Monday, April 26, 2010

Feeling Blech

This is the shittiest I have felt yet since I have been sick.

Did I mention I have been sick?

My stomach is also killing me.

It hurts to talk.

I am tired but can't sleep.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Overanalyzing

I haven't had time to write.
I have too much to write that I don't even know where to begin.

These are both excuses which I am using to explain why I have not written since before I ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Yes, my last entry was before I ended up in the hospital.

So much has happened so fast that I don't even know where to begin. But it doesn't really matter. I can't write everything in one day, and as much as I like to share my life with others this journal is for me, so if my writing is all jumbled up and out of chronological order. Tough. =)

Right now at this very moment I am happy. I am very happy. No, not manic happy. Just truly happy. I just came back from yoga class and my body feels good. I feel awake and energized, not tired and lethargic. I am sitting here writing, getting my thoughts out and I am learning to let go of all the countless thoughts that are the death of me.

Yes. I have figured it out, although I already knew it all along. My tendency to overanalyze EVERYTHING is the ultimate impediment to my happiness. Sometimes its okay to overanalyze. But I overanalyze to the point where I overanalyze why I overanalyze and the reasons why I overanalyze that which I overanalyze. Yes. I was overanalyzing the future so much that I feared for the day my cat would die. Every sad thing that happened in my life I would overanalyze to the point that I would get extremely depressed. I would overanalyze every stressful thing to the point that I would get extremely stressed out. My only two classes right now are yoga and bodyworks, and I was still super stressed out. Its not my life that is/was so stressful, its the way I was coping with it. Or, wasn't coping with it. And I am learning to cope.

I used to think that they would just give me a magic pill and I would be better,and that there just was no pill for me. That I was just messed up, and there was nothing that could be done. Now I realize the answer. Medication can help, but I also need to learn to help myself. Everything is mental, you can even learn to control things like pain. The physical is not a completely separate entity from the mental. They are connected. I just need to learn how to control it better.

Like how I just overanalyzed the way I am?

Yes. Its okay though sometimes. Sometimes you just have to get it out. Which is why writing can be so therapeutic. If you just let it out, then you can give it a rest, and it can stop "spinning" in your mind.

This is enough for this entry. I will write more later.

I love everyone who has helped me so much. This process has really made it clear to me who my real friends are, who the people who matter are, and know that I am always here for every one of you too.

Love,
Irene

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Peace

I am both emotionally and physically exhausted, however at this very moment I feel at peace with the world.

I really appreciate everyone who has been there for me. Even the little things count, and its been really nice to feel like people care.

Thank you.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Alone

I'm trying to write simply because I don't know what else to do.

I feel like I can't put my feelings into words. Words simply aren't powerful enough to describe how I am feeling.

Borderline Personality Disorder.

I now think I have that too.

Yes, in this journal I will reveal to you all of my flaws.

It's almost like I lead two lives. Multiple lives? People know me in very different ways. Sometimes I laugh at the people who think I'm such an intelligent, capable, funny, caring, happy person.

It's funny that even some of the people closest to me still don't really know me. Yes, I feel like I constantly hide a large part of who I am. I hide what I don't like about myself. I hide what I am ashamed of. I hide what I don't want people to see. Because ultimately I just want to be liked and accepted, and I have this terrible fear that if people really knew everything about me they wouldn't like me. But the funny thing is, even the few who do know almost, if not everything about me.. when they tell me they accept me for who I am, and that they like me for who I am, I simply don't believe it. I am convinced that they are lying to me, or perhaps just pitying me, or trying to be a good person by just being nice to me. How could they possibly like me? I don't like me. I hate me, and I have a hard time understanding certain differences in opinions.

Sometimes I'm so convinced that certain people couldn't possibly like me that I decide to dislike them first. I tell myself, "it's not that they don't like me, it's that I don't like them." I constantly push people away, I push and push and push and eventually they leave. Yes, they all leave, because ultimately we are all completely alone in this world. At the end of the day, we are alone with no one else but ourselves to fend for our self in this twisted world.

My biggest fear has always been to end up hopelessly alone. I hate being alone. I hate being alone because when you're alone you're just spending time with yourself, and I hate myself. Why would I want to spend time with myself? If I have to be by myself, I try as hard as I can to simply find distractions from myself. Either that, or I just go into a fit of self-loathing and wallowing in self-pity.

And the funny thing is, it doesn't matter how many people are there for me, it doesn't matter how many friends I have, or whether I'm in a relationship or not, I always feel alone. I know it doesn't make sense, but I just permanently feel empty and alone.

In high school I used to have a lot of friends, I was surrounded by people who cared for and admired me. I probably even had people who wanted to be me. I had it all. A loving, caring family, great friends, good grades, awesome at music, and I was nice. I remember thinking, I had my life on a silver platter, and I didn't want it. I wanted to just throw it away. I was still miserable. No, I wasn't permanently miserable. Of course I enjoyed spending time with friends, so much so that at a certain time in my life I simply stopped coming home because I was constantly with friends. Then my parents started thinking I hated them... I decided I needed to be more fun so I became reckless, I was daring, and I was fun. I drove like a maniac, and I constantly shoplifted, and there was even that time I picked up a random person off the street and let them spend the night at my house. But still, for some reason it simply wasn't enough. So I decided to go to Boston. Maybe somewhere new, somewhere different. Maybe there would be my answer.

And at first, college was difficult. I had to remember that good friends aren't instantly made, and so for a while I felt alone until I met people I really jived with. I came prepared with an increased dosage of antidepressants, and felt ready to face new challenges. I put myself out there, was friendly, sociable, and pretended to be happy, and don't get me wrong sometimes I was happy. And again, I had numerous people who liked me, but deep down I still felt like everyone disliked me. I still felt utterly alone.

