I feel a need to pause for a moment in my recital of my mental health issues to lighten this up a bit.
I am a very fortunate person in that although I have had some horrific experiences in life they have simply helped me to grow up. My mind is clear and my thought processes are cogent, but more than that, my heart is filled with the joy of life and I am forever grateful to God that I came through in one piece, and have a sense of humor about the past.
Because you have allowed me to voice my experiences and feelings about the past, I have been able to find peace from the memories of how rotten I handled life when I was very ill. I made huge mistakes and hurt people as I went along but have come to a place where I can earnestly make amends and express a heart that is filled with love. Writing this blog and communicating with you makes every experience seem worthwhile. Maybe you have a loved one, or yourself maybe, who has struggled with the mental and emotional issues of life and feel a heavy weight of guilt over all of their actions. It may be comforting to know that 98% of the people that I met in my hospitalizations were absolutely lovely people who were suffering from a bio-chemical imbalance. Most were kind and generous of heart but suffered under a load of guilt because they had mental or emotional problems, and may have done things they were embarrassed to talk about. In the hospital you learn to confront your emotions and past actions and learn how to deal with those problems in a positive manner. You learn to cope with, and understand, your own mental issues. It is really not a "down" experience at all.
Why I am writing about this subject is to help other people, who also address these issues in their private lives or in the lives of their loved ones, understand more about the truths of a mental hospitalization, or a mental illness, and how it really affects your life. I would like to in-lighten people in regards to the truth about having a mental illness, or staying in an institution. I will say that there have always been "incidents" when I have been in the hospital. Someone looses control and gets in a fight with another patient or begins to hurt the property, but there is an immediate response from the nurses and staff and that patient is placed in the locked unit of the ward where they are generally restrained and kept in separate rooms, then medicated until they are back in control. I felt afraid a couple of times, but usually it was over before it properly began.
And like I said: the food is great; group therapy helps you to understand yourself and talk your problems out; classes teach you about your medication and diagnosis and how to succeed in your personal life; and recreational, game, and art therapy let you express your feelings creatively while you learn how to better socialize. It is almost a "vacation" from life because everyone around you understands what you're going through and feeling, and you can concentrate on improving yourself.
I'm not saying that everyone that goes to a mental hospital has my experience of it. Some people's experience might be much more traumatic; especially if it is a first hospitalization and you do not understand how the programs work. But I encourage anyone in the situation to give the process some time and try to get out of the program what will help you to grow and develop. It took me years of work to get better and I still am on medication-only not nearly as much-and expect to be for the rest of my life unless a truly remarkable discovery is made in metal health.
Tomorrow we will handle self-mutilation-as opposed to suicide-and then move on to the subject of suicide itself. When these subjects are covered, we will get back to the fun of stories again. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
I am a very fortunate person in that although I have had some horrific experiences in life they have simply helped me to grow up. My mind is clear and my thought processes are cogent, but more than that, my heart is filled with the joy of life and I am forever grateful to God that I came through in one piece, and have a sense of humor about the past.
Because you have allowed me to voice my experiences and feelings about the past, I have been able to find peace from the memories of how rotten I handled life when I was very ill. I made huge mistakes and hurt people as I went along but have come to a place where I can earnestly make amends and express a heart that is filled with love. Writing this blog and communicating with you makes every experience seem worthwhile. Maybe you have a loved one, or yourself maybe, who has struggled with the mental and emotional issues of life and feel a heavy weight of guilt over all of their actions. It may be comforting to know that 98% of the people that I met in my hospitalizations were absolutely lovely people who were suffering from a bio-chemical imbalance. Most were kind and generous of heart but suffered under a load of guilt because they had mental or emotional problems, and may have done things they were embarrassed to talk about. In the hospital you learn to confront your emotions and past actions and learn how to deal with those problems in a positive manner. You learn to cope with, and understand, your own mental issues. It is really not a "down" experience at all.
Why I am writing about this subject is to help other people, who also address these issues in their private lives or in the lives of their loved ones, understand more about the truths of a mental hospitalization, or a mental illness, and how it really affects your life. I would like to in-lighten people in regards to the truth about having a mental illness, or staying in an institution. I will say that there have always been "incidents" when I have been in the hospital. Someone looses control and gets in a fight with another patient or begins to hurt the property, but there is an immediate response from the nurses and staff and that patient is placed in the locked unit of the ward where they are generally restrained and kept in separate rooms, then medicated until they are back in control. I felt afraid a couple of times, but usually it was over before it properly began.
And like I said: the food is great; group therapy helps you to understand yourself and talk your problems out; classes teach you about your medication and diagnosis and how to succeed in your personal life; and recreational, game, and art therapy let you express your feelings creatively while you learn how to better socialize. It is almost a "vacation" from life because everyone around you understands what you're going through and feeling, and you can concentrate on improving yourself.
I'm not saying that everyone that goes to a mental hospital has my experience of it. Some people's experience might be much more traumatic; especially if it is a first hospitalization and you do not understand how the programs work. But I encourage anyone in the situation to give the process some time and try to get out of the program what will help you to grow and develop. It took me years of work to get better and I still am on medication-only not nearly as much-and expect to be for the rest of my life unless a truly remarkable discovery is made in metal health.
Tomorrow we will handle self-mutilation-as opposed to suicide-and then move on to the subject of suicide itself. When these subjects are covered, we will get back to the fun of stories again. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
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