FRIENDS

FRIENDS

I would like to talk about FRIENDS. Since I live the hermit lifestyle it would be safe to say the only friends I have are my mom, my daughter, my son, my three cats, and my dog. But see they are friends by default. As far as having friends not related to me by blood or capture, I have none except for on Gather. Those friendships are the ones that matter as they are made of gold. And on Gather I am blessed with many. To all of you I would once again like to say thank you, I love you, and God bless you. See, you cannot fool me as I am on to you. I know what you really are. You are truly angels sent from God.

You have comforted this batshit crazy chick when I was under-medicated, over-medicated, and not medicated at all. You have surely saved me many times from another trip to that cold jail cell they call they drunk tank. The drunk tank for those of you never having had the pleasure to be a visitor is a cement room with three cement walls. The fourth wall is bars surrounded by Plexiglas. All that is in this elaborate room is a drain for you to pee in. There is nothing to sleep on so you have to lie on the cold, hard floor. And being a claustrophobic, the drunk tank is a place I fear.

I imagine you are wondering how you have saved me from this glorious place. Well, there have been many times when I was at the brink of completely freaking out. This is when I would come and write on Gather and you all rallied around to support and comfort me. You talked me through my fears and took me out of my head. If I had not had writing as an outlet and you as my support I surely would have ran down the street naked and screaming. Just imagine the damage that would have been caused. The police would have been called as soon as the first person regained their eyesight from the temporary blindness that ensued from seeing a 200 pound maniac running down the road in her birthday suit. People would be hurt as wrecks would definitely be caused by parents trying to cover their children's eyes to protect them. Hell, some people could possibly even have irreversible eye damage. Post traumatic stress would occur in young teenage boys. So, when you helped me through my turbulent emotions you saved many people at the same time. I thank you and my town also thanks you.

All kidding aside, mental illness is a complicated disease and for many, a complicated topic to even acknowledge, much less talk openly about it. On this site it is no different. Some people dodge it like the plague and say it should be tucked away somewhere nice and neatly off Gather. I beg to differ. Not just because of the help I have received but in hope that my words will help someone else someday. Sometimes I admit I do feel ashamed after publishing that I look like an idiot and just a weak person in many people's eyes. Then you, my friends come, the ones who make Gather a great place to be a part of. You help to remind me I have nothing to be ashamed of.

You know, I have a dream. To one day be the Martin Luther King, Jr. in the mental illness advocacy world. To lead the sufferers still locked in the basement to the green grass in the yard so they too can smell the roses. With my words I hope others who want to share but are still afraid will see that it is ok, it is good to talk about their illness. By seeing the support that you wonderful people have given me they can see that good, caring people do exist in this world and are willing to help them in their time of need. Yet, I too have many lessons to learn myself. For instance, not to care what others may think of me or my shouting from the rooftops about my mental illness if that is what my passion is.

I want to end by saying you are the kindest, most loving, most generous, supportive , and awesome group of people I know and I am very proud to call you my friends. God has truly blessed me.

                                                         FRIENDS