I learned the joys of alcohol, and turned to alcohol to try and fill the unfillable emptiness I felt inside of me. And I loved it. I could just forget about my life. I could just pretend that everything was okay, and the world seemed like a better place. But, it also had its downsides. I would black out, and not know what I did. I ended up in the hospital. I don't even remember what the guy's face I lost my virginity to looked like. I can't count the number of people I hooked up with, pretending that they cared about me, hoping that they cared about me. I was self-destructive. I would obsess over people that I knew didn't like me back, but I would still pretend and hope. And then there were people who did like me, but I didn't want THAT. A relationship with a caring, good person? Why would I want that? Why would I deserve such a thing. No, these people liked me, I couldn't let them stop liking me. I couldn't let them get to know me for who I really was. I had this terrible fear that if people got to know me better, they would stop liking me. And I needed to be liked. I desperately needed to be accepted and liked.

I learned about the joys of weed. I loved how it slowed down my thoughts, and I could find staring at a wall so entertaining. With weed, I didn't hate being with myself as much. I didn't feel constantly bored, like I normally do. And to my fascination, if I combined weed WITH alcohol, then I could really escape reality and be in a completely different world. A different world where things didn't matter, and only the present mattered. A world where I could be happy.

Did I mention I feel constantly bored? Yes, I get bored easily, even by other people. So even though I have this need for other people, few people are actually cool enough, or entertaining enough for me. But then in many of my interactions with other people, I find myself thinking "no, its not that they're not interesting, its me." I'M the one that's boring. I am the one who is so hopelessly utterly boring, why would anyone want to spend time with me? I bore myself, so why wouldn't I bore other people as well?

I still felt alone. I told myself, I just needed to find love. I just needed someone to love me who I could love back. Then everything would be okay and life would be grand. For me, finding love has always been a priority. I truly don't understand other people who aren't searching for it. How can you not be? I wanted to find that perfect person, who would make the world a happy place.

But no one is perfect. I found someone to love, and I think I was simply so infatuated with the idea of love, I wanted to love so badly, that I jumped in headfirst without any hesitation. But did I really love? Could I really love? Am I even capable of love? No, what I really needed was someone to take care of me, someone to reassure me that I wasn't a terrible person. Someone to accept me for who I was. Someone to be good to me, and help my stop my self-destructive ways. And this person was good to me, and did care about me, and did love me, and did help me. But every single step of the way I tried to find ways to sabotage it. He couldn't possibly love me if I go abroad. He couldn't possibly love me if I like someone else. He couldn't possibly love me if I am miserably depressed. He couldn't possibly love me if I hate having sex, he couldn't possibly love me if I wished I were a man. And every step of the way I doubted him, and I tested him. How could he possibly love me. There was no way it was possible. None. Did I really love him? Or did I just need him. Was he just there, when I so desperately needed someone? Anyone? I simply needed to stop feeling so alone.

But I still felt alone.

I still feel alone.

I hate feeling alone.

I know I hurt people, and then I do feel intense guilt and remorse. Sometimes I feel like I just hurt everyone around me. I try to be a better person, but I just can't. I pretend to be a good person. But deep down I know that I'm not.

I am a horrible person, and no one can convince me otherwise.

I may regret posting this soon, but then again, I'm not even sure if anyone really reads this so it might not matter.

Current song: "Run" by Snow Patrol

Monday, March 8, 2010

Rollercoaster

I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster.

Last night, I was so happy and hyper, I didn't accomplish anything. I went outside, and RAN to jumbo to get snacks, for no real reason.

I tried watching a tv show and couldn't even focus enough to pay attention to the show.

Then I stayed up until 6, and even though I was tired I couldn't sleep. I'm thinking I need to invest in some benadryl or something soon... I accidentally left it at home.

I did not sleep well at all, and I think I woke up a million times. I felt terrible this morning. Absolutely terrible. I wanted to go back to sleep hoping that I would feel better later, but I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking.

Repeating over and over again in my mind how much of a failure I am.

This morning..err afternoon, I knew it was nice outside, and yet I couldn't manage to make it outside to see the sun.

And then, I think I hit an ultimate low. I just started crying uncontrollably and didn't know why I was crying. I called Gali and just sat down on the grass right outside of Stratton crying. I had no idea why I was crying, but I just was.

Fortunately, Gali is a great friend and helped me get some dinner, since all I had eaten were sour patch kids and cookies all day. Maybe I should also invest in keeping some more nutritious food in my room as well.

I'm now at the library, feeling a little better, writing this entry.

I just spoke with Eric. I told him I'd really appreciate if he stopped making me feel like shit. To stop judging me, because he doesn't know what its like to be me. He said he couldn't help but judge me. I said I didn't think we should talk anymore because I only need positive people in my life right now and he is negatively affecting me emotionally. It just hurts to think that all those times he was "there" for me, all those times I confided in him, and he listened to me, he was really just judging me, thinking I was just a weak, pathetic, loser.

And maybe I am just a weak, pathetic, loser, but you don't need to fucking let me know you think that. I know I believe in being really honest, but believe it or not there is a gray area.

Fuck you.

"It's easier to be crazy than to get work done."

Fuck you.

Here I go again.

And here I go again.

My head hurts.
I feel tired, and yet I can't sleep.
I feel slightly nauseous.
I have butterflies in my stomach.
Although I'm not actually crying, my body feels as though it were.
I feel like I'm being pulled apart, my pieces scattered on the floor.

