan
Filed Under Guys, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
Current Mood:
I find myself attracted to Dan. WTF? He is only 19 years old - that alone should be enough to deter me from pursuing anything with him, but it isn’t. I assumed he was 23 or 24 when I first met him and I still find it difficult to believe his true age. He’s more mature than many guys I’ve met my own age. I think of him as a man, not just another guy.
He has some great qualities: he is honest, loyal, funny, sweet, intelligent, creative, and trustworthy. To top it off, I’m physically attracted to him as well. He possesses every quality I look for in a potential boyfriend. I have yet to discover a major flaw… I’m waiting to see what is lurking.
The most negative thing I know about him thus far is that he has bipolar disorder as well, which in my opinion isn’t much of a negative. Bipolar disorder certainly sucks at times, and can make life a living hell for awhile, but it does not change a person’s core personality.
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Jul
12
Current Status of my Relationship with Erick
Filed Under Guys, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
Current Mood:
I talked to Erick quite a bit today. We mostly discussed his upcoming visit to Tulsa. So far, it seems his vacation request was approved and he’ll be here either August 4th or 5th. I’m excited, but I’m trying to contain it until he is on his way. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. This will be the first time he’s came to visit me. I always went to see him when we were together in the past.
We’re not “together” at this point and I don’t know if we will be or not. Like I wrote before, I’m not making a decision until we spend some time together one on one.
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Jul
11
Bipolarchick 2; Directv 0
Filed Under Events | Leave a Comment
Table of contents for Directv discrimination
Current Mood:
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I got another letter from the OESC yesterday. This one was favorable. The Appeal Tribunal sided with me without even having a hearing. DirecTV’s attorneys flat out lied in their appeal; nevertheless, my evidence was more compelling than theirs and I was capable of proving my evidence was not fabricated. Even though the Appeal Tribunal ruled in my favor, I hope they will still subpoena my personnel file. It will definitely come in handy in the upcoming case.
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