My life at the moment...

@Rising265

It is my view that (eventually) it is a Joyful Path. That does not mean it's not bumpy, nor that you will stumble and fall. Try not to be discouraged. Nobody counts how many times you fall, just how far you get!

Show yourself loving kindness. Show yourself compassion. You would do it for others!

Don't think that walking The Path is for you, and you alone! If you feel it would assist you, ask for help. That is not a weakness, but a strength.

You can set up 'doable' goals. You can decide when and if you need assistance.

Remain strong.

@JeffWM

Thank u. I will try to stay strong. I rarely ask for help though.. Most of my friends and family are too busy to really care or tell me that I need to get out of whatever I'm going through.. I'm 24 and doing nothing with my life.. Knowing what I want to do, but every day I just tell myself that I can do this..

@Rising265

I don't get assistance from friends or family; I found it elsewhere. I am on meds for anxiety & depression and I see a therapist every other week. It wasn't always that easy. When I fell apart after September 11th, I had only recently given up drinking. (I was being considered for the U.S. drinking team for the Olympics.) I abused alcohol for many years. Be for that, it was opiates.

I was unable to function and I practically had to beg to be treated as an outpatient. I was worried about what my in-laws would say or think. I now realize that was foolish because they had already decided what they were going to think and honestly I don't give a damn.

Part of my 'arrangement' with the hospital was to go on meds, stay off anything that might be addictive (that includes regular consumption of coffee or anything like that), seeing a Psychiatrist for two 1-hour sessions / week, journaling every day and finding 'something' productive to fill my day.

I have been a Buddhist for most of my life so I began going for three 1-hour classes / week and meditating at least two 1-hour sessions (not at the very start obviously) per day.

I'm working now. I see a therapist every other week and am still on meds. I do need to meditate more often.

<sarcasm>

It's so easy; anyone can do it!

</sarcasm>

It was, and remains to be quite difficult. One of the things that I had a tough time internalizing was that the only thing that was in common with all of my problems was me. I am the only one responsible for my actions and the reactions of others. Buddhism isn't always a mirror you want to look at-- you're the only one there.

I am so pleased that I came across your thread. It is worth the hard effort. If you need assistance, look for it. That's not a sign of weakness, but of strength.

Be strong.