I know the sun is outside, I know I should go sit outside or something, and yet all I want to do is sit here. Just sit here.

Escape.

I want to escape.

I have tons of work to do. I have a midterm tomorrow, and while a part of me knows I SHOULD care, and a part of me recognizes that I will probably be regretting my actions soon, at the moment I don't care at all. It all just seems so silly and pointless.

I just want to continue laying here in my bed, melting into my bed, being one with my bed. Sinking.

I had a list of things I was supposed to do today, and once again I know I'm supposed to care, but I just don't.

I'm eating cookies again, trying to fill the emptiness inside of me.

I feel disgusted with myself.

I'm being self-destructive. I'm ruining my own life, I'm watching myself do it, and yet I just can't seem to stop doing it. There is no one else to blame. No one else, except myself. I'm a masochist.

My heart hurts. Did you know that your heart can physically hurt? Well I'm telling you, it can.

Current song: "Lover I don't have to Love" - Bright Eyes

Sunday, March 7, 2010

in the library....

Can't focus can't focus can't focus can't focus..................... lalalalala..............................lalalala...........................lalalala............................lalalala.........................ahhhhhhhhh....................................yes I feel like I'm screaming in my head. It's screaming at me, yelling at me telling me to get a grip........................ and..... I just can't focus..... can't do anything I just want to run around in circles. run around in circles. maybe hop a few times, go run through a field, a field and look at the stars and go to the swing set........... and not write a paper. who cares about papers anyway? Why the fuck must I write a paper. It has so little meaning to me, so little impact on the bigger scheme of things... I just don't see why.... don't see why.... yet I know that I should, I know that I must, I musn't fuck things up again... no not again............. no not again..... no not again...... control control control control........... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............ screaming in my head................ ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........................... not really in my head... no im not hearing voices... its my own voice yelling at me, looking down on me, saying i'm pathetic, but I'm not pathetic, I'm fabulous... I'm just aware that papers are stupid. Papers are utterly stupid. So stupid. Super stupid. Superdy Duperdy stupid. Super super super mega super superdy duperdy mega really god damn fucking fuck fuck fucking stupid.

yes.

THAT stupid.

So why must I do stupid things?

THAT is the question

Why do people keep making me do things I don't wanna do!

I don't wanna write a paper!!

I wan't to eat banana chips and go on a merry go round.

Yes a merry go round. Remember how much fun those were as a kid. Why did they stop being fun for so many people?

They're STILL fun. If they're not fun to you that's just cause you are also stupid.

STUPID.

STUPID.....


I guess that's not a really nice word. I don't really mean it folks. Anyone who is reading this is clearly not stupid at all. You are all in fact quite fabulous. Very fabulous... so fabulous... so much more fabulous than this paper.... yes...

AHHHHHHHH..


yes... yes.... yess.....

perhaps I will submit this as my paper.

how about THAT.

no just kidding... I wouldn't do that. Don't worry folks... or maybe.. folks? who says folks anyway... other than the end of cartoons, yes I know you know what I'm talking about. I miss cartoons. They used to be so entertaining. I'm not sure if they still are or not, but I have a suspicion I wouldn't be quite as amused as I used to be.

hmmm.... paper.......... peace out cub scout. be the bomb diggity, shiznit, chillax,

why do I have the urge to go take down all of those pictures on the wall. yes I just want to smash them down. every single one of them.

hmmm... well at least Alex is being more productive because I'm here. I think he is anyway... he looks like he's being productive.

Productivity is so overrated anyway.

I'm so much more fun.

Fun is definitely underrated.

So Over it.

I'm so over you making me feel like shit.

I'm so over caring.

You refuse to believe me.

You pretend to know me better than I do.

Because you think you know everything.

You think you're so much better and it disgusts me.

I'm so over you making me feel like a bad person when I'm not.

I'm done letting other people affect me so much.

Current Song: "Big Sur" by The Thrills

Like shooting stars!

My eyes hurt. I suppose that's really the main indication that I'm tired... my eyes just start getting heavy and its hard for me to keep them open..... but I really don't want to go to sleep. Going to sleep means tomorrow has arrived. I don't want it to be tomorrow. I don't want time to keep passsing. I don't want to do all of the things I have to do.

I wish the good moments didn't have to end. Why does everything have to end?

I just want to lay here... and keep listening to the song "Operate" by Peaches on repeat....

I wish I had a camera... because I think I look dead sexy right now.... but maybe its just the raspberry vodka goggles talking. haha, does that even happen that way on yourself? It's weird... I swear I'm the same person but I feel like sometimes I look amazing... and sometimes I look like shit. I think its the same in photos of me. Sometimes I look like a completely different person. Maybe that happens to everyone though? Is it weird to be attracted to yourself? I'm definitely attracted to myself right now... gosh... that just sounds weird.

I need to get rid of this mirror in my room.


These are someone else's personal accounts of both depression and hypomania... they seem pretty accurate to how I feel sometimes.

Depression:

"I doubt completely my ability to do anything well. It seems as though my mind has slowed down and burned out to the point of being virtually useless. I am haunted with the desperate hopelessness of it all. Others say, "It's only temporary, it will pass, you will get over it," but of course they haven't any idea of how I feel, although they are certain they do. If I can't feel, move, think, or care, then what on earth is the point?"

Hypomania:

"At first when I'm high, it's tremendous...ideas are fast...like shooting stars you follow until brighter ones appear...all shyness disappears, the right words and gestures are suddenly there...uninteresting people, things, become intensely interesting. Sensuality is pervasive, the desire to seduce and be seduced is irresistible. Your marrow is infused with unbelievable feelings of ease, power, well-being, omnipotence, euphoria...you can do anything...but, somewhere this changes."

