I Gish. Do you Gish?

What is Gish? I’ve been part of this “Greatest International Scavenger Hunt” (that used to be The World Has Ever Seen, aka GISHWHES) since 2017 and for me it’s been more than a scavenger hunt, or a way to be creative and weird, or to cause “unreasonable pain and suffering” to myself or others for a week, or to curse Misha. It has literally been a life saver. It always seems like a good idea at the time, every year, because at the time that Gish occurs, I’m deep in the middle of my yearly SAD — summer seasonal affective disorder on top of my “regular” anxiety and depression.

Gish has pulled me out of the dysthymia and of my SAD every year that I do it. The one year that my dog was dying during Gish week and I barely participated, the few tasks I accomplished help me concentrate on doing good and kept me from falling completely apart. Last year, one of the tasks was to have get a tattoo and hold a sign, “Gish made me do it”. I had a small semi colon with a needle and thread done, signifying that I am a suicide survivor and sometimes, I am just holding on by thread. Gish — by being done right in the middle of my darkest days is that thread.

It may be called a scavenger hunt. What it does is find me in pieces and puts me back together again. Gish, and Misha and the Gnomes will forever have my gratitude.