Friday, August 10, 2018

A Pig with lipstick

It’s just so unfair.

I realize that statement makes me sound like a petulant child, but it’s how I feel.  Life is unfair.  The world is unfair.  Most of life’s unfairness comes from our choices… but what about the things we don’t choose?

What about the people who have diabetes, cancer, a genetic disorder, or a mental illness.  We didn’t do a damn thing to cause this.  It’s just so unfair.

I try to dress my pig up in a pretty dress.  Paint it’s lips red.  Convince myself that this means I am just able to help others.  I’ll be able to show love and empathy to my children should they suffer.  I make a big deal out of my accomplishments… trying to encouragement myself with words like, “brave”, “honest”, “safe.”

But when the rubber meets the road; most days I can barely get out of bed.  The weight on my head feels like it’s suffocating me.  But.  I do it.  Every damn day.  I’m so tired.  So unbelievably exhausted.  All I want is for chad to love me again and come home.  He’s the first man I ever believed.  First man I ever trusted.  I was actually happy.  Helped.  My kids adored him and believed him too.  They talk about him all the time.  And now we are nothing.  Literally nothing.  He escaped my bipolar because it makes me trash.

But I can’t give up because my kids need me so I go back to being a pig dressed up with words like, “brave”.  Doing life.  Working full time.  Forcing myself to smile and forget all my pain.  I have moments I feel like I’m actually DOING IT… Then I have pieces of shit like Jason who love to make my life harder.  Kids who beg to not go to their home, going hungry, spanked 50 times, etc… but I am powerless.  I have a counselor for the kids who is amazing, but when it comes to confrontation about Jason’s horrible choices she goes silent so no one is telling him he’s wrong.  My own counselor listens and is proud of me, but I don’t feel any better.  I want to punch her when she says she’s proud of me.  Proud of what?!  That I’m alive when it’s fucking hard?  Okay.  I’ll give you that.  Proud of me that my house is clean?  I’ll give you that (mostly.)  Proud that my kids aren’t being beaten, making their own breakfast at 2 out of fear, or being beaten with a spoon until it breaks?  K.  I guess I can give you that too.  Or how about this.  Is she proud that neither of my kids are hiding underneath any bed they can find to protect themselves?  Guess I can give her that.  Or maybe that my kids aren’t being molested by male and female babysitters or ‘friends’?’ I guess I can give her that too.  Or maybe that my kids are told that they are loved, and hugged, every day of their life?!  I guess I can give her that too.  Cause that's not what happened to me.  I was rarely told I was loved.  Or touched.  in fact I was told I was a stupid bitch and my mouth would get me in trouble and I'd never be wanted.  Or maybe she’s proud because I put a face to all of this.  An ugly face, but an honest face. 

I’m tired you guys.  So exhausted.  My stress levels are so high that I’ve felt like I was having a heart attack twice last week.  It happened after Carol told lies that I killed my beloved healthy dog so her sister attacked me.  It happened when the school systems were failing so I had to fight for my son.  Jason and Nara certainly didn’t do that or thank me!  It happened when I missed paid work to handle ben’s school issue and to register all three kids.  It happened when I went to the fair and forgot an Ativan.  I was so terrified being on one of the rides that I put a smile on my face to make my kids happy, but tears ran down my face because I thought I might die.  I realized then that I am brave, but I have no peace.  Not one stroke of peace.

Where does my help come from?  It’s supposed to come from the Lord.

But I’m mad.  Really fucking mad.  How could He let me grow up in such horrendous abuse?  How could he make a little girl/woman who is unable to be loved when that’s all she’s ever craved?  How can he expect so much from one person?  Why do I have to suffer every single day?  Can’t I get a break?  I can’t even enjoy a Christian concert that I waited two months for.  Why would I want to seek a God who made me this way?

Again.  So fucking unfair.  I just want to sleep.  I want to rail.  I want answers.  I want help.  I want to be lovable.  I want chad to come home.  I want to do the right things. 

I just want a little bit of fun.  A little bit of joy.  A little bit of peace.  I want to see the big picture.

I want my life to be more than the sum part of my kids having it better than me.

They are worth it all, but can't my life have more purpose then that?

Monday, July 16, 2018

A Constant Mind Fuck

Mental illness is no joke.  It's a near constant mind fuck.  I realize that language may offend some, but I can't think of any other word to express the constant battle.  It's like being trapped in traffic on a narrow highway boxed in by cement dividers.  Your behind a slow driver in the fast lane with a huge semi on your right. If you move one inch you could hit the wall or the semi.  Doing that would mean possible death of you or someone else.  Your cussing out the slow driver in the fast lane that has trapped you, but your scared/intimidated by the huge semi inches from your tiny car.

