The Road to Recovery
DURING MY READINGS……
I find more and more people suffering from some kind of mental illness. Anxiety, depression, stress, self harm, addiction and many more. According to the Mental Health Foundation 10 million people have experienced a mental health problem just this week !
Statistically half of those who have a mental health issue recover after just one bout , but the other half , like myself , can continue with varying degrees throughout their lifetime. I manage the peaks and the troughs when they appear and overall have learnt not to be afraid of it. I have learnt that not everybody will understand what your going through and its OK to not be OK.
I found that recovery wasn’t one thing , there simply is no one size fits all during your journey. I googled and researched it to the extreme when I was diagnosed with anxiety and found so many different viewpoints and quick fixes. A buy this pack and you will be cured in 10 mins and it will change your life, sadly and expensively needed up simply not being the case. There is no pill that can fix us for the majority of the case. And I found that pills hindered my recovery and actually made me feel worse .
** Word of warning if you are on tablets do not read this and think I’m going to stop taking them. Many tablets need to be reduced over a long period of time. Always take advice from a health professional. **
I tried therapists and mediation and positive thinking and self care and a little of everything worked for me . It’s finding the right mix.
I read a lot of books and still to this day my bookcase is crammed with self help books.
‘ Having a panic attack is like a car alarm going off after the window was smashed . But then even when the wind blowers a leaf onto the car the alarm still goes off ….its a faulty switch “. I could really resonate with that. I knew I had to reset my switch and find my way of doing this . [Paul McKenna]
It has taken me a long time , actually 11 years to get to the stage I am at today , and if someone offers you “A quick fix “ it really can never be.
Recovery involves usually a combination of factors that are unique to you. You may read about someone who had something similar to you and try their technique with hopeless results that actually set you back further , that’s because although it might be the same symptoms , how you got yours is a different set of circumstances entirely.
This can leave you feeling devastated because you think others managed to be cured and you have not. It’s OK to have a wobble now and then , it’s all part of the journey. But remember after each stage you have learnt something new. If it worked use it as a tool in future and if it didn’t then you know not to try it again .
A set back , such as taking a drink or an episode of self harm , or staying in bed for the day is just that , a set back. One day , except it and move forward without berating yourself , that ultimately cause you to go back to square one. If your building a house and you accidentally put in a brick upside down , you would not destroy the entire house …..nah you would simply move onto the next brick and make sure you do it correctly this time.
NEVER GIVE UP
There’s a lot of bad advice out there and a lot of good advice. But it doesn’t mean it will all work for you. If you don’t find your GP understands you then see another. If your therapy or medication isn’t doing the job then try another. Above all never give up on your belief to want to get to be the old you.
Follow some of these tips to help , they all helped me
- Try a new hobby or idea
- Get fitter , exercise is very empowering
- Never lay down mid anxiety or panic attack
- Clean the cupboards
- Reorganise the sock drawer
- Read read read
- Volunteer to help others
- Practise mindfulness
- Listen to music
- Dance like noone is watching
- Take up walking
- Join a group of like minded people
- Start a group to help others
- Share your story
- Write a blog
- Talk it through
- Pat yourself on the back you’ve come this far
- Allow yourself to just see to the morning, then the afternoon don’t think too far ahead . Split the day into sections.
I hope in some small way this article helps you to realise you are not alone. Take your time and always know you can get through this , one step at a time , small steps , day by day , morning by morning , night by night . Have faith in your own self will
Lots of love Paula xx