Stars, I am having one heck of a time trying to get myself together. You wouldn’t think I’m a wreck because I’m still doing what I’ve always done instead of letting myself get shot in the trenches of my mind (which is a metaphor I use in “I Am the Bell Jar”), but I’m a serious wreck on the inside. I’m angry all the time, I don’t want anything to do with people at all, and all I want to do is stay in bed and not go to school or work or have anything to do with anything that involves forced interaction. I skipped out on ballet yesterday because I just didn’t want to go. I mean, I know it’ll make me feel better, and rationally I know I love it, but forcing myself to go all the time is emotionally exhausting. Forcing myself to do anything when I’m like this is emotionally exhausting.
I haven’t been writing much in When Stars Rise either. I’ll write in it here and there, but not as consistently, probably because I know putting more work on myself is just going to make me angrier. And it’s not even that I’m doing a whole lot. I’m only taking 9 credit hours this semester and only working about 8-10 hours per week (although this week I’m doing 14, which honestly makes me angrier, but some extra money won’t hurt either, especially because I didn’t have class Monday). It’s like exerting any little bit of energy just makes me angrier and angrier. My anger nearly got the best of me at work Monday because some woman came by, looked at my co-worker and I really funny and wouldn’t stop staring at us, and I called her the b-word to my co-worker when she walked away. She then came back and asked us for the number to the office, and I was terrified that she overheard what I said and was going to call me in. But that wasn’t it at all. She just wanted to inquire about a product or whatever. I know I shouldn’t have said what I said, but any little thing is just setting me off. However, I can’t afford to just take a sojourn from work when I need the money for ballet.
I can’t even care about school. I’m doing my work, yes. I’ve done and read all the research for a paper I’m going to start. I’ve done my geography study guide. I’m doing the reading I’m supposed to do, but I’m very detached from it all, like I don’t care what the outcome of all of it is.
I’m just tired of it all.
And then there is the matter of my meds. My Abilify was boosted, but I don’t notice any changes. My pdoc then wants to wean me off all the meds I’m currently on and have me just on Lamictal because it’s supposed to be this great med for bipolar. But I’m terrified that it won’t work. I know I shouldn’t be thinking of ‘what-ifs’ but it’s so easy for people to say that when they’re not the ones affected by it. I mean, upping my Abilify doesn’t seem to have worked. It took less than a week for Abilify to originally work, and now it’s been a week and I don’t notice any changes. I’m still angry and still depressed. And maybe I am angry for a reason. I just don’t know what that reason is.
But it’s not all bad. I did a guest post and an interview. When Stars Die has 5 stars on Goodreads so far, even though I don’t have that many ratings. And “I Am the Bell Jar” is ready for publication in AEC Stellar’s upcoming anthology. But to be honest, all this social media stuff is exhausting too because it is so difficult for me to find people who will interview me or let me do guest posts. I’ve contacted well-known blogs about doing an interview, but it’s been over a week, and NONE of them have gotten back, and I must have contacted over 20 bloggers. I just want to give up because I can’t do this on my own. I really can’t. But then maybe I’m not in my right mind to be saying that. I don’t know.
amberskyeforbes.wordpress.com 
Don’t give up Amber, whatever you do. Trials and crappy tribulations is how you get to where you need to go and actually, you writing about it helps other writers. People like myself only have an inkling of what it’s like to push yourself as a published/soon to be published writer and good posts and “bad” posts about a writer’s life is enlightening.
I won’t go into detail but another writer wrote a post similar to yours in regards to stress in life as well as how they were dealing with their writing and promoting through social media. That post only lasted a few days before they were asked to remove it by their agent and it was such a shame as these things give us a glimpse into the other side of things.
All I can say is keep pushing. Your work is OUT there, I’m sure it took you a hell of a lot of time and hard work just to do that. So you’re not falling backwards, you’re just at that part on the mountain where the air is getting thin, you will soon adjust.
(p.s am on chapter 8!)
Rationally I know I won’t give up, but irrationally, I want to. And you’re right, the air is very thin where I’m at, and sometimes I just want to give in to that thin air and stop breathing for a while.
And that really is such a shame that the agent asked said writer to remove it. I like to know those real things about writers. I simply don’t want to hear just about their books and things in relations to their books. I want to hear about them, too, which is why I have no qualms throwing up the deepest, darkest parts of myself on my blog.
And funny enough, another follower of mine spilled their guts too about stress and all that.
And yay! That’s some good news that you’re on chapter 8. It’s also on Goodreads now, if you were unable to see the memo thingy about it.
It’s truly a shame that the agent made his author pull the blog post. Authors are people, too. They are human, mere mortals ( I know, the secret is out now ) and a post like that would have the potential to connect with readers on a deeper level.
I have bipolar as well and have been struggling of late. Today, I got a coffee at the McDonald’s drive-thru and the two workers had such huge smiles and said such genuine “Thank yous,” I found my bitterness pass away. It was a great moment of grace.
I pray you experience God’s grace as you go about your days.
Smiles definitely tend to help the bitterness, even just a nice conversation.