I deal with this all the time. One of the things I try to remember is not to compare me now with me before I was sick. They are two completely different people. Did I have lots of diplomas from all the right places and a fun, stimulating business? Yes, I was very fortunate. But I was healthy then. It was easy. It is totally unfair to compare that person then to me, today. Then, my goal might have been to launch a cool, new product I helped develop in China, say. Now, today, my goal is to make it to bedtime. It doesn't sound like a lot, but for me, depending on how this day goes, it could be brutal. I might barely make it. I might not--who knows? We'll just have to see.

It is unfair for us to compare ourselves to those who do not suffer from these illnesses. They don't hear voices, or think the CIA is rapelling down from a chopper around the corner, or think they're God, or the president. They don't deal with depression so crushing there seems no possible way out. 'Normal' people live in a different universe. I choose to stay in mine, where my goals and achievements are recognized and appreciated by others just like me. So. give yourself a break. You're doing great.