Michael and I attend a support group at our church for people who have family members who are mentally ill. Last night was our 6th week into the 10 week class. There is so much information out there on mental illness that it can be overwhelming and frustrating to sort thru, so sometimes the class gets a little boring but each week near the end of the class I start to become very grateful for the things that I am learning and for the education that I am receiving on mental health.
Last night I experienced a huge sigh of relief after finally realizing something that had been in the back of my mind for sometime but I had never had the opportunity or resources to deal with it prior to this group. I am a little hesitant to share it because it is personal but the more that I thought about it, the more I hoped that it could help someone else, and that finally convinced me that I should share it.
Mental health is genetic and there’s not a lot out there that one can do to prevent it from happening to them. If it’s in your genes, it could be possible. I think for a long time this scared me since because of my father, it’s no doubt in my genes. Because it commonly occurs later in life, I have been a little worried that I could be affected by it or that my children could be affected by it and that can be frustrating because there is nothing that I can do about it. I’m helpless about it or so I thought. Voicing this last night in group really helped me to realize just how different I am from my father. Mental illness, especially schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder is not a death sentence for anyone. There is constantly new medication in the field of mental health and often times it is only a matter of going thru a process of finding the right medication if you’re the person diagnosed. Once the right medication is found and the patient is willing to remain in contact with a certified psychologist, he or she can live a very active, fulfilling, regular life.
I think that there is hope out there for people who struggle with mental illness. I think it’s in reachable grasps of people suffering. I also think that if I could do my life over again, I would become a physiologist, specializing in schizophrenia. (Although I love my life and I love my job so I’m not complaining.) It’s fascinating to learn about the research and to offer hope to those who have lost their hope.
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