Okay... I finally changed songs... now I keep listening to "Kennedy" by Kill Hannah

In Child Development classes we learn about how young kids are very egocentric.. and have a difficult time understanding other people's points of view...

I wonder if that means I never fully developed... because there are a lot of things I just don't understand about other people.

I have a difficult time understanding how sometimes people simply don't enjoy the same music I enjoy. How can they not? It's fabulous... that goes for many things other than music... like food, people, movies, humor.. etc.

Now I'm listening to "Post Blue" by Placebo

Yes, I'm definitely in a bizarre mood right now... and I don't know why I feel it so necessary to keep announcing the names of the songs I'm listening to... it's really because I just think they're so fabulous at the moment....

Did you know that the word bizarre is one of the few words in the English language that comes from Basque origin.

And the final song I will leave you with is "Where is my mind" by Placebo

ok. enough. Here is another Calvin and Hobbes quote. Yes, Calvin and Hobbes is my hero.

"I'm killing time while I wait for life to shower me with meaning and happiness." - Calvin and Hobbes

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Shannyn Sossamon





She is fucking gorgeous. I want to be just like her.

Pretending to do work

My textbook just said:

"With age, children's attention changes in another way: It becomes more planful."

Planful?? Since when is planful a word?? I just had to look it up in the dictionary to make sure I hadn't missed out on such an awesome word such as "planful."

Silly textbook, planful is in fact NOT a word.

Why am I drinking coffee when I don't even like coffee?

And now back to pretending to do work....

"If people could put rainbows in zoos, they'd do it." - Calvin and Hobbes

?

Why am I still inside laying in bed when it's supposedly fabulous outside?

Friday, March 5, 2010

So zen

I swear I do my best thinking in the shower. It's like somehow the rhythm and sound of the water can regulate the speed of my thoughts.

It's so zen.

I'm going to try and intersperse my journal with at least a few happier entries.

It's the weekend so woohoo!

umm...

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us" - Calvin and Hobbes

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Character Flaw

I keep over-analyzing myself.

I am convinced that I will soon be diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder, which consists of hypomanic episodes instead of full blown mania. From my research, hypomanic episodes can have some symptoms similar to adhd such as inability to focus and racing thoughts, which I have definitely experienced. Also in my research, apparently bipolar disorder can be misdiagnosed for a long time as just depression, because mild manic episodes may go unnoticed, and are just not as frequent many times. Apparently there are many triggers to manic episodes, including, drugs and alcohol, stress, sleep deprivation, and antidepressants. I think perhaps the Cymbalta may have instigated a hypomanic episode, which is why I felt "too" happy and then got super depressed again, and lately my moods are just all over the place. I think I cry just about every day lately. I feel so out of control.

But hopefully this will all be sorted out soon, I went to a counselor this week, and I'm going to start going to a psychiatrist here at Tufts as well. I just really hope I don't fail out of school in the mean time...

I hate how some of the people closest to me (mainly one person) always always always minimizes anything that I am going through, and always has to chime in that somehow what they are going through is worse. I also hate how I feel like I really don't have anybody I can talk to that understands me. It's funny, I try so hard to lend an open ear to everyone else. I try so hard to be there for people when they need it. Yet when I need someone I feel like no one is there. Sometimes I even try to flat out tell people how bad things are going and it just feels like everyone is too preoccupied in themselves to ever notice or care how I'm doing.

I guess Eric was really the one person that I could tell everything to. Even if I knew I was annoying him, and he would never say anything, he would at least listen and I knew I could call at any time if necessary. I wanted to know what his opinion was on whether or not I might be bipolar. I wanted to know if he thought I was just over-analyzing things again and getting way ahead of myself. I wanted to know his opinion, simply because I know he knows me fairly well, and I value what he thinks.

He responded by telling me he doesn't believe in depression. That depression is just a mental thing.

I'm like yeh... well of course its a "mental" thing. I'm like what do you mean, that its not a neurochemical imbalance?

He was like, I just think you need more discipline and that depression is just a character flaw.

Tears just started falling. I had nothing to say. I felt dumbfounded. I knew he used to think that about depression, but how could he still think that after being with me for so long? How could he still think that its just all in my head, and that I could control it if I just tried harder. I am trying dammit. I AM FUCKING TRYING. I wasn't always this way. I know something is wrong with me. That much I am certain of.

It just hurts.

I just feel alone. I feel alone and like no one understands me.

Did I mention I have a 6-8 page paper to write for tomorrow and statistics homework to finish? Yeh... maybe I can start that once I stop crying.

Purpose

I can't focus. I've been trying to do my homework now for the past 2.5 hours. I have three sentences of my essay written so far...

My brain is kind of scattered so this won't be too long of a post.

Basically today went from being shitty... I slept through my third yoga class. If I miss more than 3 yoga classes I fail. I truly pray that I don't fail yoga. How pathetic would that be.

Then I went to observe a child, and I ran into Lucy and I met her mother and her mother said that Lucy adored me. I was in a really good mood after that. Then I went back to my room and procrastinated online... and then I went to the senior dinner and was in a fairly good mood... then I went to dinner and was in a super excited super good mood. Then somewhere along the way I got into a really depressed mood... and now I'm okay again.

I feel like my emotions are just absolutely crazy lately. I feel like I have no control over them. No control whatsoever.

I think I have figured out one of my problems. My problem is that I feel like I don't have meaning or purpose in life.

