THE GOOD DOG Is a website that is produced, created and sent directly to your inbox by a fellow bipolar who has been through so much, we are fortunate that he is still with us for as we all know, this trying disorder can often lead us to think things that are NOT conducive to our health! However, he pulled himself together after a journey across America on FOOT giving himself time to reflect, meet many in need, and gather information that helped not only him, but also is available for US!
There is nothing better for the internal soul and to validate and understand ourselves a little more intensly than the good dog daily emails. Through this site ALONE I have come from the darkest caverns of depression and the outer atmosphere of mania through the HEALING words and confirmation that I am not an oddity, as so many in this judgemental world would have us believe.
This site will encourage, uplift, and literally tether you from the various directions that bipolar tosses us DAILY. It is a collection of quotes sent to you daily that comes from the GREATS who obviously knew much more about our illness than some of those currently in the medical field!
Remember knowledge of thyself is a key to controlling this disorder....it is not a curse, nor is it a punishment for deeds past done....but a disorder that is treatable not curable but TREATABLE and part of that treatment is how we feed our minds, how we tend to judge ourselves based on societal pressures...and yet through this site ALONE you can feel the virtual hand uplifting you, the true understanding of the rollercoaster upon which we ride.
BUT in reality it also is a great site for those who just want daily encouragement, daily inspiration and a positive outlook on how we can take control of our own mindset and attitude on life regardless of your health status, life obstacles that block the way for all of us occasionally.
For me it is an invaluable site that is utterly a lifeboat in this sea of a confusing state of affairs: in our nation and abroad. The world is changing yet the quotes you read on this site daily will help you to cope with such intense changes and such a diverse confirmation that being YOU is alright, regardless of what situation you may find yourself in. It is a small amount to subscribe and receive a virtual hug, outstretched hand, and KNOWLEDGE daily!!!
If you ever needed a site to subscribe to it is this one.....please check it out, read the testimonials, notice that this gooddog has been through the throws of so much and yet utilizes the greats of the past who had such vast knowledge and understanding of the humanity of each of us. We can not all fall into that "perfect" mold that society has insisted is NORMAL....actually NONE of us do, regardless of our perception of our self.
I feel rather stingy keeping this site to myself to this point for I have been receiving it for so long now that I would feel lost without it and look forward to it in my inbox each and every day. It is the FIRST email i read in order to get my day in sync with the mood swings or ordeals I may be facing and inevitably it always brings me full circle to recognize ......I am able, I am capable, I am unique and THAT is invaluable. You won't find a better resource for your daily life than this one. Check it out and subscribe and see the change it makes in your daily life too!!
I have been on a downward spiral for several weeks. No real friends, no social life-a year too young to go and drink and too old to stay home with the folks watching American Idol. I'm so tired and even though things aren't nearly as bad as they've been in the past, I need something to pick me up before I fell much further into depression and start having the suicidal thoughts again. My Mom always says, "God sends us friends and angels when we need them the most." Thanks for posting today. I'm going to check out this web site today. We can all use a little positivity in our life and just reading your post made me feel better. Thank you.
Oh my dear, you are so welcome. I just know that this site has pulled me from such depths and kept me from floating far above the mania so many times, he utilizes the quotes from greats to bring us to the realization that YES WE CAN and know that I am here for you should you need to just vent or talk....use my email on here and I will get back to you as soon as i can honey. Remember you are a individual with great potential and that this is NOT a curse or who we are...it is simply a disorder....and TOGETHER WE CAN!!! WITH this website it becomes so evident....I surely hope you get to feeling better. Trust me my dear I am often in the same situation of which you speak, i have the hardest to treat bp mixed mood rapid cycling with tactile and other hallucinations along witha ll the other sides (of course) like ocd, paranoria, panic disorder and on it goes honey on it goes. You will find this site so refreshing. I am only glad that you are going to check it out for he is amazing in his ability to somehow know exactly what we need to hear, don't knowhow he does it but he DOES!! AND as you read it notice he too is bp.......which makes it so much easier to follow for he GETS IT as so many have not a clue....I hope you subscribe and enjoy it daily as i do, it really really has helped me through. Now it isn't a cure all but it sure can turn me around when i'm headed for those dark crevices or see no light at the end of the tunnel. Let me know how you liked it and remember you can email me if you ever feel the desire or need!!!
take care dear, take care and know you are a child of LIGHT, sending prayers and positive energy your way honey.
let me know what you think!!
your friend,
ctrygirl
Last night - as I laid in bed between my "good" dog thoughts and "bad" dog feelings, I felt so flat. I tried so hard to think good, postive thoughts, but stress and worry and dreadful thoughts overtake my mind. I try really hard to ask "Why Not?" instead of "Why?" but laying there all alone in the middle of the night with no one to answer my questions, the darkness seems to sum up my life.
Spring has come to our neck of the woods in New Jersey and I lay in bed in the very early morning hours and listen to the birds chirping and I pretend that they are outside my window singing just for me ..... a whole little choir singing "Get up Rosebud, get up". Spring has come but this year I fear I will be a late bloomer but, Citygirl, I will bloom. I WILL!
I would like to write to you for a while if that is OK ... just until I feel more balanced. It helps enormously to know I have an angel out there in cyberspace.
Oh my dearest Rosebud,
I so know what you are speaking of when it feels like one is caught between two moods and literally pinned to the bed with wishes to get up, yet the bodyjust won't comply.
