The joys are real!

Living situation: 

I have a roommate and a few housemates who shares the house with me. 

Mental situation: 

I'm alright with the living situation, but being around younger girls even if it's only a year or three years younger, the maturity isn't always on point. Tough when you are the only one buying alcohol. 

As far as I know, I'm the type of person that needs to live around people or at least one other person. Living by myself will give me the creeps and yet... I'm thinking about it nonstop! 

I can't stop thinking about all the joys I would have living by myself if the rent wasn't so expensive. Welcome to California, almost everything cost you an entire arm. 

Little one, welcome silence, peaceful alone time. 

Little two, more time to day dream without interruptions. 

Little three, do whatever comes to mind at any time. 

Little four, drinking tea/coffee/hot chocolate as you watch the rain pour down, or simply gaze at the night sky full of stars. 

Little five, being lazy all day long without being judged! Welcome back undies and shirts! 

Little six, dancing around, singing as loud as you want like no one is watching cause no one is anyways. 

Little seven, have anyone over and share the same bed with them without being afraid for the next morning. 

Little eight, cook whenever you want, however you want even if that means in undies at times. 

Little nine, having little trips to the fridge whenever even in the middle of the night. 

Little ten, melting away your troubles with an amazing bath/candles and some red wine. 

Little eleven, taking your time in the morning, a peaceful morning without rushing to get to the shower. 

Little twelve, play music as loud as you wish and listen to whatever you feel like. 

Little thirteen, being able to go to bed at a reasonable time and not worry about lights or people being loud. 

Despite the fact that I already do whatever I feel like it even with roommates or housemates around, I know I would have much more freedom by myself or with just one other person. Living with people means being respectful to everyone in the house. Different time schedule, different personalities, different living style... Having housemates isn't always fun! 

Summer is coming to an end, new roommates, new lifestyle, new memories, new adventures... Even though living with younger people can be tough at times, at least I can feel like I can be myself and it seems like I'm more respected which feels nice. Don't blame me for liking the respect that my housemates give me even though the immaturity isn't always around. And I still have the "Mum" reputation, can't argue and disagree with them. 

"Everyone has this universal understanding of roommate drama." -Leighton Meester

~Bella 

Mood disorders... Psych 101...

MOOD DISORDERS

When emotions take over

Mood disorders are when disturbances in an individual's emotional state are so extreme that they affect his or her thinking processes, social relationships, and behavior. These tend to be episodic, meaning the symptoms will come and go. There are two major types of mood disorders that can be broken down into several sub-types. They are depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. 

DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS

To be diagnosed with major depression, an individual has to experience a major depressive episode at least once. Major depressive episodes last for a period of two weeks or longer, and the individual will suffer from some, if not all, of the following symptoms:

• An overwhelming and consistent feeling of sadness or irritability
• Feeling guilty or worthless
• A loss of interest in doing anything, even previously enjoyable activities, and a lack of interest in being social
• Having very low energy
• Being unable to focus or make decisions
• Experiencing a change in eating patterns, either not eating well or eating too much
• Experiencing a change in sleeping patterns, either not being able to sleep or sleeping too much
• Experiencing recurrent thoughts of suicide or death

Interestingly enough, individuals that are extremely depressed will usually not commit suicide because, during their major depressive episode, they feel too apathetic and unmotivated to create a suicide plan and follow through with it. Instead, it is during the recovery process, when the individual has more major depression than men. While more women also attempt suicide than men, men are more successful with following through with their suicide than women. In addition to major depression, there are several other types of depression that share these symptoms:

Dysthymia Disorder

If a person experiences major depression symptoms for at least two years, then they have what is known as dysthymia disorder. It should be noted that people who suffer from this do not experience depressive symptoms at all times. There are moments when they do feel completely normal. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Appropriately referred to as SAD, seasonal affective disorder is when a person suffers from symptoms of depression because of the time of the year. The majority of people who experience the condition do so in the wintertime. 

Psychotic Major Depression

This is when an individual suffers from symptoms of major depression and also has hallucinations and delusions. 

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression occurs when a woman experiences depression following childbirth. This may be due to shifts in hormone levels, a lack of sleep, bodily changes in the woman's social or work relationships. 

Atypical Depression

This is a type of depression where an individual has many characteristics of major depression. Symptoms of atypical depression usually included a gain in weight and increase in appetite, excessive sleeping or always feeling tired, and feeling very sensitive to any type of rejection.

Catatonic Depression

This is a very rare type of depressive disorder where a person will become motionless for an extended period of time, or move in a violent or strange manner. People who suffer from catatonic depression will sometimes decide not to speak, or may even imitate the actions or speaking pattern of another individual. 

Melancholic Depression

This type of depression is characterized by losing interest and pleasure in many, if not all, activities. Individuals also find it very difficult to react positively when something good happens. Symptoms are generally worse in the morning, and early morning awakening can occur, where an individual wakes up on his or her own at least two hours too early without an external source causing the person to wake. 

Individuals suffering from melancholic depression also experience a very strong sadness that is obvious because of how different the person seems.

"Depression is a prison where you are both the suffering prisoner and the cruel jailer."- Dorothy Rowe

~Bella