That's the mind of a mentally ill person.  Your trapped.  You don't want to hit the wall or semi - lifes events - work, arguments, depressive thoughts, over spending, weight gain, bad day with your kids - but that damn slow car is trapping you in your brain.  Trapping you in the anxiety.  Trapping you in the torment.  You know that you have to take deep breathes and slow down until you can escape, but it's scary.  It's dark.  You do all you can to make it through the day because eventually the heaviness will lift and you'll be able to escape the torment.  You smile.  Laugh.  Dive into work and pretend.  You find yourself praying that you won't hurt any relationships when feeling trapped.  Or say something you shouldn't.  You tell yourself that you know how to 'drive'.  It's just momentary.  You'll have some peace.  You will find a reprieve from the damn cement walls and huge semi trucks.

People with a 'whole brain' just don't get it.  I'm glad they don't, but dammit give us grace.  Don't roll your eyes and put us in a category.  We are brave.  We may have a broken brain, but we feel just as deeply as the torment we've lived through.  We have empathy deeper than the oceans.  We will fight for you as much as we fight for us... and let me tell you that's a lot of fight.  Most of us have secretly prayed for death most of our lives because we are so tired of the mind fuck, but we battle through it and Live.  You cannot comprehend the bravery and strength that takes.

That takes me back to the bible.  I am hurting so damn much.  My meds have done wonders, but if I don't take all this pain captive and trust in God then my meds just moderate the perpetual sadness.  It does not fix it.  And it's obvious.  My coworker told me to buy a coke at lunch no matter what the cost.  She thinks my quietness and scattered brain was the exhaustion of a monday.  She thinks that coke will give me energy and my pep back... and it will help. But the truth is I'm battling a mind fuck.  I hate coming home without my dog.  The vet handled that so bad.  He didn't prepare me.  Just grabbed her.  She was so scared as he shaved her leg and before i knew it he said "you have two seconds to say goodbye."  and she was dead.  Gone.  I cry just typing that out.  I hurt someone without meaning to.  Someone made me feel like I was a slut or dirty when I'm not.  I miss my kids. We have 11 more days.  Jadon hates it there. Jason won't communicate with me.  I don't know how to make God my home.  My mind won't let me.  Men fail me.  It's what they do.  I fail me.  School supplies are adding up.  I have one income.  I haven't exercised.  I have so many acquaintances but few friends.  Chad.  I gave him everything good in me and I was still worth throwing away. I ache.  My kids hurt.  He doesn't even care he shattered us with his promises/lies and heartlessness.

So.  I listen to music that screams.  Yells.  Articulates the pain I feel.  It does a far better job that it's almost soothing.  I cry. Some time soft quiet tears.  Sometimes sobs.  I clean.  I pray. 

I wait until my mind fuck passes.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Being Chased....

So.  I disappeared.  I didn't do it to get attention or worry anyone.  I just didn't care and I didn't want to bring anyone down with me.  My rage and hate has been palatable.  I knew I'd lash out like a wounded animal if I didn't hide.

But People found me.  In text or messenger once i activated it again.  People actually cared.  I'm still hiding because I don't want the world to watch me burn, but at least I'm communicating here.

The irony.  Guess who has chased me the most?  Through people.  The one I hate the most other than me because He made me.

God.

He's done it in small ways.  Through a drawing someone made of me.  This drawing has breathtaking angel wings.  Only God knows the meaning behind real looking angel wings.  Reminding me I'm not alone.

He did it through Julie.  My recent person who is bipolar and local.

He did it through old highschool friends.  One who left me the sweetest voicemail that I'll always save.  Another highschool friend who sent me pictures of a bible study that I actually know that I need to do.... and that study led me to do a WORD study in the bible.

It comes from Isaiah 61.  "He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted."

It breaks down the Hebrew.  Essentially this verse is saying he sent Jesus, like a shooting arrow, to bind up the broken hearted.

Bind up is the Hebrew word: Chavash - it means, "To bind on, wrap around; bind up as a wound, bandage, cover, envelope, enclose."

Get this!  Broken is the Hebrew word: Shawbar - "to burst, break into pieces, wreck, crush, smash; to rend, tear into pieces (like a wild beast.)

I sat there totally flabberghasted.  That is EXACTLY how I feel.  It even goes so far to show that a broken heart is actually considered HEMORRHAGING!  Think about that.  Hemorrahaging.  Dude.  Your going to die if you don't bind that up.  And that's how I feel.  Like I'm dying.  

SO.  God sends his son, like an arrow, to bind up, wrap around, cover, bandage, and envelope a heart that has been crushed, smashed, wrecked, and torn into pieces like a wild beast.

