grieving, mental health, & staying sober

I hope this helps someone 🖤

[@jongdg]

No matter how far you drive on a road, you are always the same distance from the ditch. Don't let progress fool you into thinking things are different "this time." Thanks for the bracelet videos, they have helped me teach my daughter.

[@nicholashale6620]

Hello! Random stranger here who watched your basic friendship bracelet knot tying video so I could help my daughter! Thanks for that! We are doing great now :) I checked your other videos to see if you had any other good vids, and you do, but I also saw this most recent one, so I watched it. My wife struggles with anxiety and depression and has most of her life. I've heard her say some of the exact things you say in your video and I just want to reassure you of something. I have no incentive to lie to you here, either, so please trust I am being sincere: You are the best mom, EVER, for your son. I promise you that. Every minute of yourself that you give him is the most valuable thing in the world to him and it doesn't matter if it's 2 minutes, or 20, or 2 hours, or 5 hours each day. Do the things you can, how you can, and that is enough. We can only do so much with the energy and mental bandwidth we have each day, and we don't all get the same to start with. You do you. You have to take care of yourself in order to take care of him and sometimes that means heading home sooner than you'd like, or not getting out some days at all. If he is with you, that is what counts. The important part is to remember that taking care of yourself is the right choice, each day, if it's what lets you "keep calm and carry on". This life IS hard, you said it, even when things are going pretty good it is still hard work all the time! It will always be hard, but it will get easier to manage the more you keep on doing the right things. Good job with your sobriety, keep it up! It is also hard, but so so so worth it. The "feeling better" with alcohol/drugs isn't real, it just numbs us so we don't actually feel at all, and the only way to maintain that (false) feeling is to use more, and you know that leads to ruin. You are very strong, and getting stronger every day. Keep up the great work!

[@Kathallinan]

@@nicholashale6620 thank you so much I needed to hear that today 🥲🙏🏻

[@nicholashale6620]

@@Kathallinan I'm glad I clicked on your knot video then, and was curious enough to keep looking! Life/the universe is funny that way, eh? I needed to learn a proper backwards knot (I had the "backwards 4" part correct, but using wrong string lol) and you needed to hear that, so in a very odd but cosmically positive way we were able to help each other out a little, today! I hope you're doing well! You talking about your son and spending time with him while struggling with mental health things, at times, really touched me because my wife has said some of the exact same things, and she can be too hard on herself. Not saying you were/are, but it's way way way easier to be hard on ourselves than kind to ourselves. We seem to give all our patience and grace to other people, even when we need it desperately ourselves. So I just wanted to share that, above, in case you hadn't heard it lately! I'm sure you have support from your parents and sibs, but sometimes hearing something like that from an acquaintance or stranger makes it seem more real...like "This person isn't obligated or even connected to me, so why would they lie just to say something nice...they must actually mean it". Maybe I am just sentimental today, because my daughter is turning 8 tomorrow and I try to spend all the time I can with her, and it seems like the older she gets the faster and faster it happens. Seeing your little guy in the creek, at his age, was a nice reminder of all the simple little things we did when she was small, when everything was new and even simple things were wonderful adventures to her :) Cheers! Be well!