Gum on My Shoe

Why is it so hard for people to speak their truth? Child sexual abuse is an epidemic in our country and we need to stop it. Mental Illness is Taboo. We need to educate the public. Stand up for something, even if it means standing alone. I started my blog to find my voice. Speak up about what happened to me. My family didn't like it. Five sisters and their children have disowned me, all because I wanted to tell the truth. I don't think it is right that he got away with it. I believe telling my story is helping me go from the victim to the survivor. It took me forty four years and a diagnosis of Bipolar II, PTSD, GAD, and Agoraphobia to be able to find out who I truly was. I love the new me. I have found a very compassionate, loving person under all that façade. I am no longer afraid to love and be loved. I have learned that I can be me. I don't have to fit into someone else's "Box" of what they believe I should be. I am just me. I don't need anyone...

Be aware of the stories we tell ourselves, especially those that begin "I'm not the kind of person who ..." I'm not suggesting we ignore them all, some may still be valid. ("Marty, you're not the kind of person who attempts to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel." That one still works for me.) Most, though, are little more than strategies we've evolved to keep from expanding our horizons. "Marty, you're not the sort of person who would do a charity zip-wire challenge from the Tyne Bridge." "Marty, you're not the sort of person who strikes up conversations with strangers in coffee shops." "Marty, you're so not the sort of person who writes a book about supporting someone with mental illness." Well actually, it seems I am that sort of person, after all! Let's listen to the stories we tell ourselves, and maybe we can rewrite a few of them. Marty