Trouble in Paradise

Ah to be 18 again.  Naive and so sure of all the freedoms that I think adulthood will come with.  Ready and willing to be one, just knowing all would be great if the parents would just get off me back.

Then I became one.  Not so fun and I so needed my parents to have my back and they... cause I was an adult, didn't have it.  I was a adult.

Adulthood isn't all about tattoos and cigarettes and freedom sug.  If it was all about that, life would be oh so grand.  It isn't.

It's about car insurance, electric bills, taking meds when you need to and yes - even buying them yourself.  It's about paying your own rent, getting a job, making your own car payment to go with that car insurance.

It's about not throwing hissy fits when we don't get our way all the time and kicking dressers or choosing not to take our meds cause we don't feel like it today.  It's getting down to the nit and gritty of surviving on one's own when their is no one to turn to for help except ourselves.

Your folks still want to watch your back and still want to help you out.  All they are asking is you follow some rules.  Once you turn 18, you are considered an adult though most states still do not allow 18 year olds to drink or own weapons - yet you can enter legal contracts, and you can be hauled off to adult prison if you commit a crime.

Adulthood isn't all it's cracked up to be and while folks are still willing to help out and watch your back, so to speak, why not pony up some respect and just lay low and follow the rules.  Once you get totally out on your own, you'll have one hell of an eye opening experience to adulthood if the folks won't support you when you falter and fail. 

So, respecting them now and showing some maturity (like not throwing temper tantrums, etc..) along the way might go a long ways in them releasing some of their supposed grip on your life.  It's a possibility.

I've gone through a lot of painful things in my life, and one thing I've learned is that first of all, you have to survive in order to win.  With Bipolar, taking your meds as prescribed without exception is the most crucial tactic you can use to ensure your survival.  After you've done this for a few months, your pain level will fall significantly and so will the emotional turmoil which makes it so hard to understand yourself, your parents, other people, and the world in general.  You must remember that Bipolar is very deceiving; it claims most of its victims because it is an up-and-down experience, and it tries to fool you into thinking that you can stop taking your meds NOW, because you're feeling so much better.  That's Bipolar eroding your thinking ability and your memory, as well as capitalizing on the delusional state that the "highs" or manic days send your way.  Do NOT listen to the disease, it doesn't like you.  Listen to your doctor.  The biggest single problem that people with Bipolar have is that they stop taking their meds once they start feeling better.  Don't fall into that trap! It's not a sign of weakness to take medicine for bipolar.  It's a sign of discipline and smarts, and of self-love.

  Thanks for sharing.  Take it easy on yourself.