Was there a period of time in your life when you were a mess?

Well, define mess…I mean, is there ever a time when any of us aren’t a mess…just mostly times when we’re less of a mess than other times…there were times in my life that were out of my control, postpartum depression, deaths in the family, etc…I was more of a mess then…I am much better now, though I’m medicated…I don’t have any regrets about any periods in my life, that’s just not how I roll…and I very rarely apologize…for anything.

Definitely. I’ve just recently realized how to “take care” of myself.

My worst years of my life I’ve ever experienced was from 18–21…. those were REALLY rough.

I would never want my worst enemy to go through what I did. It felt like a pit I was in.

I feel like a load of weight has been lifted from me… I’m much wiser, and stronger now.

I no longer talk to people during that time period, I have a lot of awesome new friends now.

And the true friends that were with me during those difficult times, I truly love and respect them now.

I wasn’t an alcoholic, or drug addict, I was just in a very negative part of my life. Suicide, depression, an abusive relationship, feeling completely lost in life, homelessness, etc….. I would NEVER want to go back to that time ever again…... I wouldn’t even want my own worst enemy to go through that… It makes me feel very happy to be out of that mess now…..

1977. By accident I found a great therapist and didn’t die. Much better now…

Probably the majority of my life.

Does the pope shit in the woods?

Yeah, I felt better after. I was alive! Miracles do happen!

The friends I made during that time are my only friends, now. The ones from before have pretty much stopped communicating with me in any way.

Nope. I don’t apologize. It wasn’t my fault. Brain chemistry, I’m told. What’s to apologize for?

Yes, I’ve had several times that my life was a complete mess, but I’m very good at hiding it, so there is no one to apologize to.

I can’t imagine any adult has not had a period where there life felt like a bit of a ‘mess’ to some level. So yes I have been there.

I don’t remember waking up one morning and going “well glad that’s over”. Things just gradually got better and the things that led to my life being chaotic were resolved or the people who were causing me trouble moved on (or in fact I did).

Not so much friends with people from that period. Not because they were bad people. I have just moved on from there. I am in a different place. I do still have a couple of friends from then but most no.

No apologies necessary. It was just part of my life. I hope I have learned from it. I have no doubt that at some point, something will happen that will send me into a bit of a tailspin… I think that’s just how life is.

There was a time when home life was so difficult to deal with, I was making a lot of mistakes at work. My co-workers, who know my dedication to perfect performance refer to this time as when I was in Hell. It was awful, and I did apologize to everyone I knew during those days, for all the problems I created by having trouble dealing.

A mess? You could call it that. My friends, my family and the very grace of God were the only reasons I made it through. We are still friends. Did I apologize? I apologized, but not as many times as I said, ‘Thank you.’

When I was in my 20s. My body was driven around like a stolen Ferrari by hidden impulses.

I get myself into scrapes every now and then, dig myself into holes, or make beds that I have to lie in, but always figure out how to get back up and roll dance with the punches. :D

On a more serious note, I’ve been a total emotional train-wreck for the last 5 years, up until around September 2011, but still was able to make things happen for myself and do well. For this one situation, I did have a nice demarcation line to identify before and after, and I do feel better, am thinking better, living better and got my hobbies back.

I do think mess-hood is one of the ebbs and flows of life—when we’re in our worst messes is when we have our best opportunities to grow the most.

A few years in my late teens, sure. I got rid of the friends I would mess up with, I apologized to my family and I was really glad how things turned out once I got passed all that.

Again in my early 30’s, I was a mess. I was divorced, in a stupid relationship, abusing stuff and depressed at not having a career, an identity I was proud of anymore. I liked my friends, it wasn’t their fault or influence that had me in a bad spot and I had only a few people to apologize to for specific things. Glad all that over.

My first attempt at college. Hoo boy. I was physically ill, homesick, and very stressed out. I dropped a bunch of weight, got anemic, had a perpetual fever, kept getting nosebleeds, and for some reason developed dozens of canker sores so bad that I could hardly talk. Because I had a very active digestive disease, I developed a bit of anorexia (not nervosa); I thought my digestive tract would heal up better if I didn’t eat as much, which was bad because I was already very underweight. I also got pretty mentally weird. For example, there was a car that was always parked near my dorm that had a license plate from my home state, and I remember I used to just repeat the license plate number under my breath like some kind of weird-ass mantra. I missed home so much. Classes messed with my mind too; I couldn’t sleep properly because my brain would continue to try to work out my physics homework problems while I was asleep. I would wake up in a confused swirling fog of numbers and formulas. I would get anxious to the point of shaking during my physics labs. I was a mess.

I ended up having to take a leave of absence to get surgery to take care of at least the physical aspects of all that. Still, I worried that the emotional/mental side would reemerge when I came back to college. But, good news: I’ve been back to college for just under a week now, and it’s completely different. I’m very pleasantly surprised by how not-crazy I am this time around. I’m not sure how to account for the difference – did all that mental stuff arise because of my physical illness, or have I perhaps gotten mentally stronger since then? I don’t know for sure, but I’m very, very glad.