Support groups

So I made time to try out another support group recently in this city.  There really aren't too many free or discounted mental health programs so support groups are a good option for people looking to connect with others facing mental illness.  There are waiting lists for lots of groups around town so obviously there are interested people out there seeking helpful groups as they cope with these really difficult illnesses.

A lot of people don't take mental illness seriously, and I just don't know why that is.  Also, it is my finding that there are many highly functioning people diagnosed with a mental disorder who run from the diagnosis and drop out of mental health entirely.

I think there's a strange sort of self assessment that goes on in some minds.  What do I mean?  Well, quite frankly, there are varying degrees of mental illness and people tend to focus on those with serious mental illnesses as their point of comparison of their own stability and measure of their worth.  

I have been that person with a serious mental illness on several occasions during psychosis.  And here's the thing: 

I still am that person with a serious mental illness.

I am currently in another facet of Bipolar1 disorder, and that is one of remission.  I take my medication and have developed coping strategies and included multiple types of therapy in my recovery.  But the fact that I have encountered breaks from reality on more than a few occasions which required taking medical leaves and being hospitalized will never leave me, nor my medical history.

And my insight into the "madness" that accompanied episodic periods of my life will always be there.

I know I can't work in the field without years of schooling, so I'm not going to even try.  I can't study well due to poor memory and comprehension and severe classroom anxiety.  So I know I will never have the respect of the Highly Educated in the field.  My experience will NEVER mean a thing to some psychology scholars.

But I can be there to offer an empathetic hand to people.   And maybe that's my role in all this?

I am a peer and ally in mental health.

Tough Love

So it's already mid-May and I have not contributed much to Mental Health Awareness Month.  I've been busy.  Lots of stuff going on and lots of realizations and such.

Getting help with mental illness can be the hardest thing a person might face in his or her life.  There are a lot of people out there who don't get honest with themselves.  And then to abruptly bring an outsider professional into the equation to tell you that You Are Unwell can create so, so much conflicting emotion.

But once the treatment begins, and the healing, and the revelations, and the awareness and the self care comes to fruition, life changes.  The fact of the matter is that a mental illness is a chronic condition, and while stability is to be found for many, it still requires work.  It's more than just swallowing a pill.  I have found a lot of men don't think that is true, but if some of them could try on a woman's insight for a day maybe it might change a mind or two.

And yes, sometimes that ol' Tough Love. Tough love isn't appropriate for everyone, so properly assessing someone's fragility is important.  

Anyway.   I have found the road to stability, for me, is in my interpersonal skills.  It requires my own 'mindfulness,' not just of myself but of each person in my space.  Instinct is a big part of my life, but it's not everything.  Communicating and learning about other people takes time.  As much of a cliche as it is, communication is EVERYTHING.

(The above is a photo of my Get Well Mobile Card that two of my former colleagues got together to make for me.  Recovering from surgery has given me lots of time for reflection... Lots of good old fashioned Mind Body Spirit/Soul work.)

May is Mental Health Month

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2003 in a rather traumatic way.  Co-workers made plans with me to get together for dinner, and when I went to our meeting spot, it was an intervention.

I just crumbled.  I fell apart.  Because I couldn't speak coherently while anxiety took hold, I ended up in a psych ward for two weeks, very heavily medicated.

It's taken a decade to get IN FRONT OF my mental illness rather than dragged behind it.  I'm not looking behind me, I'm facing the future.  It's a future of possibilities rather than that of limitations.  Yes, I live with a mental illness, but rather than focus on the disabilities it brings, I am harnessing the ways in which I can help others through the rough waters of diagnosis and finding appropriate treatment.

I have been a part of a wonderful art therapy group which will soon be going on summer hiatus.  In the meantime, I am taking advantage of my part-time work hours since my mastectomy and reconstructive surgery and heading to a few national organization support group meetings.

These are my first steps of getting involved.  I finally feel strong enough to do so.