Gaining Strength From Those Who Have Been There

I want to try something different with the newest blog award I received. More than just filling in the blanks of a form, I would like to make my post have a little more meaning to my readers. I hope I don’t enrage the blog award fairies by not following the exact guidelines, but I WILL be nominating other blogs, and I think, in the end, that is the true purpose of the awards – to promote wonderful blogs. :-)

I have been graced with the pretty little Sunshine award by I’m A Survivor ~ My Journey to Sanity ~ A wife and mom’s journey to surviving Bipolar.

I feel this gives me the perfect opportunity to promote a certain type of blog I love. I have a special place in my heart for blogs by people suffering from some kind of mental illness or grief. They, more than any other, help us understand the people in our own lives who are suffering. They open up, and let us take a peek into their minds, thoughts, emotions, motivations, struggles.

After my fiancee, Dan, committed suicide many years ago, I struggled to understand what had happened. Many, many people tried to explain it to me. Oh, they were sincere, they meant well, and some of them sounded very professional. But it never really sank in until I talked to a suicidal young man. He had been to the same place Dan had been, but survived. He told me all about the state of his mind at that time. And then, I understood.

If you, or someone you love, is struggling with a mental health issue or grief, I urge you to seek out the blogs of others who are experiencing the same thing. They will give you inspiration, understanding, and compassion in a way that other people, no matter how well-intentioned, cannot.

Thank you to the brave men and women who share their difficult stories with us! These are just a few of the great blogs I’ve come across. To any of the nominees below, feel free to “follow the rules” of the Sunshine award, they can be found here: I’m A Survivor’s Sunshine Award post.

Jack Joseph’s Mom – If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever. A woman’s journey through grief as she struggles with the miscarriage of her son.
I Don’t Want To Talk About It – The ultimate paradox – depression in sobriety.
Living With ADHD – How else could I live?
A Mid-Life Adventure – A battle with depression, and life beyond the grey!
Pull Free Vibes -Coping with the daily struggle of Trichotillomania.
My 30 Day Challenge – Challenging negative thoughts. A depression story.
A Teenager’s Insight – The world through the eyes of a teenager who struggles with depression.

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Do you know of any other great bloggers who are sharing the stories of their struggle with mental illness or grief? Feel free to post them in the comments and I will add them to my list of nominations!