Mental Health Notes

Get Curious, Get Motivated, Get Out Of Bed!

by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes on September 16th, 2007

This is my dog Chopper, a.k.a Chops, a.k.a. Chopstick, a.k.a. Chopperstick. She’s the most photogenic animal I’ve ever encountered - not because she’s beautiful, but because she poses. For every picture. Seriously.

I’ve attempted this shot several times, and was thrilled that my camera finally flashed at the precise moment to catch one of her “curious head tilts” I love so much.

Anyway, when I was in, oh, eighth grade or so, I began developing this whole “curiosity as a motivator to get out of bed” way of thinking; however, in my case, it went a bit too far. Curiosity was actually what prevented me from going to bed. I hate being left in the dark! (No pun intended.)

Soon, productivity became my motivator to stay away from bed. If I stay up just one more hour, I can get all of the the baseboards in the apartment scrubbed down. What’s one more hour?

One more hour is three more hours and several loads of laundry, rearranged furniture, and a waxed kitchen floor later.

Of course, cleaning wasn’t the only thing that kept me awake. In college it was school work, and after college it was work, reading, cleaning, re-organizing, writing, etc.

This was all before the OCD and BP diagnosis and, after beginning treatment for those, curiosity and productivity soon became the reasons for getting out of - rather than staying out of - bed.

If you can’t seem to get out of bed in the mornings, become curious. You remember what curious is - that feeling of interest, of wanting to know more about something. Learn more about yourself and just what a new day can bring.

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POSTED IN: Bipolar Disorder, Childhood Disorders, Daily Thoughts, Medications, Men, No Prescription Needed, Sites of Interest, Sleep Disorders, Tips, Women