Recovery

What does mental health “recovery” mean to you? Is it a total absence of mental illness?

I think that’s what I thought I would be able to achieve. However, I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen for me. 

I feel that for me, recovery is learning how to manage my mental health. Taking care of myself physically and mentally so that I can try to stay within a range of moods that are manageable.

I am slowly learning through trial and error what helps my mental health improve and what doesn’t. I’m trying to be gentle with myself because it’s inevitable that I will go backwards at times- recovery is not linear. It’s frustrating, it’s exhausting, but all I can do is keep trying.

I had a wonderful getaway for my 30th birthday. Loved every minute of it, happiest I’d felt in a long time. Came home and pretty much had a mental breakdown. 

I am finding motherhood so incredibly triggering because all of my suppressed emotions have come to the surface. Feelings need to be felt. If we don’t allow ourselves to express our emotions they will come out eventually and it won’t be pretty.

I do feel that I have found someone who is really helping me to work through my struggles. It’s not easy, but it’s worth the investment. Not just for me to regain peace and happiness in my life, but for the impact that will have on my son’s life.

In my opinion there is nothing more important than mental health. Everyone will be effected in some way at some point in their life, which means that it’s something we all need to make a priority in our lives.