Generally by the time you realize you have mental illness and share the fact with others, it means you are no longer lost and you are back on the road of sanity and life. Mental illness is not being lost. We cope, deny and self-medicate when lost. We survive. Mental illness happens afterwards, when we can no longer escape, hide or deny. Its being back on the road but unlike the rest of society, you are stuck at some point, of the road and your life’s journey.
Counselling, medication, self help techniques, such as changing your diet, exercise, joining a supportive community, and tools, such as self help and inspirational reading, are often necessary and can get you up again or at least make your stuck location bearable. To move forward, however, you need understanding of yourself, your life, self support and the dedication to move forward, to get well and return to life.
I found it helpful to revist my past, returning to my childhood and youth and learning what is no longer me. These things I let go of and those feelings as well. Some of the things I revisited, that I had let go of over the years, are still me, and can help me now, I picked up and reclaimed. Our past holds clues to your present, future and our mental health, but you need to go back and relive it, remember it to move forward, and that’s a scary but very rewarding journey. You will revisit the monsters but you will also revisit yourself, and that’s really the core of healing from mental illness: self discovery and love.
As most of the fear and panic that comes with mental illness has to do with loss, including loss of our time and years, the biggest strength you can have in your battle against it, is patience. It takes time to heal, to get back on your feet, and get moving forward again. Give yourself as much time as you need, and ignore the pressures to go, do, win and live until your ready to.
Recovery from mental illness requires a great deal of patience, and like any other illness, forcing yourself or being forced to move forward before your ready is just going to result in depression, frustration, anger at yourself and others, panic and despair. So be kind and give yourself all the time you need. Read, rest, relax, enjoy, do what you can and don’t feel guilty about any of it.
As a society we need to understand mental illness as the equal to any to other illness, become more well informed and understanding, as well as more forthcoming with disability time off from work, and access to benefits. People can’t really fake mental illness, and it kills as easily and completely as any other serious disease. It’s really very wrong of society to see it, its care and treatment as a luxury, and not a fundamental health care issue and right. We all need to understand it, as we all deserve to be well.
