The importance of friends

I am one lucky guy to have friends and family that care so much for me. Something that has been a blessing is our friends Dr. Louis Smit and his husband Paul. They both are completely understanding and actually comfort not just myself but Mark too.

They answer any questions I have regarding my Bipolar Mood Disorder (it’s almost like having a Doctor in my pocket to ask questions I am unsure of). Paul is also a suffer of bipolar, and has been diagnosed ages ago, so he has learnt how to perfect certain things, so his advise is just as valuable.

But here’s the point I am actually trying to make, it’s important to discuss your mental illness with your friends. Make them aware of your situation, so that they understand. We shouldn’t be hiding this, we need the support of friends too. While we are battling with a mental illness, we never know what our friends could be battling with too.

I happened to over hear Mark chatting to Paul about how he had found me the day I had taken all those pills and how he had found my phone and seen what I had googled; at first I felt embarrassed and ashamed because what I did was wrong and it’s only natural for me as a human to feel guilty and ashamed.

But here is the weird thing, at the same time it dawned on me that the immense shock and trauma I had put on my dear husband must be eating him up inside. He needs a release too, and maybe him chatting to Paul was offering him some release and comfort to get that off his chest. So I am not upset with my husband at all, because I realized that maybe he just needed a friend to talk too.

So friends are important and we need to remember that because, they can also be a pillar of support or shoulder to cry on when we need to discuss things that maybe we don’t feel comfortable discussing with our partners. Our friends are almost like having a psychologist to discuss things and get them off our chests.

I want to sign off this post with a friendship quote by Jeniffer Gayle:

“Some days you will be the light for others, and some days you will need some light from them. As long as there is light, there is hope, and there is a way.”

So spread the light, share the light and lets help each other keep our flames alight.

Have a good Saturday my friends!