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A Journey With You

Tag Archives: assumptions

One Simple Thing and Our Lives Just Got Easier

27 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by A Journey With You in bipolar, caregivers, hope, mental illness, relationships, schizophrenia, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

assumptions, caregivers, chores, decorating, diet, exercise, mental health, mental illness, metaphors, schizophrenia], shopping, wellness

Twelve years ago, when my husband and I moved to San Diego, we bought a California king bed for our new apartment. Six months ago, my father-in-law sold his condominium and offered us his almost new king-sized bed. When my husband measured the two beds to make sure that the new one would fit in our room, he noticed that something was wrong. They were different sizes. He guessed that his fathers was a standard king and that is why it was different than ours, but his father’s bed was longer than ours. When he investigated further he discovered, our bed was a standard king, and his fathers was a California king.

For twelve years we had struggled to make the bed. We never found a set of sheets that fit correctly and after a year or so they would end up ripping at the corners. It was a constant battle to keep the fitted edges tucked in, and almost every night the sheet would pop off on mine or my husband’s side (usually mine because I toss and turn more in my sleep) — twelve years of battles.

Last week we received a Target gift card and went to the store and bought a set of red stripped flannel sheets in a standard king size. We washed them, then made the bed, and they fit perfectly. There was no pulling, tugging and stretching the corners to get the fitted edges over the side. Making the bed has become a breeze, and we no longer have to lift the mattress and stretch the elastic over the corner each morning when we wake up. We received another Target gift card a couple of days ago and went and bought two more sets of standard king-sized sheets and we boxed up all of our old linens to donate to Goodwill (I doubt they take bedding, but we will try).

I thought the story of our bed was a perfect metaphor for so many things in life that destroy our well being, damage our relationships and chip away at our self-esteem. Have you ever thought something about a person and struggled to make them fit your idea? Have you ever thought something was good, or right and wrestled to make yourself fit the mold? Have you ever wanted to be two to three sizes smaller and dieted and worked out, but never fit into the clothes you were dreaming about?

Twelve years of struggling to make the bed combined with dozens of torn sheets – throw out the assumptions and expectations and measure the darn bed! In other words, toss the assumptions, check the facts, and if they don’t match up, go to Target and remedy the situation.

Learning Not to Make Assumptions Especially Regarding Dis/ability

23 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by A Journey With You in bipolar, caregivers, hope, mental illness, relationships, schizophrenia, stigma

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

assumptions, disability, disabled, helping, hope, inspiration, mental health, mental illness, mentally ill, psychiatry, psychology, relationships, schizophrenia], understanding

When I had my job downtown, and I used to take the bus or walk to work, I regularly encountered my city’s growing population of homeless people. Many of the people I walked past asked me for money. I occasionally give money to homeless people, but I prefer to buy them a meal. With this preference in mind, I went grocery shopping and bought bread, peanut butter, and grape jelly. That night before going to bed, I made eight to ten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I carefully packed them all back into the bread sack and took the sack with me on my way to work the next day.

I offered a sandwich to every person I saw asking for money on the street. Not one person took the sandwich. (I ended up giving them away to my coworkers). I learned a few lessons that day that extends to other areas of life and people. The most import lesson was, don’t assume you know what other people want or need.

It is possible that every person I encountered that day had already had breakfast at one of the local shelters, or even at Starbucks or a convenience store. It is also possible that some of the people I offered sandwiches to had schizophrenia and like me don’t trust taking food from other people. It is possible that living on the streets as a vulnerable person, they have learned that not all people wish them well (we have had many beatings and even murders of homeless people in the last year). There are many reasons for not taking a sandwich from a stranger. I can’t possibly think of all of them, and it is possible that each person had a different reason.

Not assuming what other people want or need extends to all the people and relationships in our lives, but especially to those living with a dis/ability. People often think that they know what is best for someone with a dis/ability or what that person would want or need. These assumptions are where well-meaning people frequently give advice about nutritional supplements, exercise, spiritual practices, etc. believing that if the person with a dis/ability would just do something differently, their dis/ability may be more manageable or may be “cured.” This advice, unless asked for, is mostly unwanted, belittling and at times degrading and damaging.