Meditate on that a minute.  I did.  I mean that's living breathing stuff right there.  Does a wild beast rip anything apart graciously?  No!  It destroys the very life and rips them apart to never mend again.

So then I pulled up google and decided to look up that hebrew word for other references in the bible.  And WOW!!!!  Every time you read "broken"or "break" it means crushed.  riped to shreds.  true gut wrenching pain.  God knows pain.  The bible breathes that pain and answers that God knows and sends jesus to bind us up.




7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 
For it is good to sing praises to our God; For [c]it is pleasant and praise Is becoming.  2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel.  3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their [d]wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars; He [e]gives names to all of them.
5 Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is [f]infinite. 6 The Lord [g]supports the afflicted; He brings down the wicked to the ground. 


IS 42
To bring good news to the [b]afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And [c]freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called [d]oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 



PS 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are [d]crushed in spirit.  19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.  20 He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken.

PS 51:17
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.  17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 

PS 124 6-8
Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us [c]to be torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper;The snare is broken and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 

PS 147
Praise [b]the Lord!
Behold, My Servant, whom I [a]uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the [b]nations.  2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 


IS 61
The Spirit of the Lord [a]God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the [b]afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And [c]freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning,The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called [d]oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 

EZ 34: 4 & 16
Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to [a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord [b]God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been [c]feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds [d]feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without [e]feeding the flock. 4 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the [f]diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.6 My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”’” 

16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. 




I have do not know what to do with all of this yet.  But I am thinking on it.  It, at the very least, makes me want to read the bible because clearly the bible gets it... and hebrew is beautiful.

Disappeared

So.  I've disappeared.  I had to because my world was burning down.  I didn't want to take anyone down with me. I didn't want the world to watch it happen.  And they would have.  My inability to keep my mouth shut makes that an inevitability.  I wish I could draw out the image I have of myself screaming in agony as I rip my skin from skull to chest exposing the burning inferno that's raging and burning me alive.  Me desperately trying to detatch my brain so the burning will end... yet all I do is burn to dead ash.

I've never done this before.  Disappeared.  Normally I cling to whoever will tell me I'm lovable and can survive my latest pain.  But, this time, I don't see the point.  I am fundamentally flawed and I am not lovable.  Not to the people I let in close.  They have all left because I am a roller coaster.  I have bi-polar.  It sucks.  I feel more.  I hurt more.  I love more.  I worry more.  I.do.everything.MORE.

And.  I hate myself.  I have always had a low self esteem, but nothing like this.  In the last few days, as I've sobbed, I find myself standing in my home and vehemently telling myself, "I HATE YOU." I'm not sure if it's me I hate or God, but I know that they go hand in hand.  I hate me for who I am and I hate God for making me.  I've sobbed for weeks constantly begging anyone and everyone to forgive me for who I am.  I am so sorry I'm sick.  I'm so sorry I push people away.  I'm so sorry I am a disaster.  I am s sorry I am not worthy.  It's amazing to me that someone can look in the mirror but not see themselves.  I do my make up, but it's as if I never see me in that mirror.  When I look all I see is an unlovable woman with the words, "bi polar"and "not worthy of Chad" plastered on my very existence. It's truly killing me.  My hope.  My light.  Any joy I ever found has all been sucked out of the vortex of this diagnosis and Chad not wanting me.

He came on Saturday to get his things and wouldn't even look at me.  His BIL was there and stood by him looking at me as if I was crazy and would snap at any moment.  It was humiliating.  I called a few friends sobbing sobs of agony, but they were powerless to help me.  When he drove away he didn't look back.  When he drove off he took any shred of hope I'll ever be worthy of love.When he drove away I screamed screams of agony that no human can express.  I did that for almost an hour. Screaming and beating the floor in pain that takes my breath away just thinking about it.   I gave my very best to him and it wasn't good enough.  I am never good enough.  Why would God create a woman who is never good enough?  Created to be bruised and unwanted?  Is He truly that cruel?  I would never hurt myself, but countless others have accidents all the time.  Why can't I?  Is peace ever attainable?

This vortex is so dark.  So scary.  So unwanted.  Will I ever have joy again?  Will my eyes ever have light?  I wake up.  Those first few moments are so wonderful because I forget my diagnosis.  I forget I'm not lovable.  Then it hits me and I hurt.  I get up.  Sometimes I cry all the way to work.  Other times I just numb out.  I kick butt at work.  I usually cry all the way home.  Eat cereal for dinner.  Lay on the couch.  Take my meds and go to sleep.

I do not want to be me.