I too have battles with my thoughts every single day and know what you mean by experiencing the feeling of being overcome by them. So many times I have literally pulled myself from the bed only to be met by the closet of clothes and break into tears trying to figure out what to wear (and trust me I am NOT a clothes person so the choice is not great or vast, it is just the having to make a decision and being so weary from the throws of tossing and turning, thinking and contemplating that kept me from any kind of peaceful sleep whatsoever) that is kinda the purpose of the Good Dog, Bad Dog it is what we force ourselves to feed our minds and hearts...what we decide goes in and STAYS and what we desperately try to toss away...OH NOT THAT IT IS EASY NOT ONE SINGLE BIT>>>it is just such a refreshing reminder to me each morning that I DO have the choice,,,,,for oh so many times we as bps often think we DON"T have the choice, and to be honest sometimes we really DON"T we just are in that STATE of which i know you understand what I speak of.
There is something you need to always remember my dear friend....you are NOT the illness.....we are ALL children of light, and our God doesn't make mistakes
....he has simply, set us upon a path that often feels rather bumpy, pothole ridden, often winding and veers so many ways that we sometimes seem to lose sight of that fact.....I know I do at times....
HOWEVER I have no doubt you are encased in the feathery wings of a guardian angel that is looking out for you and you are being led by an invisible thread, with light and goodness all around you (that was evident whe you expressed the sentiments of your family I can tell you have a GREAT support group and that is VITAL) the path that you are to be on.
...believe me I know it isn't easy
(for as I revealed to you I have what my pdoc considers the hardest to treat type of bp...mixed mood VERY rapid cycling with hallucinations and all the sides like panic disorder, ocd, anxiety disorder, paranoria and so forth as you know it can come with a gammet of various other mental disorders and ME waiting 10 years to seek help made the situation even more difficult ....see I watched the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest once and it stuck with me for so many years i FEARED the pdocs and anything to do with mental health facilities so much that I refuted my MD for 10 years until she finally said, I can't treat you anymore until you seek psychiatric help...for she knew, but went through the variety of tests to outrule any other illnesses that could mimic bp....and oh we found quite a few other physical disabilities that I deal with also along with the bp ARGH!) but .....my point....I tend to digress...sorry.
But often times I feel I need shocks for my kneecaps in order to travel the path upon which we have been placed, yet I know that it is a journey that is going to teach me somehow, someway to learn to overcome, to learn to be strong in my faith, and to lean upon my Lord the way he has asked us so preciously to do.
I am so with you on that feeling of darkness and then light.....the endless tunnels of cavernous depression can blind us to the fact that tomorrow is another day...another chance for the illness and the meds to make it a better day than yesterday,
the mania can make us so flighty and aloof and ALOFT even that we often need to be tethered in order to keep from walking upon the clouds and viewing the details below.
For I believe with all my heart and soul that bps are some of the most compassionate, creative, empathetic and understanding people in the world....I want you so to read this web site you will utterly be amazed at
http://bipolarworld.net/Bipolar%20Disorder/Articles/art14.htm
so many who touched SO many nations, so many who changed SO many lives, so many not even identified by the general masses...and remember those fingers and stigmas and judgements that they pass are simply THEIR views of what is SUPPOSE to be in THEIR world...NOT YOURS>>>THEIRS....I am reading an AWESOME book that I have found so much of my inspiration from just yesterday, I am nearly done in a DAY!!! and trust me the concentration of ME is not always at such a level...it is called THE SHACK>>> now at the first i thought..WHOA This is not something that I even want to read...but the further on I got, I realized the analogy of how we judge one another based on OUR OWN CRITERIA of good and evil, darkness and light...and so forth.... if you can PLEASE read it, it makes you reflect on your OWN perception of yourself....after I got to page 70 or so I began to be hooked BEYOND explaination...remember that what others outside your support group say is just plain EXTRA STUFF>>we must learn not to carry with us. My point being you are on a path chosen far beyond our understanding or reasoning.....so we must overcome and follow the way, make ourselves as KNOWLEDGEABLE about our illness as possible, (habits, mood charts, talk therapy, meds of course, new approaches, question our pdocs, keep a support group informed when necessary, and remember to be there for each other)
I will always be here for you.....know that...I have some creat coping sklls....some things that will often make you feel better EVEN IF YOU ARE BED BOUND per say...
I want you to know that you are so welcome to email me at my address here and when i get it I can give you my personal email where I can email you some great pics, and some great audio music that I utilize when I need uplifting or even at times I need to be slowed down!! I would LOVE To have a regular email conversation with you any time!! Just email me when YOU are ready honey.
I met my best friend on this site and believe it or not I even got a chance last summer to spend a couple of weeks with her and that was across many miles....So remember this, YOU are NEVER alone, the LORD is always and I mean ALWays with you...
I will also be with you..although virutally tehee..but STILL I know you can feel the concern and love across the virtual miles...after all YOU ARE BP and we are very very perceptive people...often uncanny at times huh?
Well if you are interested darling I am so ready to get an email from you here so please do!!
I want you to know this,......I am PRAYING for you.....I am sending positie energy your way and I am so hoping that you are feeling better today.
I hate it that I have DIAL UP for I often am not able to be on here due to having a kids out somewhere tehee or something of that nature and needing to keep the phone line open, so if i am a day late please understand that I do not always have the means OR sometimes even the desire to get on line....BUT I SO want to communicate!!
i can only hope that I have helped in some way.....
Know this, so many here , and myself so much included....are with you, been there, going through it or empathic to the situation....with understanding.
I am here for you dear...email when you feel like it...and REMEBER TO FEED THAT GOOD DOG today teheee.... OH yeah here is the site of my own personal blog...perhaps you would like that too to check out.....
http://ctrygirlspeaks-ctrygirl.blogspot.com/
with love and prayers,
ctrygirl