"We Write to Escape Our Prisons." Alice W. Flaherty

This is from Flaherty's book Midnight Disease. The book explores neurological connections to hypergraphia and to writer's block.

This was one of the first quotations I marked. What are our prisons? For me, some are

• Grief over terrible events several years ago. Unprocessed grief.
• Crippling anxiety with our without cause.
• Trouble reading.
• Trouble speaking--speed, the wrong words...
• Chronic pain

I can also see this applying to addiction and to literal prisons. Writing allows one to unearth shame, guilt, and fear and pour them into the paper container (or the blog, etc.) where it loses power over one even as the vessel stays warm in case one can make creative use of the mess someday.

The more I write, the freer I feel. I need that anytime outlet.

Stop Being Dashed and Do Something!

This is from My Fair Lady. When a character goes missing, all one other character can do is say, "Well, I'm dashed!"

I've certainly felt dashed a number of times, as has my family. I think we tried to stop being dashed and start doing something, especially as the dreadful situations mounted and multiplied.

A couple of months before my diagnosis, I realized that I almost certainly had bipolar disorder. I was dashed. But then, when the report and diagnosis came, the surprise had passed, and I wasn't ready to face some of the realities about the disease--taking medication forever, deadling with side effects, and constantly changing prescriptions...and the fact that nothing would ever cure me. But I did something.

I checked out books, both nonfiction self-help and memoirs. Books were probably my best option for learning about my illness. Josh went to a class for family members. I set up a council of 3 (plus professionals) to help me make decisions. I went to therapy.

I tried to do something every day. I need to get back to that! And I'm open to ideas.