I will expand more later.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Melancholic Music

In my Psychology of Music class last year we talked about the different reasons people listen to certain types of music. Someone in the class didn't understand why anyone could want to listen to sad, melancholic music. Everyone in the class seemed to agree, and I wasn't in the mood to explain that I like to listen to depressing music when I'm depressed.... I tend to like music that mimics the mood I'm in. Perhaps this is why I like such a large variety of music. Perhaps this is also why I'm not a huge fan of heavy metal. I'm rarely in such a passionately hateful state of mind. And not a huge fan of most rap... unless it somehow has a melody. I listen to music for the tune not the words. Many times I don't even listen to the words. I could have heard a song a million times and still have no idea what its actually saying. For me, if a song is good, and has good lyrics that's just the cherry on top. Although sometimes lyrics can be so atrocious as to mess up a very good melody... and that just really upsets me. But anyway, listening to depressing music while I'm upset makes me feel like I'm not the only one feeling that way. Someone else has felt that way, and the music just gets me. Besides listening to super happy music while upset is just obnoxious. The same way that someone being super hyper and loud when you have just woken up is obnoxious.

Monday, March 1, 2010

I just don't know.

I feel trapped. I feel like I'm in an empty room and I could scream and scream as loud as I want and no one hears me.

I have been laying in my bed all day, wallowing in self pity. I feel utterly disgusted with myself. The only thing I have eaten thus far is a pepperidge farm chocolate caramel cookie. I don't even want them anymore. My mouth feels gross, and they aren't sitting well in my stomach but for some reason I just keep eating them, as if eating a cookie was going to make everything better.

I feel like I'm a burden. Like I'm just annoying everyone. I'm trying hard not to. I just don't even know what to do with myself. I feel like I'm a waste of space, just sucking the life energy around anyone and everyone around me. I can only pretend to be happy for so much longer. Sometimes I'm not pretending, sometimes I feel I really am, but there are very few moments where I think "this moment is perfect, there isn't anywhere I'd rather be or anything I'd rather do, I am completely content just where I am doing what I'm doing." Lately it feels like the time is my biggest enemy. Every time I look at the clock my stomach drops, I know that time just keeps passing and I just keep wasting it. Life just keeps going and moving forward and I'm stuck. I can't keep up with it. I keep waiting for something to happen. Something to change. Some kind of answer.

I just don't know.

I just don't know.

Crashing

I'm starting to wonder if starting this journal was really such a great idea. I mean sure its cathartic to write, but its also giving me another way to escape reality. Another way to escape all of the things I should be doing. I am crashing again. Eric seems to think that I seem to crash at around the times when my medication would start wearing off. I don't know though, because I was pretty sure that these types of medications don't work quite like that. I tend to crash either at night or in the morning. I think it might just be that that's when I'm alone again. I don't have any more distractions, and all I am left with are my own thoughts.

My own thoughts are my own worst enemy. I know that sometimes I am not thinking rationally, I am completely aware of it and yet I just can't stop thinking in that way. Lately I have just become completely paranoid again that everyone either hates me or dislikes me. I know that I'm just being irrational and over-analyzing things again, but I just can't make it stop.

I also think that I should probably stop drinking and getting high that much. Not that I do it that much in the first place. But I've just noticed that the past few times I feel great at first, and then once I get back to my room or something I crash doubly hard.

I'm starting to think I'm becoming bipolar. But I also started thinking I have ADD... and OCD... and maybe I'm just being a hypochondriac, and see I can think rationally and realize that its silly to think that I have all of these disorders, and yet I still think it. I think really, its just that I know that something is wrong with me. I know that I'm not doing well, and I'm not convinced that just saying I struggle with depression is the whole story. Or maybe it is the whole story and I just haven't gotten proper treatment. I literally do feel like I'm going crazy though. Like there's a big black hole and I'm dancing around it about to accidentally trip and fall in. Yes, I made up that metaphorical babble on the spot.

I called counseling services today to schedule an appointment. They told me they didn't have something open until next week. I was just like, "is it possible for me to see someone sooner?" And then the lady asked me if it was "urgent." Urgent? I don't know, its hard to say. I mean I'm not suicidal at the moment... what constitutes urgent anyway? I'm not hallucinating... but I am also not doing well at all. So I just kind of explained to her my situation and she said that she could squeeze me in tomorrow. I really hope this helps, because honestly I have very little faith in counselors, but I'm going to give it another shot....

I was also supposed to go observe a child today at 1PM. I didn't go. I did not go to sleep very late, and yet I still couldn't wake up at 12:30 PM. I felt absolutely completely miserable. I remember feeling this way my sophomore year. I would just wake up, and hate reality, and I would just go back to sleep so I could escape it all, and maybe the next time I woke up I would feel better and be ready to deal with it. Things are just so much better in my dream world, and sometimes I wish that reality was the dream, and that I would soon just wake up and realize it was all just a dream, and not the true reality. I mean during dreams, I never realize that they are dreams until afterward. So maybe this is just a dream, and since I'm currently in it I just don't realize it. It reminds me of Eric's idea that when we die its really just like waking up from a dream. I don't know if I believe that, but its still a nifty idea.

I am going to go now. Perhaps I can get something productive done now.

Thought Provoking

This video is really interesting to me.

Click Me!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Identity

I think I might just be pansexual and genderqueer.
Take THAT.

After my last post about how I like to analyze things, I will let you know that I spend an inordinate amount of time analyzing myself, life and my place in life.

I think this is why I have always been attracted to psychology. Psychology feeds into my obsession in trying to better understand myself and those around me. I truly am fascinated by humans (and some animals such as my cat as well).

Sometimes I think I spend a bit too much time simply observing my own life as opposed to actually being in the present moment and living it. I try to just "be" more often but its a daily challenge.

