Nominated For A Leibster Award – Many, Many Thanks!

I have this morning learned that BreakdownChick over at Labeled Disabled has very kindly nominated the Guild for a Leibster Award.

I am incredibly grateful for this and you can see that nomination (and indeed Breakdown Chick’s) comments on  her own Leibster Award and this nomination by clicking ‘Labeled Disabled’ link above.

I am so very grateful for this award and for Breakdown Chick even thin king of the guild, let alone nominating us and will try to answer the nomination criteria accordingly 🙂

OK.  According to my understanding the first part of the process is to state 11 facts about myself.

Man I always find these things very difficult!  Additionally this blog is not really about me, it is about all of you, but it would be impossible to answer the questions for all of you so here goes…

 

11 Facts about myself….

1.   I am currently 53 years old.  But that changes every year 🙂  OK so are you starting to get the impression I struggle with this kind of ‘share about yourself’ thing?

2.  I am male.  LOL see that was relatively easy.

3.  I am a Christian who experiences mental health issues.  I think anyone who reads my personal blog(s) will already know that. But I have to point our that this blog is NOT a Christian or faith-based blog.  It is specifically mental-health related.  But these 11 facts are about me and I am struggling to find 11.

4.  I can read books which are upside down about as easily as I can read them the right way up.   Its a silly little fact I know and probably not very uncommon.  But I do find it mildly amusing to sit reading upside down and watch people’s quizzical expressions.

5.  I am really not very good at sharing about myself.  Hm is including that as one of my 11 facts about myself cheating?

6.  My brain tends to over think virtually everything,  It will hold an analytical autopsy of virtually every conversation that I have and where there has been any kind of confrontation or difference of opinion involved, it will replay it over and over.

7.  I am not (the above having [No. 6] been said) a ‘people pleaser’ per se.  I try to be a gentleman and polite and courteous, but I will not agree with someone just to please them or to avoid conflict.

8.  There are a range of emotions that I just don’t seem to experience.  These seem to be the top end emotions such as those within the range of extreme joy, excitement or elation.  It is as if somewhere along the line someone or something withdrew my permission to experience such emotions.

9.  I love to write.  Whether; blogging, books, or poetry I have always enjoyed doing so. Something that I have been seriously remiss in doing lately due to a number of health and other factors.

10.  I love to sing worship songs.  When I am worshiping it is probably one of the few situations where I can just let go.  Where my brain isn’t always in control or over-active.

11.  I am already question the suitability of my 10 previous facts. Did I mention that I over think things and am really bad at sharing about myself?

Ok.  That (excruciating painful) part over, now onto the next part.

 

Questions for Me… (These were set by Breakdown Chick in her nomination)

1) What is the number one reason you started blogging?

I wanted so very much to get what was going on inside my head outside of my head so to speak.  Not only in attempt to give it voice and understand it better but in the hope that by doing so others might get some encouragement from it and see that they are not alone.

2) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Finding just one thing to choose is difficult but I guess it would be to be able to experience those emotions which escape me or at least to stop my brain from circumventing the emotional processes so much

3) What is your biggest fear?

Hm. Not sure that I really do fear very much.  But I guess it would be that in my inability to feel as much as I should that I hurt others.

4) Do you have a particular coping skill for stress? What is it?

Prayer but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a coping skill.  It comes from a deep belief in God and the confidence that I gain from that belief.

5) If you had a magical power, what would it be?

The ability to bring love to anyone who needed it.  Even those who are convinced that they are loveless and unlovable.

6) What do you daydream about?

I have no idea.  I tend to just zone out and lose huge chunks of time.  Not really sure what is going on in my brain at these times.

7) If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be? Why?

I would perhaps change how I hid my mental health issues from my family for so long.  But then the question is wouldn’t it be better to change the things that caused me to feel that I had to?

8) If there was one thing you could secure in your future, what would it be? Why?

The removal of the stigma that is attached to mental illness and the resultant lack of understanding and compassion.

9) What is your favorite pastime?

Being with my children

10) Even though you are a relatively new blogger; what advice do you offer to another newbie?

Always be true to yourself but in the certain knowledge that not everyone else will be true to you.

11) What is the most important thing you want to accomplish with your blog?

In respect of this blog it is to encourage and to facilitate a community of bloggers blogging about mental health related issues.

-oOo-

11 Nominees – And I apologiz3e in advance for anyone who has already been nominated.

A Bipolar Journey Through The Rabbit Hole

CuckooMyCuckoo

Dysphorian Grey

Feathers Of Happenstance

Heavy Mental

I Don’t Want To Talk About It

Infinite Sadness… or hope?

Under Reconstruction

Tess of the d’Amned

Stacy’s Flutterings

Skinny In Scrubs

So there you have my 11 Nominees!

And now for the 11 Questions that I am to set my nominees…

-oOo-

11 Questions For You…

01. What is your all time favourite memory – or at least one which you can share with us?

02.  When did you start blogging?

03.  Did you have any specific motivation for blogging and if so what?

04.  Did you have any specific hopes in blogging, and if so what?

05.  Have those hopes been realized so far?

06.  If you could make a mobile to go above your bed – which would hold six glass bubbles holding one picture in each bubble – who or what would those pictures be of?

07.  If you were offered a big red button which would instantly take away your mental illness(es) would you press it?

08.  Name something which you feel your mental illness has prevented you from doing.

09.  Name something which you feel your mental illness has caused you to do which you might not have done.

10.  Do you struggle to blog?

11.  If you could have one person truly experience your mental illness for one whole day – would you and if so who and why?

-oOo-

Ok there are my 11 questions for those I have nominated.  I hope you enjoy answering them.

And again I want to say thank you to Breakdown Chick over at Labeled Disabled for nominating me.