Hello, my name is Shannon.

 

I'm a 32 year old wife and mother living in rural North Carolina.  I've had a decent life, dealing with the same ups and downs that most people encounter by their 30s.  

 

Some good ways to describe me are passionate, quirky, creative, stubborn and sometimes quite introverted.  I have ADHD and deal with depression, both of which have had an impact on my outlook and personality.

 

Why am I telling all of this?  Hopefully so that you can relate, or at least understand why I am doing this project.

 

In March of 2014 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Rhuematoid Arthritis.  By the time my husband (Zerolux) convinced me to see a doctor I was already having trouble with everyday activities such as working, eating, brushing my hair and teeth, driving and using the computer.  I was extremely frustrated.  I was not able to do anything causing my ADHD to go nuts at the inactivity and my depression to flair up.

 

I've spent 2014 in pain every day,  mostly in bed, angry and frustrated.  

 

This gave me time to really think about what was going on.  I had always prided myself about being able to do most anything that I put my mind to. Now I couldn't do even basic things.  My pride makes it difficult to accept help, even from loved ones.  Now I am being forced to put my body's needs before my pride.

 

The depression aggravated my emotions, wanting to throw pity parties over everything that I couldn't do at such a young age.  Normally, I would throw myself into a book or craft until I can get over the feelings.  Laying in bed, I decided several things that I wanted to do:

 

1. I wanted to create something beautiful.  Could be anything, so long as I found it pleasing to the eye.  I will invest the time needed, being conscious of the demands of my body.  

 

2. I am not a Victim.  I am not a Survivor.  This is just another hardship, another bump in the road of life.  Everyone has hardships.  Some are internal and some are easliy seen.  I may have some difficulties with doing things, but there are a lot of other people who have it much worse.  I will not accept pity from myself but I will learn to gracefully accept help that is offered and ask for help if I need it.  No one is a mind-reader and I will let others understand my needs.

 

3.  I will focus of developing relationships.  I will quit being too busy for my friends and I will try and make new friends.  I will not allow my friends busy schedules to be my excuse, so I will try to make new friends.  I will try to reconnect with the people in my past that I have lost contact with.  I will forgive as much as I can the wrongs that other people have done to me, and as much as possible try to at least develop a truce.  I will apologize for the wrongs that I have done to others, but will not force this on anyone that can not accept it.

 

4.  I want to focus on brightening up someone else's day.  I want to cheer someone up, make them smile and share what I have created with others. I will document what I do, so that I can later look back and remind myself that I can have a positive effect on someone else's life, no matter how small.

 

Laying there, the idea for Coping Via Creativity came to mind.  I decided to launch a website, where I could keep track of what I was creating, how it was affecting others and reach out and meet new people.  I don't expect to post every day.  I will do what I can depending on my body's demands.

 

I want to thank you for taking the time to check out my site.  I hope that you enjoy what you see and that perhaps it can make you feel better too.  Please feel free to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook, or check me out in the reddit community or chat in ##depression on Freenode.  My user name is Bellainara.

 

And keep being creative, in your own way!