Friday, May 1, 2015

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.

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