I also have this tendency to think that I am crazy, but what does crazy mean anyway? and aren't we all a bit crazy? I mean really, anything that is crazy is really just not the norm, and yes I have picked up on the fact that I am not like everyone else. But not everyone else is like each other either. Sometimes I wish that we could all be more honest with ourselves and about ourselves. Its like we live in this world all hiding behind different facades. Depending who we are around we may show or hide different facets of ourselves or may even lie about who we really are. Does this stem from our own insecurities? Does this stem from other people's judgmental nature? Those people closest to us have broken down many of our facades and we are able to be our truest selves around them. Don't pretend you never hide behind a facade, because we all do it. We all act at least slightly differently depending who we are around. We always try to put our best self forward at a job interview or on a first date. It's just the way we are. We all want to be accepted, and many times its better to be accepted under a facade than to show our truest self and not be accepted at all.

I always find it very refreshing and admirable when someone just puts themselves out there. I am working on being more honest with myself and with others. This is also a work in progress.

But back to my identity.

I have never been a huge fan of labels and boxes simply because I never really felt I fit into them. But I understand that many times labels do serve a purpose and in my desire to understand myself I have always been searching for those labels and boxes that I fit into. I understand that some of you may be thinking, forget the labels and just be happy without them. However for me, this search for labels simply stems from a desire to better understand myself and the usage of words and labels can sometimes help.

From the identities I have mentioned, I suppose my sexuality was the first to be brought into question. I first rhought fell in love with a girl when I was 12 years old. Now many of you may be thinking, 12!! that's so young! and I suppose it is, but it was still a very real experience for me that I would never try to discredit simply because of my young age. Besides, girls mature at a younger age than boys do. =) This relationship lasted over a year and continued throughout most of my freshman year of high school. I learned what it was like to live while hiding a huge part of who you are. I felt like my life was one big secret, and well it was. We were going against odds to be with each other. We made up code words so we could tell each other we loved each other without other people finding out. We were obsessive. We wrote millions of letters to each other, and talked on the phone with each other, and made up just about any excuse we could to be with each other. To almost everyone else we were just "best friends." We learned how to be stealth and how to lie. It truly was, great fun. Until my mom forbade me to hang out with her or even talk to her because she realized that she was a lesbian and thought that she was trying to "seduce me." I locked myself in my room and lit every candle I owned (and I owned a lot back then) and just lay in bed being miserable and melodramatic. Another time I was spending the night at my girlfriends house, and we were upstairs watching a movie and cuddling with each other and her mother walked in on us. I still remember her look of horror. She told me to get in the car and started driving me home. She started blaming me for everything. How could I have done this to her daughter? Her daughter was "fine" and "normal" before me. Somehow I had changed her. I was at fault for everything. But really, these challenges only brought us closer together. It wasn't until later that I fell out of love, and I realized that you can never foresee the future. We started fighting more and she became very possessive. I just stopped feeling it. I began to have trust issues with myself. ]

Now I understand that people change. I change and will continue to change. Sometimes it scares me, but it is also part of what makes life interesting. It is also part of the reason why I am scared to get a tattoo. I fear that I could love it now, but then later hate it.

So I went from assuming I was straight, to thinking I must be a lesbian.

I felt completely and utterly alone. I had shut out most of my friends in my life to be in this obsessive relationship. Most of the mutual friends that my ex-girlfriend and I had all took her side, and ostracized me for being such a horrible person to her. How could I have just broken her heart like that? I got incredibly depressed, and began my journey of various antidepressants and therapists, which I may address in another entry.

I became focused on myself, and on rebuilding my life. On making new friends, and trying hard in school. I escaped frequently into my music, because sometimes I felt that I could express my emotions through my music so much better than I could with my words.

After this however, I found myself being attracted to boys. So I determined I must be bisexual. After my first relationship, I was adamant that I would not be so obsessive, and have a nice balance of friends, self, and relationship. My next relationship, or perhaps more "learning experience" lasted about one month. I was exploring new territory. Boys were so mysterious and confusing to me. I also struggled with the non-secrecy. The first time he tried to hold my hand in public, I quickly moved it away. To this day, I still sometimes struggle with being comfortable with public displays of affection but I'm much better.

Anyway, at a certain point I started doubting whether I truly was bisexual and constantly felt this need to "prove" that I was truly bisexual. I mean I hadn't been with a girl in a long time, and most of my crushes were of boys. I had friends who would ask me "so are you straight yet?" This need for people to box me annoyed me. I don't go around asking single people if they're asexual yet. And I would go to lgbt meetings, and bi group meetings and somehow still feel out of place. Like I didn't quite fit in.

It was only recently when I first heard the term pansexual. Since I have also been struggling with gender issues for some time I instantly loved the new term that I could add to my vocabulary. Pansexual, it just sounded so open, just like I strive to be.



I will finish this later...

Analyze this

I have a tendency to over-analyze everything. Now in some situations it can be a good thing, but usually it just gets in the way. I obsess. I think about every single situation and every single possibility.

Sometimes when I actually say some of the things I have excruciatingly over-analyzed it can be rather humorous.

On the one hand, I've been trying hard to be more honest with myself and honest about myself. A part of that has included admitting to people that I do struggle with depression. It has been a big part of my life and affected who I am today in a lot of ways. However because of this I've lately become kind of paranoid that perhaps people are just pitying me, feeling sorry for me, and are just trying to be nice to me because of this.

I really wish people could just be upfront with me. But maybe I'm just over-thinking things again.