I don’t believe that any nutritional supplement or any diet, vegan or otherwise will clear up my schizophrenia. I also don’t believe that God is somehow punishing me, and if I just prayed more, or prayed the right way or put the Bible on my head and did a jig that God would heal me. I most certainly don’t think demons possess me.

If someone asks for your advice about diet, exercise, spirituality then that person is open to suggestions and ideas about those things. If someone doesn’t ask, it is possible they are already getting the best treatment available to them, and those types of comments will come as an insult even though they were not intended that way.

When someone says, “If you went completely vegan and gluten free, your symptoms would clear up,” those of us with a dis/ability hear, “You don’t know your illness. You don’t know your body. Your doctors (even if they have been working with you for years) don’t know as much as I do. You aren’t doing everything you can to be “well.””

When you have an illness and are open about it, people will say all kinds of well-meaning things that don’t land on our ears or heart or mind in well-meaning ways. The most harmful thing that people say to me and someone says it every few months is “You don’t have a mental illness. You are full of demons.” What I hear when someone says that is, “God doesn’t love you.”

Saying a person with schizophrenia has demons is particularly cruel because we frequently experience delusions and hallucinations that have to do with God or religion. After those episodes are over, if we still want to practice our faith, we have to figure out by ourselves how to get back to a sort of mainstream Christian belief system (or whatever religion that person practices – I am Christian and have only heard this from Christians). If schizophrenia was caused by demons and not an illness why wouldn’t more people struggle with it, and as I always ask, why would medication be able to chase demons away?  Are demons opposed to living in someone who takes anti-psychotics?

I don’t assume I know what life is like in a wheelchair. I don’t assume I know what life is like with MS. I need to ask people who have a dis/ability that is different than mine questions and not hit them with answers. Hitting someone with a dis/ability with an answer before you know their circumstances, symptoms, struggles, is giving them one more thing to feel misunderstood, isolated, angry, or other negative thoughts and/or emotions.

My life is good, and so are many other people’s with dis/abilities, but like everyone else, we don’t need one more thing to drag us down. I try not to be a weight to others, let’s all try it together and maybe all of our struggles will seem lighter as we enlighten each other about the thing we know best – ourselves.

Making Assumptions

08 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by A Journey With You in hope, mental illness, schizophrenia, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

assumptions, essay, fear, free, inspiration, mental health, mental illness, mentally ill, schizophrenia], silence, stereotypes, writer, writing

Earlier in the week, my husband went to a car show. I was sick and couldn’t attend, so he had an extra ticket. He approached people waiting in a line to buy their tickets and asked if they wanted the extra ticket. Several people were rather rude and said, “No. I don’t want that.” Finally, one man said, “I’ll take that!”

The man who watched, listened, and understood what my husband was asking was the one who gladly accepted the ticket. All the other people assumed that my husband was trying to sell them something or give them something they didn’t want (they wanted tickets, or they wouldn’t have been in line).

All of us make assumptions, and all of us assume inaccurate things about people, places, and situations. One of the things that kept me silent about my diagnosis for such a long time is my fear of assumptions.

I made assumptions about people. I assumed that they would think that someone with schizophrenia would be incapable of being rational, making sound decisions, or functioning in everyday life.

It was an assumption about assumptions.

As is the case with so many assumptions, I was wrong. I am happy that I was wrong. Some people are curious about what it is like to live with schizophrenia, but no one has treated me any differently than they did before they knew I had a mental illness.

I need to learn that making assumptions can cause me to miss out on something good.

I need to learn to assume less and trust more. I need to open my eyes, and ears and see and hear what is going on before I make up my mind that I don’t want something – someone could be giving away something for free that it would normally cost me money to buy.

I’m going to try not to assume. I don’t want to miss that free ticket. Do you?

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