What Is Normal? Funny, right?

I’m sure I’m not the first person to wonder about this. What constitutes normal? What makes one person ‘more normal’ than another person? What does this mean to you and to your own self care?

For me normal is something completely relative to me and my own well being…. in all areas of my life. It means understanding what my life is looking like. Am I sleeping enough? This is a huge one & almost a good indicator of how I’m actually doing. It’s often one of the first things to shift when I’m becoming manic as well. Another I look at is what is my own image of my self? Am I being loving and kind to myself? Or am I being really hard on myself? I hope to find myself on the more loving and kind side of things. But this isn’t always the case. Am I taking my medications? Again, a huge one for me! Am I starting to doubt my medications? If so, this is again a good indicator of something shifting within myself that isn’t generally a good thing. Am I practicing self care? If not, am I willing to change that?

My point is that having Biploar 1 does NOT make me normal or not normal. And everyone’s ‘normal’ is different to them. Everyone has their very own normal, and the way to know if you are within your own normal or needing help if you have a mental illness (or not) is knowing your own base line. AND having a support team…. A tribe that knows you and supports you. A tribe that checks in on you. A tribe that is open and honest with you and will tell you if they’re concerned. I don’t think that is just one ‘normal’, in fact I think there are hundreds of ‘normals’, as we’re all people. Different people, with different personalities, different souls.

Life can be hard and messy. But it can also be beautiful, loving, kind, fun and your own normal. It can be something to love and it can be gentle. So… I ask you. What makes YOU ‘normal’? What does self care look like for you?