In other news, the midterm I was supposed to have this week got pushed back another week. So that's awesome... but that just gives me longer to procrastinate.

keep tryin' - utada hikaru

I'm trying I really am. I just don't know what to do anymore.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Saturday morning

And once again the pit at the bottom of my stomach persists. Why won't it go away? What can I do to make it go away? Anyone? Any ideas? Please?

Today I woke up early because our TA for Research Methods in Clinical Psychology set aside some extra hours to help us all out with SPSS and how to do the different tests and stuff. Our TA is really such a great person. He has gone completely out of his way to help us out and make sure we all understand what we're doing. I just feel like a complete idiot in that class however. I don't know why I'm having such difficulty understanding things. And then today, it seemed like everyone was progressing through the problems so much faster than I was, I just kept staring at them blankly. I was the first to leave because I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed a break, I needed to do something else. Then I actually went to Dewick, and even considered going to the gym, but the second I got to my room I got tired and ended up taking a two hour nap.

And here I am. I think I might still try to go to the gym after this. Perhaps it will help me focus, and really I just haven't gone in such a long while.

I am really liking yoga. It's always so amazing to me how during the workout it doesn't necessarily feel like a super challenging workout like say running or lifting weights does, but the next day I am always so surprisingly sore. It's a good feeling though. I enjoy feeling sore because then I know that I am improving and getting stronger.

I swear I had thought of something more meaningful to say.. but now I can't remember. I hate how frequently that seems to happen to me. Oh well. Maybe I'll remember later.

For all you stalkers

Whenever I reach a new point in my life I usually feel the need to start a brand new fresh journal. I haven't kept a journal for the past 3 years or so, so it seemed fitting that I start a new one. However if you are interested you can access some of my older blogs. I have numerous entries for all of you out there who are incredibly bored and really have nothing better to do than read what my thoughts have been since I was about 15 years old... but alas, I shall not presume that I don't have any stalkers. Enjoy!

Blogspot 14 entries (2/26/07 - 4/18/07)
Livejournal 274 entries (10/24/04 - 2/9/07)
Diaryland 272 entries (5/30/03 - 10/24/04)

I love you, Andres

My mind right now is just racing with thoughts. This is usually what happens though before I go to bed. Usually why I have trouble sleeping. When everything has ended and you just lay in bed left with nothing else but your own thoughts. Usually I try to keep myself constantly busy to try and escape these very thoughts, try to distract myself from them, but eventually I always have to face them.

There is this just nervous anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. I know I keep procrastinating things that I shouldn't be. Like how I decided that I wanted to apply for the Americorps NCCC program over the summer, I started the application way back in September... and now its February and I STILL haven't finished it. Every time I look at it I just feel sick to my stomach. I want to get in so badly, yet I'm so scared of rejection, and I believe it is rolling admissions so at this point I'm wondering if I should even bother applying to the fall program or if I should go ahead and apply instead to the winter program. I don't know.

Tonight I was in a pretty good mood. But I had no one to share it with. It was nice outside again, and I walked around a bit, but then just went back to my room... to compulsively check my facebook and e-mail... and try to find stupid things to preoccupy my time with. Last night I kept checking my e-mail like every 10 minutes, as if someone was going to send me a new e-mail at 3:30 AM within 10 minutes...

I have been trying hard to get back in touch with people who I care about. I'm really realizing how much I just shut myself off from the world. I don't think it helped that I didn't have internet for almost a year while I was in Spain. But I just feel strange lately. Like I'm finally not being a hermit anymore, and making an effort to be nice to people, and give people a chance, and get to know people, and I've been meeting some pretty cool cats, but I'm also about to graduate, and really I'm just finding that this is a never-ending predicament that I face. I meet some cool people, and soon enough they're out of my life again. I understand that life takes us all in different directions, and that we are all doing our own thing, but sometimes I just wish I could just surround myself by all the people I care about whenever I so desire!

It's just so hard for me to live in the present. I know its something I need to work on. To stop regretting the past, stop worrying about the future and just be happy in the present. Easier said than done. I somehow just constantly fear that I'm going to do something to eternally fuck up my future. I'm trying really hard to just enjoy moments for what they are, and to maximize the number of moments enjoyed.

I really do have a big heart and although I believe I am able to perhaps give more because of it, I also think I get hurt easier because of it. Deep down I am a hopeless romantic.

Lately I keep thinking about my uncle who passed away. Aside from my sister and parents, I barely know the rest of my family. They all live in Argentina, and I've only ever met them a few times. I used to get really upset about this, and felt angry toward my parents for coming to the US. My family all know each other well, and get along together great (or so it seems) and my sister and I were just the odd ones out. My uncle is really the only one who truly made an effort to get to know me. I never got the chance to get to know him as well as I would have liked to but to this day he is probably my biggest role model. He was energetic and positive and lived life to the fullest. He never had any money but every single year he would remember my birthday and usually send me some sort of gift. I never remembered his birthday. He traveled the world and never judged anyone. When I went to visit him we shared ice cream with this homeless man he befriended and allowed to live under the steps. He would always bring change with him to give to the homeless. When I was 13 or so he offered me marijuana since he smoked every single night. He would tell me stories about all the different drugs he tried. He loved to draw, and he loved cats and plants. He had his priorities straight, and understood what really mattered in life. He died from AIDS about a year ago. He lived far longer than all the doctors told him he would. I'm sorry I didn't get to know you better, and I'm sorry that the last time you called on the phone I didn't really care to talk. I have always admired you and I will always love you. You are truly a guide in my every day life. I hope that somehow or in some way you can hear me.

If I have learned anything its that I should always give people a chance, to try and live life to the fullest while I can, and to take the time to appreciate the wonderful people in my life.

Fuck I'm crying. How did I even get on that topic? I don't know.

