Guide: Dealing with Mental Illness

On Mental Health:

I'm sure most of you know that I suffer from a lot of mental illness by now; I have been hospitalized two times since April of '09, and it hasn't really been a good experience.

I wanted to write a short guide for dealing with or treating mental illness. Below are suggestions I have for everyone out there who is dealing with issues of the mental type.

Research, but not much
When you find out or get a label for your mental illness, typically researching it in order to find out or read up on different ways of treatment or different types of therapies so that you can help yourself get over what you have is a good thing to do.

What is not a good thing though, is when you research and become obsessed with the illness you have. Research as little as possible, and always make sure you are reading a reliable source. The NAMI website is a good one.

If you don't have a diagnosis yet, do not research thing you could possibly have; this is what I did and it made life a living hell.

Stay on your meds
Sometimes we're given medications for our issues, and sometimes we are not. But for those of you who are given a medication must make sure that they always take their medication.

Skipping your medication is a GIANT no-no, due to the fact that you not only start to go back into your old behaviour (a relapse), but you also have the risk of running into withdrawal, which can make you worse, or cause physical illness.

Go to therapy
I don't care what you have, therapy is always a great way of expressing your feelings as well as having someone to listen to you, which I always find to make me feel better in the end.

It does not make you a bad person to get therapy, nor does it mean that you are crazy at all.

You are not alone
So you just got a dire diagnosis - it sucks, but I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. There are people out there in the world who also suffer from similar illnesses as you and who also have to deal with the crap you do every day.

Knowing this typically helps us realize that we aren't as crazy as we think we are, which helps with the recovery process.

Have a support system
Having a support system is a huge plus for when you're not feeling well; whether it's just a couple of friends to a huge family-friend network, having someone to turn to is always a plus. Having someone to help you is also a great thing to have.

Reality check (psychotic illnesses only)
This is a hidden gem to those who have psychotic illness and suffer from delusions and hallucinations. If you start thinking that you're seeing or hearing things, or think you are having paranoia, make sure you turn to someone and ask them if they are seeing or hearing what you're seeing or hearing, and also check to see if your paranoia is legitimate.