In Case You Need Some Perspective Today

Happy Leg-iversary to me! Yes, that’s what I call it. I’m weird, let me live.

If you’ve been here a while, you likely know this story, so I apologize to those of you who have seen it many times. I share it every year (or at least I think I have?) because I feel like there’s always someone, somewhere, going through some shit and maybe this will reach them in a time when they need it.

And in honor of Depression Awareness Month kicking off tomorrow (October), I thought it was good timing. I didn’t know that was a thing until recently, but I’m always on board to talk mental health!

23 years ago today (9/30/2001), I got hit by a car and almost lost my right leg from the knee down. I was a dancer, with my sights set on Broadway one day, but needless to say, that dream went right out the window along with 90% of my mental stability. It was a fast track to depression, PTSD, and anxiety, most of which I still deal with today. The blog post goes into much more detail, so if you feel so inclined, click here to read about it.

I’m lucky in a lot of ways and I know that (spoiler alert: I got to keep my leg), but that doesn’t change the fact that this was something that changed me from the inside out. Some for the better, some for the worse. I would be a different person today if this didn’t happen to me, and it took me a long time to come to terms with that. Our brains crave closure and logic, and when something absolutely shitty happens that changes the entire trajectory of your life, it’s hard to find any just cause that makes sense. You have to just accept it and move forward. And trying to do that when you’re a kid (I was 17) is incredibly difficult.

Pain and suffering exists no matter how good of a person you are, and it will find you eventually. Some just experience it worse than others.

To that end, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again…pain is pain. It’s all relative. I’m not sharing this to make you forget your problems or to tell you that they’re not important. Your feelings and problems are valid, but maybe reading this will help give you some perspective on them.

I know a lot of times when I’m upset about something, I tend to dramatize them, so I remind myself of the time when I couldn’t get out of bed on my own or stand up in the shower. I know this is morbid, but sometimes I will even think to myself “if I had to relive that all over again right now, would I care about why (insert person here) isn’t texting me back?? Or why my boss is being a dick?” The answer is, fuck no, I would not.

So…if you’re having a tough day, just let this be your reminder that it can always be worse, and no feeling or situation is permanent. You can change your circumstances and you can change your mindset, it just takes patience and a little bit of effort. Oh, and I highly recommend therapy too. :)

PS - if you’re problems are breakup-related, this blog post may help with that perspective too. And I’m working on getting my breakup survival guide e-book up on my site for sale soon, so stay tuned for that!