As September comes to a close I reflect on this year. It is funny to say this, but I am very proud of myself. I am thankful that I am me. It may be a interesting perspective but during the months of August 2015-September 2015 I have overcome things that I never thought would be possible like moving into an apartment in San Francisco. I spent months on Craigslist, searching endlessly between classes, and before I went to bed to find a place to live so I would not have to commute an hour and a half from my parents house. It has been hard, finally being able to go back to school, but forced to have a lifestyle that non of my therapists or doctors recommend having. My lifestyle commuting to school and being a full-time student began to put me backwards in my recovery. I began to have symptoms that could have led to a bad episode, and this is one of many examples that have made me thankful I am who I am today.
As this year comes to the end, one could say I am thankful for what has happened to me. My diagnosis, and the chaos that has ensued, may replicate in the future, but I am thankful for this year for the experience, because I look back at my experience with bipolar, and I can see through deep depression that if I just wait a little my true self will come back into my life.
Susanna Page is a student in San Francisco, CA. She loves to write and is a blogger for Young Minds Advocacy Project and the International Bipolar Foundation. She is a field mental advocate for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. She loves to write about mental health and young adults. She is in the beginning stages of connecting with University newspapers in colleges in San Francisco persuading each University to include a column in every issue that has some form of mental health information or personal story of someone that is living with a mental illness. On her free time she likes to adventure around San Francisco, write, and cuddle with her dog Hamish.
You can follow Susan on Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Linkedin.
Defying Shadows 