Sorry if I keep jumping from thought to thought...

I got a cranberry-grapefruit vitamin water. I now have two flavors of vitamin-water I enjoy. The other is dragonfruit.

Uff.. I think I should probably go sleep soon since I have to wake up at 10 tomorrow... on a Saturday to learn to use stupid statistics programs.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Self-handicapping

It's 5 am............................ I have class tomorrow... I haven't finished my homework.. I don't want to do my homework now... I'm tempted to just sleep, but I'm scared I won't wake up to do my homework. Instead I'm just wasting time online. I have known about this homework for the past two weeks. Why oh why do I do this to myself?

In other news, its absolutely splendid outside right now. It finally stopped raining, its not too cold, and it just feels so crisp and clean, and I love the eery silence of night. Too bad I have work to do and can't just hang out outside. Not to mention I'd probably get kind of paranoid on my own anyway.

I don't really have much to say, so I'm just making up things to say.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

its raining fucking hard

So.. I'm trying really really hard to start writing again. I mean I keep THINKING about writing, and I always think of all these things I want to say.. but then I just don't. It's almost like I have TOO much to say, and I know I'll never get around to saying everything that I want to say so instead I just don't say anything at all. I started re-reading my old journal entries, and most of them are super depressing... Whatever.... this snippet was rather entertaining however:

"After my 9:30 class I walked over to Dowling. I am always a fan of shortcuts, so I decided to go across the snow rather than staying on the nice pathway. I soon realized what a bad idea this was as the snow was really a big sheet of ice and I fell on my ass. I couldn't stand back up, so I just pushed myself along on my ass until I reached the road. This guy was staring at me and laughing hysterically."

Anyway.... today kinda sucked. I woke up.. decided to miss my 9am class even though I have an exam for it next week... Then I woke up again at 12 and decided to sleep through physical therapy. I just don't understand why I am so tired. I mean I went to sleep around 1:30... I should have been well rested enough to make it to physical therapy. But I just couldn't. I felt like I had a ton of bricks on top of me. Ugh. I was so optimistic about Cymbalta. It really was helping so much, and now I just feel like it stopped working. However, I do feel better overall I guess... at least there are moments where I am doing okay. I thrive off of the energy of other people, and I'm definitely not nearly as socially anxious as I was. Now I usually find myself in my room bored... wanting to hang out with people but with no one to hang out with. What happened to late night study parties?! What happened to just wandering around Dewick for hours and hours?

It's been raining nonstop all day today and yesterday. A part of me hates the rain and I want it to go away. Another part of me loves it. It's fairly warm outside and I'm fairly tempted to go for a run outside, and just feel the rain hitting my skin and just not give a damn about anything. I feel like it would just be so refreshing. I just want to run and run and run until I'm so exhausted that I just fall to the ground. By that point, the ground will probably be pretty muddy since its been raining so much. And I can just lay down in the mushy ground and feel the rain seeping into my every pore. I can roll around in the mud and be filthy and not give a damn. I would also love to make out with someone in the rain. Instead I think I'll just sit inside my room and be annoyed.

Annoyed at the world. Someone bailed on me for dinner tonight. We had been trying to get dinner together for like the past two weeks or so. I was planning on going to a movie screening, but I decided that it wasn't that important. So I put MY plans aside so that we could finally get dinner. 7:30 rolls around, which was when we had planned, and nothing... 7:45 rolls around, and I decide to call to see whats up. "Oh I got hungry so I already ate... I'm really sorry..." Really? Really? wtf. As if I didn't have anything better to do except wait around to get dinner. You could have at least called... so I could make my other plans... but I had to call. The worst part about it is that I pretended like everything was fine. I tried so hard to pretend like it didn't matter, and like it wasn't a big deal. Why? I really don't know. I mean truly... he should know how uncool that was... I'm so just... whatever right now.

Then I actually get all motivated (which I really haven't been lately at all) and go to the library. I'm feeling all sorts of energized and ready to do work... and then... the blackboard site is down. On the one hand... its gives me an excuse to not do work... on the other hand.. I was actually finally motivated to do work... and its due tomorrow. It just better work before tomorrow because I doubt that excuse will fly since we've had about 2 weeks now to get this done. Yes I am a huge procrastinator.

Today I went to see Lucy. For the past year I have been going once a week to the Tufts Educational Day Care center to play with a 6 year old girl named Lucy who has high-functioning autism. She is really starting to show how much she cares about me and I think its truly going to break my heart. She made me two drawings today, and when I tried to leave she really really didn't want me to leave. She just kept giving me hugs and told me she would miss me. She also invited me over to her house to play.... ugh. I'm okay saying bye when I know that I'll just see her the next week, but I think I might cry at the end of this year when I know I won't be seeing her anymore. This has really been such a great experience for me. I have learned so much, and I feel like I just get her. I understand her quirks, and why she does the things she does when no one else seems to.

I love children. They're so much more sincere, and honest, and true to themselves than adults are. There is so much less bullshit.

I just feel like I'm trying so hard.. and I just don't know how much more I can try.

I need to start going to the gym again, and work out all of my frustrations. Anyone wanna go with me?

I'm going to binge on some swedish fish and sour patch kids now and watch some grey's anatomy and private practice....

Later

Friday, February 5, 2010

A new me.

It is almost 6 am and I have class tomorrow morning but I don't care, I just felt I had to write. For the first time in about 3 years I feel truly happy. For me happiness really is a state of being and really has very little to do with the events that occur in life. Getting depressed because someone died? That's normal. Being consistently depressed for no reason. That's not normal. I think I first realized that I struggled with depression in 9th grade.