What often helps me through my darkest days is I Shouldn't Be Alive...

[LostInMarshes]

For those who don't know, "I Shouldn't Be Alive" are high quality reenactments of true stories of people surviving against all odds. All of these people go through harrowing ordeals where they have to survive longer than they think they can, without help, but somehow, they do. Somehow, help arrives, like a miracle.

 

"...isolated, and trapped on a ledge, Charlie is in urgent need of medical attention..."

 

"...all I could do at that point was wait..."

 

- how many of us can relate to this, symbolically?! 

 

There is much wisdom contained within these stories.

 

I believe that the episodes are available for free through Amazon Prime, but many are also available for free on Youtube. 

[ChessieCat]

I'm glad you are finding these helpful.

 

I think that many SA members could possibly find them triggering.

[LostInMarshes]

On 11/12/2022 at 9:43 PM, ChessieCat said:

I'm glad you are finding these helpful.

 

I think that many SA members could possibly find them triggering.

 

sorry for my utter ignorance: why?

[ChessieCat]

It's not your ignorance.  You have found something that you can watch.

 

I have not seen the program but from how you describe it I think it would contain some parts which are suspenseful, where you wonder what will happen and how someone will get out of a situation or be saved and listening to details of a harrowing ordeal might cause anxiety.

 

Having been an SA member for 7 years, and a moderator for over 6 years, I am aware that because of the anxiety that many members experience they need to watch things that does not contain suspense and can make their anxiety worse.  Some members cannot watch TV at all, but some are able to watch programs that are calm and don't contain excitement, suspense, loud/sudden noises, violence etc.

 

During some of my taper I was unable to play the Facebook game Angry Birds Friends because it increased my anxiety.  I had to play calm games like Candy Crush.

[Joey805]

I relate to those shows on a pretty literal level. I've spent weeks in a coma on life support with bare minimum chance of survival, family members traveling from hundreds of miles in preparation. I was resuscitated at birth. I've had some other close calls thanks to generally terrible luck. The incredible fragility of life is an important part of my worldview. At any moment, this could all be gone. Someday it will be. Every day this is the case for countless people who, yesterday, thought they'd be alive today and now they aren't.

 

This relationship with mortality, both my own and of my loved ones, is key to my passion for life and my desire to improve myself and pursue wellness. It's why I don't give up. The incredible things people accomplish when pushed to the edge in these extreme survival circumstances places a microscope on that intrinsic will to live that we often lose touch with during our day-to-day mundane lives where we encounter virtually no threats to our existence.

 

When you stare death in the face, you begin to see life differently. You appreciate its fleeting nature, the inevitability of its end, and the need to make your limited time worthwhile. Even in my most depressed state, even when my head was filled with thoughts of suicide and hopelessness, I learned that I truly wanted to live. Now I behave and think like a person who wants to live, even though I still struggle immensely with mental health.

 

My "I shouldn't be alive story": I was in a psych facility for a suicide attempt. One morning in the lobby when meds were being dispensed, I collapsed and stopped breathing. Total respiratory failure, septic shock, organs shutting down. Had this happened when I was alone at home, I wouldn't have survived. The only reason I'm alive is because I was in that psych facility, 100 yards from a great hospital. I was suffering from an incredibly rare condition, one that was only diagnosed once UCLA diagnosticians were flown in via helicopter for my case. UCLA is one of the few places, apparently, that teaches about this condition. As a bonus, I woke up on Thanksgiving Day. It all had to happen exactly as it did for me to be where I am today. 

[UnfoldingSky]

I was so into "I Shouldn't be Alive" when I was in severe withdrawal.  I found it very inspiring too. Don't recall ever finding it triggering, and I used to be triggered by almost all TV then.