It seems to me that living with a mental illness is to be a mirror for other people who perhaps have not come to terms with their own particular crazy. They ascribe their own thoughts and motives. That idea of "manipulating" someone else by trying to talk about what one is going through just caught me like a baseball bat to the head — what the hell?

I've been very lucky in that those times when I've drifted or toppled or sunk that deeply into the blackness, my husband will listen to me. Yes, it upsets him, and it isn't easy for him to just listen. Yes, I have a variety of (not always healthy) coping mechanisms to get through. You're doing things right as far as I can tell.

I'm just a stranger wandering in, but I felt like posting.