The Warped Lens of Perception: Get out there and just... do it.

I've spoken a great deal about the stuff that goes on inside my head. I've tried to help you understand bipolar and ADHD... I've not covered Asperger's, but that is a completely different creature... Maybe someday I will try to explain that to you. Hell, for a good example and rendering of a character with Asperger's flip over to netflix and watch season one of the BBC Series "Sherlock." Sherlock Holmes has Asperger's.

ANYWAY...

It's hard. It really is... there are things that you find yourself doing that you don't realize that you are doing. There are a lot of things you avoid, things that you don't do and things you do wrong. Here's a list of things that I think all of us, especially the bipolar, ADHD Asperger's sufferers should be doing.

1) Be honest with yourself. About everything. It's hard. I mean, you look in the mirror and you see either this god among men or a hideous C.H.U.D. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087015/) that isn't worth the skin your printed on. You don't see the person that you are. A real person worth the attention of others and who needs others to survive. Stop it. You are the only one alienating yourself from others.

2) Make your needs and happiness a priority. Due to the fact that most of us spend a lot of time feeling worthless, we tend to put the needs of others ahead of ourselves, making it impossible to actually be happy. This is self defeating.

3) Spend time with the right people. There are a lot of people out there that will take advantage of the martyr complex we have, or know how to make themselves feel better by chipping away at your hard earned self confidence. Get away from them. Find those few rare people that can accept the fact that you are flawed and pretty much fucked in the head. Love them, embrace them, and hold on to them.

4) Face down your problems. No running. Hiding from them makes you feel pretty good at times, but it doesn't solve anything. The problem with... problems... Yeah, that's right! I said it! Is that they tend to stay hidden until they are as big as Godzilla. Then they eat a big, heaping bowl of crack for breakfast and stomp all over your day. Take them down... Head on.

5) Learn from your mistakes. This kind of links up with number three. If hanging out with Larry makes you feel bad... EVERY TIME YOU DO IT... Then stop doing it! Seriously. If you keep finding yourself completely without the dollars before pay day because of a smoothie addiction. STOP GETTING A SMOOTHIE EVERY DAY! Conversely... don't be afraid to try new things... new mistakes mean we're learning and growing.

6) Be polite. To yourself. Seriously. Think about the awful, HATEFUL things you say to yourself. Would you take that from your friends? You shouldn't take it from yourself either.

7) Be yourself. I know this is a no brainer, but you'd be amazed at how little people actually do this. Stop wearing masks, stop hiding yourself. Be gloriously, vivaciously, (and if needs be - obnoxiously) you. Don't let people make you ashamed of who you are. You're a geek? Geeks are hot! You a freak... let it show! Bi, gay, transgendered? GOOD! BE YOU!

8) Let go of your past. It is exactly what it sounds like... the past. I live by a simple saying, there is no forward motion without a backward notion... you can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been. But holding onto the past like it is some ideal or like it will make you better is a losing proposition. As we age, we change, physically and mentally... it's called growth. Embrace it.

9) Get up. Do something. Being idle just leads to self doubt and over analyzation and we all know where that ends up... in the bottom of a hole, trying to figure out where you went wrong. It ends up with you offended by things that shouldn't be offensive and crying at nothing.

10) What ever your hear desires! GO. DO. IT! What? You're not ready? You need one more item? You need one more piece of information? Bullshit! You think the Wright brothers were ready to fly? You think we knew everything we needed to know to make it to the moon and back? The answer is yes... Do you think they were supremely confident, and felt ready to go? You can bet your ass that they were terrified. And guess what? That's life, princess. Chase your dreams or stop complaining.