“What does it mean to be crazy? To have a disorder of the mind. But “disorder” can only exist if there is some kind of pre determined “order” set in place. And who decides on order relative to the human mind? Human society. Sane and insane is a judgment based on perspective. And according to many other perspectives within this universe, it is human society that is rampant with disorder. So there is no reason to think of yourself as insane; if the very mindset of the society that determines whether you are sane or insane… is in and of itself insane!”
-Teal Scott-
mulatto diaries 
Funny, today is Marilyn Monroe’s birthday and she is one of my all-time classic icons! These quotes are wonderful…especially for somebody like me who has battled depression for years. I wish the stigma would just die. Thanks for this brilliant post.
DEPRESSION…..oh, how it eats your brain!
I had a major ‘aha moment’ while visiting my Mom about a month ago. I randomly heard a statement on a TV show (while sitting in her hospital room….did I mention this was her THIRD hospitalization in a year? My THIRD time visiting in a year? That these hospitalizations could have been avoided if she weren’t an alcoholic who stubbornly refuses to behave in a safe manner?)
Anyhoo, a psychologist on Law and Order said “Depression is anger we turn inwards upon ourself”. SHAZAM!!!! Mom was dozing, so I was able to really digest this, which turns out is Psych. 101, but I obviously missed this little tidbit. Actually, I wasn’t ready for it when I was younger because I’d have denied that I am an angry person. I’m ‘the good girl’, ‘the sweet girl’, ‘the rescuer’. Yet I’ve been struggling with clinical depression for 8 years now and couldn’t function without medication. That’s how much it’s messed over my life.
I began thinking about the past and WHY I would be angry. Actually, there were enough reasons, and I realized that the person I was most angry with was my Mother. Freud would have a heyday with all this. The bottom line is, I don’t want to ‘stay stuck’! I don’t want to focus on the past and all the ‘what if’s’. I want to move forward and be a force for good in the world. So I unearthed the “Serenity Prayer” (another one I’ve heard many times but which just now makes perfect sense….)
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference
Simple, yet profound! Basically, let go of all the things that bother you about other people, past and present, and get on with life. I realized I have let the damage from my past be an excuse for not moving forward now. Having ‘courage to change the things I can’ pinpoints my focus and energies (which before, due to anger/depression were frozen) on positive change.
It’s helping. And I realize that I walk amongst broken people everywhere I go, and it gives me compassion to be a force for good in the world. Not a bad start to a new year!