Viewing Britney in a new light

I am often very bothered by the amount of attention celebrities get. While it is true that they are in the public eye, celebrities have a right to privacy and to deal with their problems without the population judging them. No one is perfect - not even a celebrity worth millions of dollars.

Who among us doesn't have some sort of issue? If I was behaving the way Britney Spears is, I would have loads of family members and friends trying to get me help. Because I'm not famous (yet), I don't have hoards of people following me with cameras or media hounds trying to twist what's going on in my life to make a good story. Those acts simply add to the stress of someone already struggling and on the edge of another tragedy.

But perhaps Britney's celebrity status will bring attention to some very serious mental issues and prompt regular people to recognize out-of-control behaviors in themselves or in people they care about. How wonderful it would be if someone gets the help they so desperately need because of the attention Britney is getting.

Many get scared when realize they have a mental health disorder. It's almost as if the fear of how others will treat them outweighs the realization that the right medication can balance out the struggles and allow patients to finally work on the fundamental cause of the problem.

Britney Spears almost certainly has issues. Again, who among us doesn't. I'm saddened that her celebrity status makes the general population laugh at her struggles, as if she doesn't deserve the love and respect a non-celebrity would get. Yet I'm hopeful that in the end, at least one person will benefit greatly from the media attention Britney and her condition is getting.

Focus on the emotions

A friend of mine sent me this article yesterday. The idea behind it is that we must embrace our emotions - even the "dark ones" that make us feel icky crappy. I completely agree. Feel and process the emotions, relate them to your experience, and go about your day. Problems - big problems arise when we stuff those emotions thinking they'll eventually go away. Kind of like out-of-site, out-of-mind. I lived many years like that - in denial of my true feelings.

Thankfully, through the help of my medication of choice, I am better able to focus on my here and now and can process those emotions more accurately.

I can't think of one person in that I know that couldn't benefit from an occasional visit to a therapist: we all need to talk to someone sometimes - and if that someone isn't emotionally attached to our lives in some ways, they can provide much more objective suggestions to help with our struggles.

Part of being human is having feelings. Part of being alive is in allowing ourselves to fully express those feelings. Squelching them just messes up your mind, body, and spirit and can lead to long-term health issues.

I don't think it's an accident that my tonsils need to be removed. It's how my body as been effected by my years of not allowing myself to fee my emotions. Being of the mind set that our spiritual/mental/emotional energy affects our physical body, and accepting the pending surgery, I am grateful that a tonsillectomy is all I need because of it! I've gotten MUCH better at that - still need to work on it. Thanks to being among the medicated many, I'm better able to do that.