Part II...Mental Illness is not a death sentence, although when first diagnosed it may seem this way. There has been a major shift in the way illness is treated in the past 15 years since my first diagnosis. When I was first admitted into a psychiatric ward early January 2001 on what was to be believed as a drug induced psychosis, my parents were taken into a room where the treating team tried to explain to them what was happening to me, and what my life would look like.

The news wasn't good, there was little hope given for my future and my Mum recalls the meeting had a sense of doom and gloom about it. We knew very little about mental health back then and relied heavily on the doctors advice. I was under the impression that the medication given to me would make me better just like any other medication you would expect to receive from a doctor.

In the years to follow I learnt about side effects medications can give you first hand, and in my case this became my main reason for non compliance. After subsequent relapses and hospital admissions I had to realize that I did in fact require medication and it was a matter of trial and error of finding the right medication and dosage was for me to remain well.

There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to mental illness, one doesn't simply "lose their mind" and be able to continue their life how they used to lead it (not in my case anyway). Things do need to change and even though life may not turn out to the way you had planned, there is still many other pathways one can take, it just takes more caution and planning on how you go about it.

We still have a long way to to go to reduce stigma regarding mental illness in main stream society, and we have a responsibility to ourselves and to others not to add to this sort of negativity. If it took myself years to understand my own illness, how would you expect others to learn about it or be aware of it if they were never subjected to it themselves?

Due to the amount of education that is required to understand mental illness, I find that if you are not in a good place mentally it is best to stick with the trained professionals in the area to help you get back on your feet, until you feel strong enough to face the world again. I have mentioned developing a support network in the past and this is imperative for you to maintain especially for the times when you are in need.

Over the years, I was always focused on my downfalls when I fell ill, thinking I was a failure every time. But after getting treatment I was always on the comeback trail willing to do bigger and better things and this is where the focus really should be. This is what I believe the term "recovery" is all about. I finally latched onto the concept that is out there called "recovery" just a few years ago. Due to there being no known cure at this point in time for mental illness the term "recovery" seemed like a piss take at the time. The reason I thought this, was because I was always focused on my relapses, rather than when I was on my comeback trail.

I now realize that to recover is a destination, and a specific point in time. And if I am to look back I have recovered countless times from relapses and there are actual times where I did feel better. I understand that I will never be cured, and mental illness will always be a bug bear of mine, but I have a life time to look forward to of my recovery journey, becoming more self aware and above all else having insight into my own condition, keeping the gremlins away to avoid any relapse I may have in future.

Ref: www.boxrep.blogspot.com