[jamox01]

This past weekend I was really sick and could barely move and didn't take my Tegretol or Celexa for four days. I have only been taking these meds for a little over a month and have just started to feel a little more positive about my life and like things were going to be ok. Anyway, after not taking them for two days I was didn't feel anything different so I continued and on the fourth day I had a little bit of a mental relapse. I became very angry and was very paranoid about everyone. I all of a sudden started having a lot of negative thoughts again like before I was prescribed my meds. Well, I quickly got back on my meds and after only one day started feeling a little better and the negative thoughts are going away again.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm thankful that there are medications and therapy which can help my mind stay balanced and focused. This is the first Thanksgiving that I can remember where I'm not freaking out or doing something I shouldn't be.

J

[bizi]

Great thread idea!!!!!
I am grateful that you started this.

These forums and neurotalk forums have helped me learn how to deal with my mental health issues and I am thankful to be a part of a support forum.

I am grateful for my supportive mother and my sisters who try to make me laugh when I am so serious and help console me when I am depressed.

I am grateful for my husband, who has stuck by me thru thick and thin when others not as strong would have left. His love is unconditional.

I am grateful to my health care professionals, my pdoc and therapist who help me stay sane....and for medications that bring make reasonable behavior and thinking.

Boy, add my ditto to my thankfullness to my husband of 34 yrs. You wouldn't believe what I have put him through & he is still here & he doesn't dwell on the bad times; he seems to remember the good times better than the bad (unlike me) & concentrates on those. What a gift.

And my children (now 31 & 29) right now sitting next to me in front of the fire w/ my son-in-law playing Scrabble (brought them up w/ no TV in the house so they are into games, puzzles, reading, conversation, etc.)--so peaceful. Listening to them laugh as they challenge each other about a word.

Tomorrow will be relaxed as we are not traditional; we will barbecue the turkey by the community pool while sipping beers in the hot tub; fixing side dishes (lots as daughter is vegetarian); dressed in our best sweat pants or warm-ups!!

We also will have another couple here that is from Europe who have no family around so they don't know that this is not a traditional American Thanksgiving!! Hope they don't turn on the TV & think they will come into Martha Stewart's place!!

Have a good one, Everyone.--Suzy

[jamox01]

I want to add that this Thanksgiving I'm also thankful for the following things as well:

I'm thankful for having the support of two wonderful parents and a sister. While they don't always understand what is going on with me they continue to love me unconditionally and always try to be there for me.

I'm thankful for the nice chill in the air and blue sky today. I stare at it and think to myself that if I wouldn't have seeked out help that I may have missed it this year.

[Sherryanne]

Happy Turkey Day everyone!!

Im thankful for life and the ability to get up and try again everyday. Im thankful for my mental health support team and my family especially my mom who has stuck through thick and thin.

Im thankful for being given the opportunity to try again and to experience a better life.

Im thankful that Ive survived.

[jamox01]

I haven't visited the forum in a while but wanted to tell everyone in the bipolar forum what I'm thankful for. I find that by using positive reinforcement I help myself to be more positive!!

• I'm thankful that I have a plan with different coping stratagies I can use for different situations that arise. This has been a life saver for me.
• I'm thankful that I've stuck it out with my treatment because I'm finally starting to feel like I'm in control of my life.
• I'm finally thankful that spring is almost here so that I can get outside much more and take in the fresh air.

[Michah]

No Thanksgiving in Australia(too hot for turkey!!).......BUT in the spirit of things......

I am thankful for:

My healthy, beautiful, petulant son!!

My partner who loves my stormy, moody, eccentric, loving self.

The earth and the universe that provides me with beauty, humility and sustenance.

My fiercely protective anti-psychotic - Coco, the bodyguard chihuahua.

My shrinks, who want to see me reach my true potential.

AND.......the flashes of bliss and divine love that I have had the true fortune of witnessing

[rkba97]

Neat idea! I'm just seeing this now, so what the heck, even though it's not Thanksgiving, I still have a lot to be thankful for.

1. My nosy, loony family, who bestowed upon me my mental disorders, and who always there to listen, even if they don't understand what it's like to live with bipolar and depression.
2. My amazing boyfriend who loves me no matter who I am on any given day, and who has told me that he will always be around, and that he will learn to live with bipolar with me, as long as I never give up.
3. My unusually sympathetic boss who, despite my less-than-perfect attendance record, does understand that bipolar is a lifelong illness (just like her own diabetes), and that some days I just can't make it in on time, or at all, but that I am working very hard to change this.
4. My pdoc and therapist - I would still be in a horrible, dark place if not for them.
5. And lastly... I am thankful for those fair-weather "friends", who were suddenly nowhere to be found when I was in that horrible place, when my mood swings got out of control and I had no idea what was "wrong with me", because they helped me to realize how blessed I am to be surrounded by family and real friends who are still there for me through even the most difficult times.

This is a great thread, and I enjoyed reading everyone else's responses as well. Life is worth living, isn't it?

RK

[sunshine2009]

I was thankful that the doctors let me out of the hospital to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.