Can anything good come out of mental illness

[SteveB1978]

Hey everyone,

Hope everyone is going ok today.. I wanted to write and ask if anyone has a success story coming out of their Mental illness. I watch lots of success stories on YouTube of people who came out of mental illness and now are psychologists or mental health doctors etc. which makes me feel a small glimmer of hope.

I’m 41 years old and still deep into my struggles. My life is a real mess and I’m currently unemployed coming from losing everything including my business after my divorce.However, on days I feel my brain can focus and function just a little bit, I drift and think of hopes my life might look like, if I can control my depression and anxiety so I can return back to some sort of work and feel less hopeless and start enjoying life again.

I dream that I will change my career (as my old career/ business which I lost causes me to must to much sadness after all the hard work I put into it) I would love to study again so I can work in social work/counseling/psychology I would like to write a biography of my life and self help book how I got out of my “rock bottom situation (after I’m well of course.. I’m hoping for a success story). I’ve been through so much, if I can get out of this will be a miracle.

Would love to hear if anyone has experienced their life becoming more positive because of their mental health. Would be a so helpful to hear some positive stories, knowing a nice future is possible would be a great help.

thank you
steve

[quirkywords]

Steve,

Welcome to the forum.

I suppose the word success can be interpreted differently by different people.

I suppose I avoid the word success , as someone may feel a success that they can have a job for ten hours a week while another may feel a success because they studied and finished their PHD.

To me it is a long journey with ups and downs on the way.

I ran m own business for many years. I have helped others though giving talks on mental health.

I have written blogs about mental health.

I also have days when I struggle with a recent trauma but that's life.

I think small steps are good and you also have a bigger picture.

I feel more compassionate towards others now.

[SteveB1978]

Thank you so much for your reply. So good you write blogs and have helped others on mental health. Success is not a great word I chose to use. Sorry. It’s definitely a journey of ups and downs that’s for sure. Think I had a good day yesterday but very low and overwhelmed today. But thank you for your reply.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your post- and it's such an optimistic one too.

I absolutely believe that good can come out of mental illness, but I also believe it's what we make of it - as totally cliche as that sounds.

I definitely think my life would be different if I didn't have a mental illness - but how much I'm not sure. I know that friendships scattered because of it - but it also meant that I had new relationships (which I am so grateful for). I've spent so much time in therapy because of it, but it also means I've learned so much about myself that I never would have known otherwise. It's given me a sense of empathy for people that I know I never would have had without a MI. It's because of my MI that I also chose to become a counsellor too, which I had no interest in beforehand. I know there are so many other things but there's also a word limit on my reply haha

From your post it already sounds like you are finding ways to reframe your own experiences. Looking at a big career change and writing your own biography are fairly significant ways to find the good!

I absolutely believe that you can have a better future, even if you're not able to see it right now.

rt

[Zephyr360]

Hey mate,

I also lost my business due to my mental health, its very hard to face people after that, so i can totally relate.

From reading your story i think you need to focus on healing yourself first, research what it is you love to do and try and make a career out of it. There are lots of online courses you could do to retrain, like the old saying do a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life : ) I have just started studying online, maybe you could look into study options, if you are unemployed and on benefits, they will subsidise your course fees so you get a course for free per year. Good luck mate, keep us updated. 🖖🏻

[known]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for sharing. I relate to your experience as I closed my business and left two jobs due to mental illness, so I have been unemployed, depressed and feeling useless, while at the same time scared to try again. But I also relate to your optimism...I like how you said "on days I feel my brain can focus and function just a little bit, I drift and think of hopes my life might look like". I can sometimes get a little glimmer of what might be possible.

It's really great that you've listed things that you could try next. I think writing them up and putting them somewhere where you can see them can help your mind think positively about the future, too.

I've been thinking that it might help to create my own definition of success. At the moment, my definition of success would be having the time, space and best environment to heal while also being able to pay bills. I have a close friend who is living with PTSD and has been working hard to design her life so that it works for her. In the past she has worked full time and also run her own business. She now works part time and has her own side-gig and it seems to me that she is her version of success right now. She has time, space and freedom. She is still managing PTSD and other health things, but it isn't interrupting her life and stressing her out as much as it used to.

I'm excited for you. Focus on healing and encourage your mind when you have one of those good days.