Friday, January 24, 2014
Video Friday: Um. The title would spoil it.
So I laughed out loud hearing this on Wonderground on Monday afternoon. It was a "What the *&^% am I listening to?" kind of moment. I don't know that the video adds much to it, but here it is.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
What seems to be going on with a lot of people right now
A couple weeks ago, I started a new post for the new year, with goals (not resolutions), but I just couldn't piece it all together. It started to come off humble-braggy (which has stopped me from posting a lot of things lately) and then got really overwhelming. I've already basically failed completely on the one goal I was really excited to try to do for January, which sucks, but then someone pointed out "Why not try again in February? It's a shorter month, too!" So that's what I might do instead.
I'm really struggling with my depression right now. Between the crappy weather and lack of daylight, it's just been hard to drag myself out of bed (though I have to get Sam on the bus, so I do) or shower, take care of my house, cook for myself and my family, you name it. These last few days I've noticed no fewer than three major bloggers/vloggers that I follow, totally unrelated to one another*, post about their struggles right now as well. Their posts really helped me, as I found myself nodding along with a lot of what they were saying. All of them are kind of old hat at managing mental illness, and I thought they were all worth sharing.
First, Wil Wheaton posted a couple of blog posts about where he's at creatively and mentally and what he's doing about that. Here, and here. He also wrote this a couple years ago.
Then I was catching up on You Tube videos and found this one from Angelina LB, aka ALB in Wonderland, aka the girl with pink hair with the kick ass take down of the idea of "fake geek girls". She's had a rough few months, and in general a lot of loss. She also tends to have a bunch of idiot trolls harassing her from time to time. So that sucks. First, in September, she posted this, and then a few days ago she added this. Girl is in the trenches. Also, this is a case where, yes, you can read the comments on a You Tube video**. A rare thing indeed. Sometimes? People are amazing.
Then yesterday, someone on Facebook shared this post by the Bloggess, who is on my list of blogs I need to start reading ASAP. That's when I decided that this wasn't just a coincidence; people in general are genuinely struggling in the world right now. Several acquaintances in a private support group had also shared that they were having a rough time, which led to others commenting "Me too!" Some friends went to a comedy show with me earlier in November, and the headliner shared that she'd had a mental health breakdown after her dog died in an accident (and it was due to a mistake on her part that it had happened.)
Anyhow. The upshot of all of this is that we are not alone. Not one of us. It's not a contest; hard is hard, and pain is pain. But there are other people in the world going through the same thing you are. The internet is a big place, and I guarantee there is someone who knows exactly how you feel. The above links have many resources, hotlines, etc. If you live in the Twin Cities, you can get free counseling here. And I'd love to talk over coffee, if you just need support and camaraderie.
*OK so Wil Wheaton and Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess) do sort of know each other. She has an awesome page of him collating paper. He quotes her in his post from 2012. But I wasn't pointed their collective direction by the same segments of my online life.
**So far, at least. No guarantee that they won't be overrun by trolls at a later date.
I'm really struggling with my depression right now. Between the crappy weather and lack of daylight, it's just been hard to drag myself out of bed (though I have to get Sam on the bus, so I do) or shower, take care of my house, cook for myself and my family, you name it. These last few days I've noticed no fewer than three major bloggers/vloggers that I follow, totally unrelated to one another*, post about their struggles right now as well. Their posts really helped me, as I found myself nodding along with a lot of what they were saying. All of them are kind of old hat at managing mental illness, and I thought they were all worth sharing.
First, Wil Wheaton posted a couple of blog posts about where he's at creatively and mentally and what he's doing about that. Here, and here. He also wrote this a couple years ago.
Then I was catching up on You Tube videos and found this one from Angelina LB, aka ALB in Wonderland, aka the girl with pink hair with the kick ass take down of the idea of "fake geek girls". She's had a rough few months, and in general a lot of loss. She also tends to have a bunch of idiot trolls harassing her from time to time. So that sucks. First, in September, she posted this, and then a few days ago she added this. Girl is in the trenches. Also, this is a case where, yes, you can read the comments on a You Tube video**. A rare thing indeed. Sometimes? People are amazing.
Then yesterday, someone on Facebook shared this post by the Bloggess, who is on my list of blogs I need to start reading ASAP. That's when I decided that this wasn't just a coincidence; people in general are genuinely struggling in the world right now. Several acquaintances in a private support group had also shared that they were having a rough time, which led to others commenting "Me too!" Some friends went to a comedy show with me earlier in November, and the headliner shared that she'd had a mental health breakdown after her dog died in an accident (and it was due to a mistake on her part that it had happened.)
Anyhow. The upshot of all of this is that we are not alone. Not one of us. It's not a contest; hard is hard, and pain is pain. But there are other people in the world going through the same thing you are. The internet is a big place, and I guarantee there is someone who knows exactly how you feel. The above links have many resources, hotlines, etc. If you live in the Twin Cities, you can get free counseling here. And I'd love to talk over coffee, if you just need support and camaraderie.
*OK so Wil Wheaton and Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess) do sort of know each other. She has an awesome page of him collating paper. He quotes her in his post from 2012. But I wasn't pointed their collective direction by the same segments of my online life.
**So far, at least. No guarantee that they won't be overrun by trolls at a later date.
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