Score: +2.5

…I was permitted to return home after 5 days in the psychiatric hospital. I came back, and my (then) wife revealed that she had been sleeping with someone else while I was gone. It was over, and not because she had cheated, but because she didn’t love me anymore. I had no job, no way to pay the rent, and no partner anymore. My life as I had known it had come to pieces, and nothing of the original could be salvaged. 

Now, we will fast-forward through the purgatory that followed, as I lived under the canvas awning of my parent’s RV for 7 months. I slept on a futon and went to group therapy three times a week for days on end. It started to change about half way through the summer, when I got my current job at Mood. Then by fall I had saved enough money to afford a place of my own. I kept working on myself, not settling until I was sure I had a grip on my mental health. I worked tirelessly for stability, and I never gave up on the hope that one day I would have my life back. 

And so it went. I restored meaning to my reality through many consecutive acts of self-appreciation. Eventually, I began to truly believe I was worth something. I gained back my pride, my sense of humor, my voracious appetite for knowledge. Then on January 15th, I met Amanda. We were kindred spirits, both suffering from mental illness, and persevering despite hardships. We decided to become allies, and would work together to live stable lives. I would be there to help her if she fell down, and she would do the same for me. This principle has already gone into practice. 

So I’m happy about the progress I have made in a year. I am currently in love, and doing great in my life. I can’t ask for anything more.