Tuesday, August 27, 2002

More Answers To Topics Blog Questions

Five People Who've Affected Me The Most

In no particular order (after the first), the five people who have had the biggest impact on my life are
  • Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God, who lived a perfect life and died for me at just the right time
  • My lovely and beautiful wife Jennie. I am still amazed that she loves me, but boy am I glad that she does. She helps me to see myself more for who I really am, especially when I'm down. She endures all my eccentricities, and somehow, through the grace of God, is learning to appreciate them. Through her I see a completely different side of God, and the differences I appreciate and marvel at. She is my best friend.
  • My wonderful, darling daughter, Keisha Renee. Even as I write this, I feel tears welling within me. A gift from God, she is so much like me in her personality yet fortunately has her mom's good looks. I am learning so much about patience and gentleness from her, and through my relationship with her I have come to better understand my relationship with God, my Heavenly Father.
  • My Dad, for whom I was named. I am so much like him, and I don't even have to try. I've been realizing this so much more as I've grown up into a husband and father. In addition to the same name, I have his sense of humor, 'interesting' outlook on life, and eclectic taste in music. I mentioned this to him one Christmas in a plaque I gave him. I spent my adolescent years with him, and to this day, he is one of the most important people in my life.
  • My Mom, who named me after my father. I've said that I'm a lot like my dad, but I am also much like my mom. Though most of my life we've lived over 1000 miles from each other, I have felt closer to her than any of my other blood relatives.
Favorite child, etc.

I am considered by many in my family to be my mom's favorite child. I was her firstborn, and it has sometimes caused problems in my relationship with some of my other siblings, especially one of my sisters, who is only two years younger than I.

Mental illness

I have answered this one before throughout this blog, but I don't mind sharing it again. In the Fall of 2000 I was diagnosed with depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorder. Based on my family's medical history, I also was considered to be at risk for having a manic episode, which is part of bipolar disorder. I went to therapy and took some medicine, but I never could feel that it was working completely. At times I felt that I couldn't understand what was going on, what the illness was, etc. Then, this past January, I started seeing a different psychiatrist who concluded that I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and instead showed a lot of signs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). So I began taking some medicine to help with that. Currently, I am off the ADD medicine, and I am looking for non-medical methods of dealing with what goes on inside me. I believe that ADHD is the better diagnosis, based on what I've learned about it. I am also learning to appreciate it more. Moreover, I understand better how it relates with the other mental stuff I am dealing with.

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