Welcome to Dymphna's Diary

Although I am not Catholic, I find it interesting that "Dymphna" is the patron saint of those who suffer from clinical depression and other mental illnesses. Considering the purpose of this site is to offer inspiration and spiritual guidance to my readers, I felt it was only right I chose her namesake for the title.

In 2010, this site was set up to pass along personal information about how depression has affected my life and the lives of my family. Since then, it has EVOLVED. In 2011, I attempted to present posts that were INSPIRATIONAL to you, my readers. In 2012, I went even deeper with personal stories from people across the United States via touching videos, songs, and interviews. My hope was to show each of you that even when you feel that you are in a situation that no one else could understand, you are not alone. Through it all, my comments have remained to be my personal opinions and spiritual reflections. I will continue to occasionally post information that I feel is beneficial in removing the stigma of mental illness, but regardless I feel blessed to have been given this platform to spread God's love and compassion for ALL people. I wouldn't be where I am today without the strength I receive daily from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My hope is that this blog will help you find some comfort in your life. It most certainly is helping me find comfort in mine.

I want to make it perfectly clear, though, that when I make generalizations regarding mental illness, I am NOT giving advice to anyone. I'm just passing along information that I have found helpful in my life. I'm writing about MY PERSONAL experiences and thoughts. Mental illness affects everyone differently and your situation may not be reflective of mine.


Saturday, October 23, 2010

Will You be My Friend?

I took my granddaughter to McDonald’s this morning to enjoy Ronald’s “Playplace”. She’s never there more than five minutes before she has a slew of kids hovering around her. “Hi, I’m three years old. Will you be my friend?” Do you remember when saying that was all it took to get someone to be your best friend for a lifetime? I just can’t see me walking up to someone and saying, “Hi, I’m Jane Doe. I’m forty-four years old. Will you be my friend?” I’d probably end up on the psych ward at the local hospital.

When children are little - in order to bring another child into their inner circle - all they need to know about you is if you know how to play hide and seek. Why does the “qualifications list” get so much added to it over the years? By the time kids reach high school, their group is restricted to… just the popular kids… just the jocks… maybe the band “geeks”. And it only gets worse as we get older!

The pressure doesn’t let up, in general (by my observations), until adults hit their late 30s. Maybe by then we all realize it’s not a competition after all. We CAN be friends without worrying about… did my tennis shoes costs the most... is my child in the best school… who owns the biggest house.

The saying goes – “Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten. “ Let’s make sure we don’t forget it!
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