One Guy’s Guide to Managing Mental Health
I have Bi-Polar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, ADHD (if that exists :-), gastritis, ulcers and IBS. Hmmm. I got relatively lucky with the Bi-Polar, in that I found a medication that works for me, and keeps most of the scary part at bay. The medication allows me to function without limitation for the most part. As for the rest… Not quite as easy.
Stomach issues are the hardest to deal with
Honestly, the stomach issues and anxiety are the hardest things for me to deal with. Then again, IBS has a tendency to exacerbate the depressive aspect of my nature…so, there’s that. Doesn’t sound very uplifting, huh? For over 25 years (probably more) I’ve been dealing with one sort of illness or the other. Peaks and valleys, like any journey, but I really did believe the IBS was going to break me at one point. I had gotten to a place mentally, where I was actually content and stable for the first time in my life and then I started with the IBS. IBS is an energy-sapping, demoralizing, difficult (sometimes impossible) to control illness. How do you deal with all of that? You prepare. Take a hard look at yourself and make a game plan. Be ready to be flexible and change that plan when necessary. Above all, see your doctors and educate yourself. You will find a way that will help. It may not CURE, but it will make life just that much more fulfilling. This is what has worked for me.
Coping with mental health
I avoided medication for my mental health issues until I was 38 years old (I’m 44 now). Why? Because it wasn’t ‘NATURAL’. I thought exercise (yoga), supplements, eating right and meditation would take care of it, if I was disciplined enough. Don’t get me wrong, I was MUCH better when I lived a healthy lifestyle, but I was kidding myself into believing that ‘much better’ was as good as I could be. What came next was medication. Medication for all of my ailments has been a very hard mountain to climb. Some people don’t require medication, but I do. And some of it makes me very sick, some make me crazy, some make my symptoms worse, some too expensive. Until you find that one thing that works. Then you are happy you made the journey. They call it medication management, but sometimes it feels like medication hell. It takes real dedication to your wellness to put yourself through the process of finding the ‘right’ thing.
Therapy is probably the most important factor in my relative success managing my mental health. We all want to be validated, understood, listened to and supported. I’ve found IBS and mental health are so very similar in this way. We need this type of support. There is so much shame, embarrassment, confusion, frustration and anger that goes along with all of it that having a good therapist to help you process all this crap can be a lifesaver.
Well-rounded approach
The last I’ll say for now is that for me, these things I do to manage my wellness need to happen together to really work and for me to stay on track. I can’t just meditate and eat well and skip the therapist. I can’t just see the therapist and take my meds. I need to exercise, eat well, meditate (take time for myself/self-care), take my medication AND see my therapist. It’s a lot of work sometimes, but I’m not really sure where I’d be without it. Just my two cents. Thanks for listening.
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