Many people talk about glories relating to some elated manias, or the strife surrounding the less than positive mood states and journey towards bipolar recovery. However, what about the positives? What positive lessons have you learned? What positive changes in your outlook, way of acting/doing things, or understanding of life have occurred? Is there something you like more about yourself now than before?

I need to think about this more myself. Positives only, please. I know this question may be difficult for some to answer. If you can only think of one thing, even small thing, that's fine. As you think of others, feel free to post multiple times. I'll start with one and then add more later. I know there are more than a few.

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* My temperament has softened. Fully soft? No. But softer. My illness eventually knocked me down a few pegs and made me feel in a different way. That can seem negative, in some ways, but in other ways it adds humility and in my case, reduced some of my self-imposed perfectionism. I try to embrace that in a positive way. Initially, I grieved a bit, but now see the result in a different light.

[FluffyDinosaur]

I am a writer and I've recently started to focus more on fiction (a long-time ambition of mine). I believe that my own mental health issues and my attempts to understand them have given me psychological insights that are valuable in writing believable characters.

Originally Posted by FluffyDinosaur

I am a writer and I've recently started to focus more on fiction (a long-time ambition of mine). I believe that my own mental health issues and my attempts to understand them have given me psychological insights that are valuable in writing believable characters.

That is a wonderful positive, FluffyDinosaur! Thanks for helping to get this list started!

[Sometimes psychotic]

I have more friends and love in my life....before the therapy I got I had pretty much zero friends.

I've learned how to open up and ask for help. I've also gained more compassion for others as well as myself.

[Fuzzybear]

I have more understanding of and compassion for myself and others and more friends than I had before I started this journey. I also realise the dysfunctions of those who abused me were theirs and theirs only, and all the insults and labels they projected onto me belonged to them. I am evolving into someone who is all the good things those who understand me think I am. And I am none of the things that people who judged me for my bad days thought I was. If I had never tried the traditional treatments, (which did not help since they were not delivered with compassion or respect) I wouldn't have found things that actually were and are helpful to me.

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

Many people talk about glories relating to some elated manias, or the strife surrounding the less than positive mood states and journey towards bipolar recovery. However, what about the positives? What positive lessons have you learned? What positive changes in your outlook, way of acting/doing things, or understanding of life have occurred? Is there something you like more about yourself now than before?

I need to think about this more myself. Positives only, please. I know this question may be difficult for some to answer. If you can only think of one thing, even small thing, that's fine. As you think of others, feel free to post multiple times. I'll start with one and then add more later. I know there are more than a few.

----------------------

* My temperament has softened. Fully soft? No. But softer. My illness eventually knocked me down a few pegs and made me feel in a different way. That can seem negative, in some ways, but in other ways it adds humility and in my case, reduced some of my self-imposed perfectionism. I try to embrace that in a positive way. Initially, I grieved a bit, but now see the result in a different light.

Good post

I have become more fuzzy, more me

[bpcyclist]

i was already pretty empathetic, I think, but am much more so now.

So many lovely positives mentioned above. Thanks, for sharing! It's special to learn a little bit more about all of you. It makes me smile

I've learned to be more patient.

As a kid through my mid 30s, my mother would say (again and again) "Patience is a virtue!" in response to which I would growl. This recovery journey sure has required patience (and tolerance), whether I liked it or not. Waiting for depression to ease, waiting for hospitalizations to stop, waiting to find the right medication cocktail, the right coping skills and mastery of them, etc.

"Good things do come to those who wait". Not to say you don't need to be proactive at becoming well, but there is always hope. I know that sometimes it feels like "two steps forward, three steps back", but slowly I found I made progress. I know I had to often appreciate the progress I made, however small.

I know there's a saying that says something like (not verbatim):

"Achievement is not necessarily completing big things that are easy, but in achieving small things that are really hard."

[Rick7892]

A positive for me is a deeper level of gratitude. I don't take things for granted as much, and I express appreciation more.

Another positive is that my expectations for what I can do are reduced, which makes it easier for me to live with myself.

Like for others, my humility has also increased. The wonderful thing about humble pie is that it is nonfattening! I can go back for seconds and thirds and more!