Homelessness and my issue with possibly becoming another statistic

Hey everybody, I hope your holidays went rather smoothly. Mine were really fantastic I went to North Vancouver and Abbotsford to see and visit with several of my family. My girlfriend, Ocean, came with me and met all my father's relatives. I haven't seen them all together like that except for weddings and funerals, for at least 7 years.

Here is some new news with me: I am possibly about to be homeless... It wasn't the first thing on my 2017 wish list not necessarily my last either. I know I would be silly to say that it would be the worst thing in the world to happen to me but that would be yet another delusional over exaggeration to add to my ever expanding list.

The reasoning behind this is my mental health issues (diagnosed borderline personality disorder) and the inability to find a job suitable for my disabilities and employment track record. I have had over 20 employers in my short 6 year working history due to bad decisions on my part and fleeing the scene of several workplaces when I don't find myself totally blissful at said job. So, due to all that, I am on social assistance in B.C, CA and in total i rake in $605/month.

I'm not trying to complain that my Social Assistance isn't enough. I am very grateful, beyond belief for the compensation I do get but I'm terrified of ending up on the street.

Anyways... Hope all is well with all you readers! Continue to fight on and end the stigma with depression, BPD, anxiety, etc... All mental health issues are important issues and all of you are important people, at least to me.

All I ask for is to send love and/or prayers my way.

Lots of love,

Mitch.

Video games and their therapeutic values

Good evening everyone. I hope your new years brought about some thought provoking change. My one resolution is to be a better person.

I wanted to give you a bird's eye view of one of my most prevelant hobbies. Playing videogames.

Here are some pros:

• Most are very cheap or free so for the amount of enjoyment for the amount of money spent is fantastic 
• It's a time sink like nothing else you can spend endless hours playing games.
• Most games are goal orientated so it gives you something to work towards throughout the day.
• You can make many online friends 

Some cons are:

• It takes you away from reality
• You can get stuck in the trap of playing a freemium game
• Lose connections with real people
• Get frustrated with loses

The main games I play are Hearthstone

, Minecraft and any rockstar game.

I find it steers me away from my daily duldrums and points me towards a goal oriented hobby.

Hearthstone is a card game that take a lot of time to build up a good deck and it is very strategic. The tagline for the game is deceptively simple, loads of fun.

Minecraft is a sandbox game. Where you can basically do anything you please. The world is your virtual oyster.

Finally all rockstar games are similar. Shoot em up, drive really fast, make tonnes of money.

I love gaming it introduces me to a community of like-minded individuals who are looking for some fun.

Anyways have a wonderful day. I'll make a post later tonight. Follow me on Instagram (@borderlinewanderer) and Twitter (@brdrlinewanderer) for blog and brand updates.

Have a great one,

Lots of love,

Mitch

Family Reunion

I just returned from a few day family gathering and even though my anxiety was through the roof, I was fine. Regardless of how isolated I thought I should be or how anxious I felt everything turned out ok. In my delusional state I fear I was wrong to think like that because my family accepted me for me

There was no drama, no hate, no mistrust, just a band of family who missed each other incredibly much and hadn't been together for way too long. Even when I spent one on o e time with individuals it wasn't that bad.

My love goes out to my family and to all of you reading this.

Lots of love,

Mitch

Review of the app Mood Tools

I have recently been using the app Mood Tools, by the makers of the same name. There are six sub categories in the app and I will go through them 1 by 1;

The first category is the information there are a few tabs that give you some space general information on depression and it's few subtypes

Next, is the ten question, somewhat accurate but also generic diagnostic test. If you've ever tested yourself for a mental illness over the internet then you'll recognise this.

Thirdly, there are several videos that are utilised to stabilise your moods and relax you in times of stress.

My favorite tab is the thought diary tab. It asks you to put your thoughts down and then to reflect on them at a later time.

Another useful tab is the activities tab. It lists several activities and hobbies one with mental illness can do to alleviate some of the symptoms.

Finally, my second favorite tab. The safety plan tab. Or the life saver. If you don't have a safety plan handy then make one. It's your life in the balance.

This quick review was approved by mood tools and maybe I'll do a question time with them if I get response from this

Check out there website: www.moodtools.org

Leave a like, retweet or comment and tell me how your Christmas was pretty give me some blogging ideas

Love you all,

Mitch

Wow Make Happy was fantastic

This is a review of the comedy special make happy performed by Bo Burnham

I just finished watching this comedy special on Netflix and it had me in tears. It was not only comedic it was thought provoking too. The performance was so unique as it always is with Bo. Make Happy didn't disappoint it had me laughing so hard my stomach started to hurt. Moreover, throughout the special, I was alerted to relevant problems with our society.

Today was another tough day so I was binge watching comedy specials and this one in particular spoke to me. I deffinently recommend this to any body with a sense of humour

I hope all your holiday stress is melting away.

I wish you all the best.

Lots of love,

Mitch.

The holidays

Something about the holidays brings out so much stress in me. I think it's that, as an adult, I now choose to seperate myslef from those, as a child, I was around during the holiday season.

You may be wondering why that may be. Well the reason I used to abuse hard drugs is because I was exposed to it almost daily as a child and teen. Then, fresh into adulthood, my mother, my own mother, passes me the pipe and encouraged me to take some crack hits. My father on the other hand was always abusive when he was drunk which was daily. 18 beers a day can be tiring when you're around it.

I refuse to be the middleman anymore. In the drugs, alcohol, and abuse. What a set of distorted relationships. I'm brought back to it as if it were yesterday. So, NO THANK YOU!

I am in need of some new holiday traditions. Share some of yours in the comments. And shoot me an email at borderlinewanderer@gmail.com, tell me about your holidays

Lots of love,

Mitch

Seeking help for your mental well-being

It took me 6 years and three attempts on my life before I sought treatment for my mental illness. Apparently I'm not alone.

Check out this link. Props to NPR.org:
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/12/02/504131307/study-vast-majority-of-people-who-are-depressed-do-not-seek-help

TL;DR

• Protagonist lost 80% of friends while dealing with depression.
• "If we hide our mental health, it may remain a problem forever.
• People are often stigmatized to feeling mental illness is a result of personal weakness.
• Thus they don't seek treatment 
• In a study of fifty thousand in 21 countries 1/27 sought and found adequate help for mental illness.
• There needs to be an increase in awareness that depression is treatable.
• "If you feel something is wrong with you, seek help."

Hope all is well

Yours truly,

Mitch