Mental Illness Recovery: Will I Stay Well?

I try not to ask myself "Will I stay well?" too often. But it sort of lurks in the back of my psyche until, finally, I am confronted with it. That's part of living with a mental illness--whether it is chronic or in passing--and it's tough. Really tough. But what about before you were properly diagnosed?

Before Mental Illness Diagnosis, You Didn't Wonder If You Would Stay Well

Before you were diagnosed with a mental illness, I assume you did not involve asking yourself if you would stay well. Because you were not well.

• If you have bipolar disorder you may have the spent the past few years swinging painfully from high to low. You likely had very little time (or interest) in analyzing your state of mind.
• If you have struggled with severe depression, wellness is not usually part of your life. Leaving the house is a good place to start. Taking a shower. Eating. When depressed life often involves closed blinds and more time in bed; isolation and deprivation.
• Anxiety disorders leave much to be desired. A racing heart, shaking limbs and difficulty breathing? Well, there's a heck of a lot of other things I would rather be doing.
• I will leave addiction and disordered eating, the rest of them, for another post. I only have so many words.

In short: it isn't fun. Mental illness is not fun. It hurts. And it hurts those around us. Before we begin our journey to health, they watch us falter and slip, they wait for us to become well and when we do---because we do--they also wonder if we will stay well

Remember That You Will Become Well Again When You're Sick

Sorry for the long title there. I tried to play around with it, really, I did. But like recovering from mental illness, it wasn't easy. Remembering that you were once well when you are sick is not easy either.

I'm not great at this so I need to take my own advice. I was feeling pretty low a few weeks ago; it was a slow decline, it always is. A little less energy week by week, less interest in food (even my beloved chocolate!), and no interest in talking to anyone.

My psychiatrist told me to do this and to do that and I should feel better soon. As usual, I thought I would be sick forever. I forgot I was ever well.

And then, as slow as I had become unstable, stability embraced my life.

Taking my own advice here: Ask those around you to assure you you will become well again, you always do, and write it down. Yes, write it down!

We all handle our illness differently: How do you feel about the topic?