You broke your leg. An ambulance is called, they pin your leg, moon boot, pain and 8 weeks later you walk normally. A miracle.
Not so the struggles with mental illness. Yet in these BB pages we are seemingly bombarded by sufferers of mental illness who draw no distinction between the two. Person develops depression then a labyrinth of twists and turns take hold from denial to even hospital admission and everything in between. It is scary for many as they weave their way through the unknown, add to that the deplorable health system and even misdiagnosis. It is full on stress until things settle. It's like we really need a monopoly board just for our help. eg partner is in denial go back 3 spaces to see your GP together. Take a chance- pursue a correct diagnosis advance to GO.
It is really difficult to accept that most mental illnesses need to be managed for the rest of our lives rather than seeking cure. "The rest of our lives" sheesh, that's like- forever!!! crikey...how am I going to handle that?
Well its really an attitude/state of mind thing not unlike any other life changing event. Marriage, becoming a parent, suffering grief. Add to that taking medication regularly and accepting ups and downs as part of your routine like waves ebb and waves flow.
Sometimes we need to go through many hurdles before we settle. Education plays a large part of this. The more we learn about our illness the more expert we become until there is little else to know except latest research news. If you don't read up on your illness, your medications, share experiences with others including BB and reject therapy then you are in for a bumpy ride with more confusion and questions rather than knowing where you are at with it. Knowledge is power. Power is confidence and confidence is essential to endurance of your symptoms.
Confidence and knowledge of your illness also has a big benefit, it gives you that little more wisdom when those bad times come around. You know the ones, when you want to walk away from life as you know it...escape? This has happened to me a number of times in recent years especially when having a fallout with my wife (she has depression, I have depression bipolar 2 and dysthymia). I know, no matter how bad I feel that a few hours later I'll feel better. A day later you wonder what all the fuss was about and I'm almost back to normal.
So the closest thing to a miracle cure IMO is education.
Keep reading threads here on this site.
Tony WK
