Do you exemplify strength, character and courage?

Hi Everyone,
Yesterday, I saw this incredible video (http://keep.diyinteresting.us/hes-wrapped-up-like-a-mummy-when-i-saw-why-my-heart-hit-the-floor/) about this inspiring young man (it is quite long, but well worth the watch).  In the beginning of the video, the presenter talks about the boy's strength, character, and courage and it got me thinking.  I am posting this because I know that there are people with mental illness who have so much strength, character, and courage!  I would love to hear your story and share it with others ☺️. Do you know a person (your child, loved one, yourself, or anyone you know) who exemplifies these qualities when dealing with their mental illness on a daily basis?  Please share this to everyone and anyone you know...the more stories, the better!  Please send me your story of strength, character, and courage, as I would be honored to share it on my page (https://www.facebook.com/meganruns4mentalillness).  To share your, or a loved one's, story, please go to my facebook page and send me a personal message. I will share the story to let others see that people with mental illness are amazing people!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart 💜
Sincerely,
Megan ☺️

The Love of my Life (LOML)

My wife, Stacey, and I went on our first date on December 6, 2007.  We moved in together in April, 2008, and got engaged on August 20, 2008.  

Then, we got married on the two-year anniversary of our first date, December 6, 2009.

We've been through an awful lot together, both good and bad, and we are committed to spend our lives together!  

Stacey has always seen the good in me, even when I didn't think I was very lovable.  We have always known that we were meant to be together, and even when I was having a really hard time accepting that I was a lesbian, and with my illnesses, we just knew. 

I was freaking out a lot in the first couple years of our relationship, but always in my heart, and hers, we just knew that we could make it through and that it would get better if we worked at it.  

And our relationship and my illnesses have gotten immensely better! 

We have a great, unconditional love for each other and our puppy boys!  

Stacey is the most accepting, loving person I have ever met, and I needed that greatly.  She is the most beautiful woman in the world, and has a great sense of humor and a wonderful silly side.  She loves to do new things and loves to have fun and I love that about her.  She is definitely a "live in the moment" type of person and she often helps me to loosen up and not take myself so seriously. And I greatly need that, too. 

There are so many things about her that I think are so amazing, I can't even list them all here.  

She is everything to me and I am so glad that she chose me to love and spend the rest of her life with.  

Her dreams are my dreams, or rather we have the same hopes and dreams!  

I will go anywhere as long as I am with the love of my life!

Taking responsibility

(This is part of what I just posted on my facebook page, www.facebook.com/meganruns4mentalillness. Had to post some of it on here, but if you want the full version and info about tribal shaming, please visit my page.  Thanks!)

I am partly at fault for the way things are with my mother/ her family/ my dad and his family.  It's really interesting that I am now fully realizing this (and posting about it).  Yes, I was emotionally abused by my mother, but I also did things that I'm not proud of.  I have lied, embellished, gotten really angry, said things I should not have said (to family other than my mother, too), started fights, not treated my family members with respect, etc, etc.  I am not perfect and I really get it now.

I am not proud of the way I have behaved, although I have gotten a whole lot better, and it is quite painful to realize these things.  I never like to think about the negative things I have said or the horrible ways I have behaved, but I am thinking about them now. It's quite uncomfortable, but, yes, I have done these things.  And I am sorry for what I have done.

I chose to not talk with my family anymore, and I still stand by that.  There is a lot of stuff there.  But, I'm sure that they are glad that I don't talk with them anymore.  I am happy and healthy now, but I used to be a mess.  And that's the only way they knew me-as a mess.

I can't take back anything, but I CAN change and say that I'm sorry.  I know some of my family read this page, and if you are reading this, please know that I am sorry.  I am better now but I'm sorry for the things I did and said.

O Canada!

Since seeing Ottawa win in Philly yesterday, Stacey and I have a renewed dream, goal, and passion to move to Canada next year!

We have wanted to go with Stace's work since we got married more than five years ago.  However, I wasn't doing that well with my illnesses then, so we had to put off our dream for a while.  We kind-of forgot about it for a couple of years, thinking that we would go in 7-10 years, instead of next year.  

A few years ago, I started doing much better with my bipolar and anxiety, and then Stace was invited to dance with her dance company in Disney.  Of course we were gonna go!  While we were in Epcot, we were so excited to go to Canada there!  We figured that we still weren't going for many years, but after Disney, Stace decided to look into us going sooner.  It was then that she discovered that we could potentially go in 2016!!!  

We are so excited to possibly have the opportunity to go to Canada next year!!!  Who would have thought?!  Certainly not us!  But it could be a real possibility if Stacey gets the job.  She won't be able to send her resume until the position opens up, which probably won't be until the fall of this year, but we are ever hopeful!  

