Lifestyle Enchantments

          Being diagnosed with mental illness and an addictive personality, was a difficult reality to accept at such a young age. I tried many different types of recovery programs, one being a trial school for teens struggling with dependency. I was expelled, but it has since become a major establishment.            As a young adult, my efforts for sobriety disappeared. I wanted so badly to be “normal” and go out partying with other people my age. I felt lonely and shut out, despite my efforts. Believe me, I tried. Yet the harder I desperately struggled to live how I wanted, the worse my life became. I embarrassed myself all constantly, hurt my family and friends, and damaged my relationships.           Putting myself in rehab was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I knew in my heart that if I didn’t, I would have continued on my self-destructive path, dragging my family down...

To change your life, you need to change your mindset. Could be difficult to stay positive and optimistic toward future goals, when one is constantly dwelling on past mistakes, regrets and tribulations. You have to clean out your mind. Throw away regrets and take out the trash. Dust off the cobwebs from your perception so you can start seeing more clearly. Don’t live like a hoarder inside yourself, trapped in misery by your own personal collection of anguish. Focused therapy or one-on-one recovery work is sometimes necessary to sort out dark history, resentments, and delusions. You have to untangle the past to straighten out your future. Mindful Minute: What delusion are you holding onto? What lies do you tell yourself that are keeping you sick? What resentments are you still clinging to? Why is it so difficult for you to let these ideas go? What do you think will happen if you set yourself free from delusions and resentments?

I am certainly not the person I had hoped I would grow up to be… not yet anyways. I always knew I wanted to be a mother, have a beautiful family, take care of lots of children (5 at least…), turn one of my creative hobbies into a small business, and just enjoy experiencing life with my loved ones around me.  I often prayed to God and wished on stars for such a life. Whether it was faith or law of attraction (call it what you will), I was greatly blessed with the life and family I dreamed of. The problem was, I was also cursed with a nightmare riddled with anxiety, depression, rage, alcoholism, drug addiction and overall mental and spiritual weakness. I could sulk and whine about my misfortune. I could choose to waste away the days crying about being bestowed such a beautiful responsibility yet being emotionally incapable of managing everything. It's so easy to get engulfed by surrounding negativity and give up on yourself.      There is no time for that. Yo...

None suffer more than the ones we love and love us dearly. My partner has suffered through 70% of my addicted life and search for sanity by my side. He has tried his hardest to support, comfort, and encourage me but is always hurt by my unpredictable emotions, dangerous behaviors, and outright ridiculous mental comprehension. In my outbursts, I have often threatened leaving the family or ending our relationship. In deeper stages of depression, I would express feeling fed up with life in all its dread and monotony, blaming him for my being overwhelmed by our children.   When negative behaviors are simply ignored and allowed to continue occurring, they easily become bad habits, and eventually, part of your character. I am always fighting off an outburst, but they still slip through the cracks. My family has become used to the manic episodes and depressing periods of my personality, but it’s unfair to their daily life and routines to live in my wake of destructive pat...

There is such a stigma placed on mental health and motherhood that it makes it difficult for many suffering mothers to come forward and admit that they are having trouble. You may be one of them, secretly fading away under inner turmoil. Maybe you’ve even tried to seek out help but found yourself in an uncomfortable office across from a seemingly judgmental stranger. Despite one taking the steps necessary to be seated in front of a professional willing to help them, it is still very common for the person in need to withhold information and downplay their symptoms. Some people may not even think or be aware that they have a problem, and we are only there to appease a friend or relative. These patients will most likely continue chatting away in their weekly therapy sessions about superficial experiences and trivial encounters, lying not only to the medical professional whose time they’re wasting, but also to themselves. Speaking to someone about personal matters that are embarrassing or ...