On January 11th, 2016, I started a daily practice of writing a joke meditation of the day called Cracked Pot Meditations. I was still recovering from the treatment of cancer, and I was having very challenging cognitive issues, so I chose just to put something simple and easy to write every day. Posting it to the blog allowed me to have some accountability. Some of those meditations were poorly written and unedited. I have gone back and begun editing these and adding an illustration, starting with the April 27th meditation. I hope you enjoy.
Meditation for May 10th
You Aren’t All That Bad
People claim they have OCD, PTSD, or some other mental illness that they read about on legitimate psychological websites such as Buzzfeed and Vice. They get mad at you because you scared them and say, “Don’t do that! I have PTSD!” Or after you put your cup on the counter next to the sink instead of the sink, they exclaim, “No! I have OCD!”
No, you don’t. The odds that you have one of these mental Illnesses are rare, and if you went this long untreated, you’d be much worse. What you have is an excuse not to be an adult and be babied.
Some people have legitimate mental illnesses. I’m not asking people to have a doctor’s note to prove you need to always sit in the back of the room and it isn’t because you are a scared piece of shit unwilling to get over yourself. I’m just saying, stop stealing the needs and support people with real mental illnesses have.
You don’t need a title to be who you are. The difference between someone faking it and someone struggling with something is that the person faking it is doing nothing for themselves to make it better. If you say you have PTSD and aren’t in therapy, then you are cheating yourself out of a happier life, or you are a terrible person for lying.
Just be honest and say life scared you or you really are an anal control freak, but don’t just hand it to a undiagnosed mental illness. You are a child refusing to grow up, but you’d rather be mentally challenged than admit you are a terrible adult.
Remember how funny Howlin’ Mad Murdock was on the action TV show, The A-Team? Well, it sucked to be him.
Prayer
God,
Could I just blame this short temper on PTSD?
Can I blame this push to have people do their own dishes on OCD?
Can I just say I don’t like this music because I fall on the autism spectrum?
Could I possibly not go to work for a few days due to depression?
Maybe I don’t have to talk about my partner’s flawed argument with my partner because of anxiety?
Maybe I could blame my parents for my lack of motivation?
I don’t have ambition because I went to public school.
None of my relationships worked because they all had borderline personality disorder.
I need some diagnosis to get away with being a baby man.
Where is my copy of the DSM-5?
Amen
Craft
Next time you have a hard time with something, say,
“I’m sorry, I don’t have much experience with this. I’m scared I’ll make a mistake. Will you help me?”
Or
“Man, I overreacted. Something must have scared me. I am so sorry.”
Or
“I don’t want to see the cup on the counter mocking me with my inability to get up from this couch and put it in the sink, so maybe someday I’ll get around to cleaning it. Could you just put it in the sink for me? Out of sight, out of mind. Thank you.”
Or
“I just don’t like this kind of music/scene/smell/food/art/movie/things. I hope you enjoy it, but I just can’t. Maybe I have an unrefined taste or am too refined, but please, enjoy it.”
Goal
Just be yourself and stop hiding behind made-up mental illnesses.
If you have been diagnosed, then please disregard this post. I hope you get the help, support, love, and therapy you need. Let me know if I can help.