When life became unbearable, I had to learn how to reduce stress so I swam, walked and exercised. I went to a concert or a play, a movie or any place that helped me escape from my house filled with mental illness. Home again, I searched for a quiet place where I could get away from it all and do some writing. I no longer got upset if a cake flopped or if a guest did not enjoy my food, and I cared less about dust on our furniture. If I had the time, I always drove to the nearest beach where the waves breaking on the shore calmed me. I started doing voluntary work but not simply to pass the time, but because I believed in th cause I’d chosen. I wrote down all the things that were upsetting me; about everything.
My husband taught me to search for the positive things in my life so I made two lists; the positive aspects and the negative ones, and the positive side actually outnumbered the other. So, I became a bit more optimistic and tried searching for the half full glass . I realized that my anger was not doing me any good so slowly but surely, my attitude changed. It didn’t happen overnight of course.
