So, I was given the suggestion to write for Stigma Fighters from a contributor – who happens to be one of my closest friends.
I have bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and I happen to hallucinate because of an accident. I am medicated, but sometimes the meds do not work. My coping mechanisms, one of which I am stopping because smoking is terrible for me. I’m going to eat healthier than I normally do. I ride bicycles, I hike and backpack, I hang out in hammocks and read. Tie dye is my favorite color. Even though I’m an American, I feel that I’m more Canadian; my friend says that I sound more Canadian than her Canuk friends!
My best friend in the entire world detoxed me herself from alcohol and cigarettes. I was drinking a gallon of 85 proof rum a day, straight from the bottle and I was off my meds I was also smoking a pack and a half a day. Somehow I got into a friends with benefits relationship with a 38-year-old separated mom last year when I was 22. We stopped that after a month.
I love organic and fair trade tea and coffee. I follow Buddhism, Rastafarianism and I was raised Roman Catholic. I’ve been in too many abusive relationships and toxic friendships, to the point that I don’t trust many people now. If you’re in my circle of trust, you haven’t hurt me, often.
I love being outdoors and out in the wilderness. If I could afford to travel around the world I would in a heartbeat. I enjoy having two wheels beneath me, or four. I love to travel by land vehicles and water transportation. I recently went on a trip in Florida for a month to canoe with a few other people and loved it. I take photos on most trips outdoors. I love mountains, rivers, ocean and everything outdoors and away from the city.
One of my coping mechanisms is cutting. I don’t cut to the point that I bleed an exorbitant amount, but it’s a small trickle of blood. Tattoos and gauging my ears keep me away from the knife. I have an addiction to cutting and the ink and earrings keep me clean for a few months because of the pain of healing. My parents don’t understand my addiction, and that’s okay. I can deal with them after I move out. The last time I cut was July of 2015. I didn’t have anyone in my life at the time because everyone was gone while I wasn’t allowed to drive while after a patellar micro fracture on my right knee. After I healed from that surgery, which is when I went to Florida for a month. After that my physical therapist gave me the clear to run, and I ran a total of ten miles, hiked 50 and then on an incline of 20 degrees and two thousand feet up my left knee gave out and I need the same surgery. It’ll probably be February with my same surgeon.
Bicycles are one of my passions, and so is Pokémon. I’m restoring two bicycles that are from within this decade to make them look like the bikes that you could choose in Sapphire and Ruby Versions of Pokémon. I have a full suspension mountain bike that is red, and needs a few new parts, and a road bike that’s blue and they match the artwork for the bikes, mostly. I have a few non-restored brand new ones that I ride constantly and enjoy the wind in my face and the rush of speed and freedom.
That’s basically me, the cycling hippie.
Hippie enjoys hammocks, reggae music, new friends, food, the outdoors, and of course bicycles!
Hippie can be found on his blog.
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