Diagnosed? Get ready to work hard

[white knight]

We've heard it, we might have said it ourselves..."I'm on medication for that".

Its like once we are diagnosed all the work is done, the tablet fixes all. But it doesnt. Then some would think, "I'm attending a psychiatrist...". That's it? Nope.

Here is a list I've compiled of other things I've chosen to do or compelled to do since my first diagnosis in 2003

Computer program "mood gym"

relocation to the country to reduce stress

2nd diagnosis (2009)

Diet (home grown vegies) and exercise review

Constant review of med dosage

Health plan

1, 5 and 10 year plans

ridding toxic people from my life

Research

Group discussions

Listening to observers of me

Revamp finances

Bought a pet

Withdrew from committees

Wrote short stories/poetry

Açcept they'll be down days

Ensured 8 hours minimum sleep

Spiritual discovery

Volunteer work. Helping others boosts confidence/feeling worthwhile

All of the above collectively have assisted me in my progress of all diagnosed disorders bipolar2, dysthymia and depression but it wasnt easy at all. I continue to suffer the symptoms at a slowly reduced rate as incidences are reviewed like why outbursts occur, what triggers my depression and what I can do to help my situation.

I dwell less on what l cannot do. I came to accept my incapabilities. Eg my poor short term memory. No point being disappointed over such an issue you cannot do anything about. Writing notes and using alarm on my mobile helps though

But above all else the one thing that has at all times been my greatest asset...positivity and downloading such positivity into action...the latter as important as the former.

Such drive came in 1982 and is detailed in the thread (google)

Topic: 30 minutes can change your life- beyondblue

The power of positivity is amazing and the hard work well worth it.

Discover yourself, reflect, study, treat your journey as a past time.. Read!

Dont forget to love yourself. You are unique, like all humans you'll make mistakes just dont keep making the same ones. Care for your carer as best you can.

Work hard and you will suffer a lot less...

Tony WK

[JessF]

Hello Tony, thank you for this. I think that when someone is suffering the last thing they want to hear is that they're going to have to work hard, but it's the reality unfortunately. If only there were a magic solution. But I see depression or anxiety as like mental rehab. If you were to break a leg or injure yourself physically in some way, it can take a long time to get back to full functioning depending on how severe the injury is. And some times, there may not be a return of full fucntioning and we have to learn to accept how to live with the 'new normal'.

I think too that when we've been living with negative thought patterns for years and years, a change to thinking and feeling is not going to happen overnight. It's like being right handed and suddenly having to learn to write only with your left. It's a skill that has to be learned, and an old one that must be unlearned.

[white knight]

Hi jessF,

I must admit I had second thoughts if the title of this thread.

"Unlearning skills". I never considered that. Negative to positive thought patterns do indeed take a long time. My first change came in 1982 and today I still have relapses. I dont think you can be 100% positive all the time.

Tony WK

[JessF]

No, I don't hink it's a good idea to be positive all the time,s ometimes there are good reasons to be negative. If you're facing a decision that affects your life and health, finances, career... big decisions, then a conservative outlook can be prudent. But if you're being held back in life, or prone to think in terms of "always" and "never" then it's time to start pulling those bricks out of the wall.

[white knight]

Thanks JessF

I'm finding this fascinating from my view of one that was once just a negative thinker.

So I'm sort of "born again" in that area and still eager to learn about positive minds.

What you are saying, if I undetstand you, is that one has to sometimes be realistic and step backwards in a negative action before moving forward?

This would explain the wave of positive/negative/positive mind state. I've seen and listened to sales people be positive all the time but most of it seems false.

Realistically life goes up and down. Correct?

Tony WK

[JessF]

Yes life does go up and down. Interesting that you mention sales people because I was just reading a book about when to apply positive mindsets, and for sales people it is important especially, because if you have a phone in front of you and have to cold call 50 people, then most of them are going to reject you. If you let each rejection get to you, you would never make the target and it would be impossible to do the job.

In a life sense, you could make a similar comparison with say something like anxiety. If you were to contemplate all of the terrible things that MIGHT happen to you when stepping out of the door, you would never leave the house.

[Wheremengo]

Hi JessF I'm loving that you take life's up's and downs, cause like in the case of the salespeople we are all like them in some way or another, whilst we dont canvas calls we reach out for sources to help us, so sometimes we get a rejection we still believe we have to pick up that phone and try another number. Though stepping out the door someday's might be frightening it's the time you spend walking to the door that allows us to think of what MIGHT happen, but you can see the need to remain positive in whatever you do by only looking back at white knight's first post in this thread he lists all the things to check off and it would be great for people to revisit that list and see how far they have come. This gives us the energy to get back out and live our lives and burst through as many barriers as we can.

[white knight]

Thanks wheremengo

This topic of salesperson was covered in the thread (google)

Topic: 30 minutes can change your life- beyondblue

It was the very moment in 1982 that my life turned around and I was an insurance salesman circa 1982.

No better example of a negative salesman called Bill that turned millionaire.

Tony WK