About Arley Hoskin, Author of 'Living a Blissful Life'

My name is Arley Hoskin and I come from Kansas. It is the middle of the Midwest. We are hardworking and dutiful. Sacrifice is often viewed as a higher virtue than happiness in my neck of the woods. And I used to feel the same way.

I Was Diagnosed with Bipolar

My view on life changed 10 years ago when I was diagnosed with bipolar type 1. My senior year of college, I had a severe depressive episode. I spent countless days in bed. I hardly ate or showered. To this day I don’t know how managed to make it to my classes enough to graduate. Right before graduation I got on an antidepressant and things started to look up. I landed a job as an education reporter at a local, weekly paper.

A few months into my new job, my depression tailspinned into bipolar mania. I became paranoid and even psychotic. I spent six days in the hospital and months picking up the pieces of what seemed to be my broken life.

I knew that if I wanted to get better and stay better, that it would take hard work. For the first time in my life, I started to focus my work ethic on myself. I worked hard to create an environment where I could achieve stable moods. Once my mood stabilized I worked just as hard to achieve happiness.

Working to Achieve Happiness and Bliss

I surrounded myself with uplifting friends, attended therapy regularly, moved into my own apartment, ate healthy, and exercised. As I found my niche in my career and within the community, I started to experience a deeper joy.

It’s this deeper joy that I want to pursue in the Living a Blissful Life blog.

Take Time to Experience Bliss

I used to think that I didn’t have time for fun or happiness. I thought that I had too many important things to get done. I always had too many items on my to-do list.

Over the years, I’ve learned to put a higher priority on my happiness. I no longer view fun activities as frivolous because often those are the moments that cultivate relationships with my family and friends. Slowly, joy is seeping into all aspects of my life. As I continue on this journey to live a blissful life, I plan to share the lessons I learn here on this blog.

When I’m not blogging, I work as a residential manager and peer support advocate at Mental Health America of the Heartland.

Learn More about Arley Hoskin in This Video

https://youtu.be/pXKjzGTYijo

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