We keep praying that we would be able to go and travel and see hockey games in every Canadian city!  We want to have our friends and family come visit us and we want to travel and see all of Canada!  

Like I said, this has been our dream since we got married (probably before then too) and we would LOVE to go and travel!  

We have been hearing only good things about Ottawa (where we would be living).  We have heard that it is a safe, beautiful, and very friendly city, and that all of Canada is the same way!!  We even met some Canadian friends yesterday at the game and they echoed everything we have been hearing!

So, we will just keep praying that Stacey gets the job and we can go to "O Canada"!!!  It would be our dream come true!

Truly blessed

Yesterday was Easter, and Stace and I had a great time with all of our great family at her aunt's house!  We celebrated her grandfather's 89th birthday, ate, and played wii bowling! It was a fun time with awesome people ☺️

Yesterday made me think about how blessed I am in my life.  I truly am the most blessed person in the world.  I have the most amazing wife and fur-sons in the world!  They know that I love them unconditionally and that I would do absolutely anything for them (including taking Oliver to the cardiologist later this month).  And I know that they love me unconditionally and with all of their hearts.  They make me laugh and smile every single day and they make me feel like the most loved person ever!  

And Stacey's family is absolutely wonderful to me!  They have welcomed me with open, loving arms and I am truly grateful for that.  I haven't spoken much to my own family in over five years (by choice), so being loved by my wife's family is priceless.  Her mom has been a mom to me since the day we met and I call her "Mom" and she calls me her daughter.  

I am very thankful that I get to do what I love a couple of days a week.  I am an In Our Own Voice presenter with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), where I share my story of living well with mental illness.  I absolutely love sharing my story and giving others hope!  

I also get to be in the medical field, which has been my passion since I was in the fifth grade. I volunteer at the SPCA, where I get to work as a surgery tech and help the animals.  It truly is the best job ever!

I am blessed because I am living very well with my illnesses and I am loving life- that is something I never could have said a few years ago.  

I often talk about how blessed I am and how happy I feel because it has been a very long road to get to where I am today.  Every single day gets better (truly) and I am the happiest and healthiest I have ever been!

It's  a great feeling and I just feel so blessed!

(Photos are of Stacey, Mom, and me at the beach a couple years ago)

An amazing person on my journey

I started seeing her four months before I met my wife.  I was a mess.  I had moved out of the group home I had been living in for two years just a year before.  I had only been living in my own apartment for five months, and although I was loving it, I was lonely.  I was working part-time at Target and had decided to see a therapist of my own volition.  I'm so glad I made that choice to start seeing her.

One day, I just looked up therapists and I found her, right up the street from my apartment.  I wasn't sure how I felt about her at first.  I had really come to not like therapy all that much, since having some bad experiences before.  But, she changed that part of me.

Janet is a clinical social worker and she is my therapist.  She has been with me through so much that I don't know how she still wants to be my therapist.  Janet has talked with me about everything, and she is the only other person, besides Stacey, who knows me better than I know myself.  She really does.  She knows how I will react to things, although we have been working on me being pro-active instead of reactive since the day I started therapy with her. It's been almost eight years since then.

We've talked about everything- my anger toward my mom and family, my being freaked out about being a lesbian (turns out she is one too and it made me so happy the day I asked her about that and she was truthful with me), and the symptoms of my illnesses, etc.  I was just so glad that there was someone else like me out there, and she was living a successful life.

We often talked about my fear that God wouldn't love me anymore because of my being a lesbian, but she just kept reassuring me that she believed that He did and that I would be okay.

Like I said, I met my wife just four months after Janet became my therapist and that was a rough time in my life. I was scared and would often get into fights with my then-girlfriend, Stacey.  Stacey would come to see Janet with me and we would talk about what was going on.  Janet was extremely helpful when it came to Stacey and I meeting with her.  We knew that she cared about us both and was willing to talk through anything with us.

I have wanted to leave therapy many times, but Janet's and my steadfastness in keeping with the therapy has kept it going for almost eight years.

Janet has let me scream, use curse words, let out my anger and frustration, and cry during our sessions.  She has been there when I have called her in crisis a couple of times, and has helped me through so much that I can't even remember everything.

She has done so much for me and has helped me to love and accept myself.  She is a very big part of my journey to wellness and that is awesome, in my opinion.

She came to Stacey's and my wedding and I was so glad she was there!

I used to see her once a week, and now I see her once a month, and sometimes not even that often.  The reason is because she has taken what used to be a mess of a human being and helped me become an inspired and inspiring woman.

Janet has helped me be able to take care of myself and my family and be okay with who I am.  She's a wonderful person and I'm so glad that she's on this journey with me.
(The picture is of Janet and me on Stacey's and my wedding day)