Let the journey begin

SO now to me personally. As I said in my first post, I want to share my experiences to help others be able to talk about theirs and seek out professional help.  It's important to know that DnA IS something you can recover from, but there is no overnight fix and you need to learn a lot about yourself. Most of all, you need to be able to open yourself up (maybe not for all the world to see like me) and be accepting of some home truths and take responsibility for your own life.  That last one is a good tip for anyone, the most important person in the world is ME. Say it with me, "I am the most important person, without a healthy me there is no we".  If you can't look after yourself, you can't look after others (eventually you will crack).

THE NITTY GRITTY

I don't want to delve too much into my personal history but there are some fundamentals of my life that need to be known so you can understand where I am coming from.  I'm not saying every life event I have encountered has led to my DnA but I just want to show that, like others, my life has been far from perfect and this hasn't come out of the blue for me.  Its easy to look back and say, 'oh there was a warning sign' but at the time when everything is fine, it can be hard to say 'I have a problem and could do with some help'.

BORN into a wonderful supportive life in a great establishment, a church, I grew up very happy. From a young age I had plenty of friends who I grew up with over a number of years.  This, I believe, provided me with a great upbringing and I wouldn't want it any different.

I have one older sibling who lives what I call a very envious life. They are a single parent of three people would say struggles but to me they a pillar of strength and a guiding light, kind of funny given the mistakes they too have made over time. For someone with so little (material possessions that most consider the true indicator of success) they are certainly a lot happier than most.  They were the one who got me to make more of a commitment with my kids (something for a later post).

MY Mum and Dad separated when I was around 10-11 I think (its something I don't recall or ask about for that matter. I can remember the day Dad moved out but not much else).  Mum raised me and I saw Dad on odd occasions. It's safe to say we didn't exactly have the best father/son relationship growing up which probably accounts for my actions of a few years ago (we have only just started talking this year after a three year hiatus). He lives overseas and again, that will be another post.

MUM on the other hand has been fantastic, maybe too fantastic, not that I blame her for any of my DnA.  I guess sometimes being a mum can have its inherent downfalls.

MARRIED at 18, two wonderful kids by 20 and divorced by 29. That was my fault, I wasn't a good husband and it cost me my marriage.  To top things off, just before I moved out permanently, our third child was born.

THE kids all moved with their mother to another state which isn't easily accessible (ie an easy drive) in 2005 and I remarried in 2008.

I'VE been on a downwards spiral since my first marriage break up which almost cost me my current marriage which isn't something I want to lose. So this July I saw my Doctor and from there I have been receiving help to make me better.  There is still a long way to go but I'm getting there, one day at a time.

SO I'm going to air some laundry now and tell you how the events in my life have made me feel. I'm not saying they have made me DnA, but maybe you can relate to something similar and it gets you thinking, how has or is that event affecting you?

I want to share this clip that was produced by the West Australian Government.  It's only three minutes long and the last 40 seconds are what the actual message is about.  BUT what a way to get the message across, I think we should all take a leaf out of this video.

Neil