OMG - I have a mental picture of DW wearing an alice band!
I do feel it’s under control now,
This is excellent. It highlights the progress you've made. It is important to remember that sometimes your negative self perception isn't what you think about yourself, but is symptomatic of your condition.
I can accept that it’s simply not an illness that you get rid of. It’s not like breaking your leg and the bone heals; what I have doesn’t go away. Never will. It’s just all about reducing the impact it has on your life.
This bit interested me. I take a similar line with people I work with who struggle with their MH. I'm not clinically trained, but it is how I operate.
I definitely feel that it doesn’t define me, although I will always speak out about mental health conditions whenever a conversation goes down that direction; I am, at least, qualified to speak.
Bravo! And you should. We NEED this conversation DW. Not too long ago, MH was climbing up the agenda. BBC3 had a season of programmes on MH. Awareness rose. Sadly, that appears to have tailed off, but we need the likes of you to keep banging the drum, reminding all and sundry that it is an issue that affects us every single day.
I’m still on medication which I suppose I could try coming off, but I’m not quite ready to take that risk. Maybe in 2018. We’ll see.
On this, you will know better than anyone. I just wish you luck.
I don't have a (diagnosed) MH condition. But I can relate - especially the ups and downs. Mine may not be as significant, but the analogy is there. And talking about it certainly helps.
I'm going to pop something on a related note on the happy thread in a minute. A student I helped has written an article on their MH. I arrived this morning to see an email from them asking if I wanted a read. I made a cuppa, sat down, and feel ridiculously humbled, as I did very little in the grand scheme of the challenges they faced.
Stay strong!
