Every now and again, I get asked to write articles or give talks. This is in response to a request for a short description of my own recovery.
For me, recovery means “never being ill again”, for others it might be “living well with symptoms” or “getting back to where I was before I was ill”
I was first sectioned at the age of 29. There was no mental illness in the family. If there was a cause, it was the stress of applying for jobs. Jobs that would have left me in the wrong career for the rest of my life, as a woman neurosurgeon. Not an impossible goal, even in the UK. After that, I had ten years of bipolar disorder, three sections and much misery, drugs and side effects. I now live drug free, work at jobs I enjoy and know I will never be ill again, at least not with bipolar disorder. My life has never been happier, more fulfilled, healthier or more secure. This for me is recovery. I have been lucky. Not lucky with my "illness", not lucky with my “outcome” but lucky that I have had access to information, support and the money I needed to find my answer …. eventually.
My luck depended on being a doctor. This meant I could access research on bipolar disorder, psychology, and nutrition. I was lucky with having some true friends and lucky to earn enough from a few hours work each week. I also had a string of bad psychiatrists and therapists, with an occasional enlightened beacon, which made me realise that psychiatry and therapy would not give me the answer. Instead I found my answer in a healthy lifestyle. This consists of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, omega 3 fish oils, daily exercise and a ban on junk food and alcohol. In self-management; not blaming my “illness” and personal development. And equally important, in a reasonable and rational set of beliefs and values, writing, being heard and learning to listen. And best of all, with a few good and honest friends.
This makes me privileged.
My recovery took me nearly twenty years. My next question is “What would I have needed to know, to have reached this point more quickly?” And “Can it be done more cheaply?” Finding that out is now my life’s work. The Internet helps enormously. Self-management groups, providing security, support, wisdom and experience of the illness, help. Promoting a healthy lifestyle and writing blogs are some of the answers. Finding good and honest friends is the tricky one. Many people, especially those with bipolar disorder, find themselves failed by their friends just when they need them most. Learning social skills, developing appropriate social expectations and fine-tuning social judgements to help find those elusive good and honest friends is hardest.
www.lizmiller.co.ukI was first sectioned at the age of 29. There was no mental illness in the family. If there was a cause, it was the stress of applying for jobs. Jobs that would have left me in the wrong career for the rest of my life, as a woman neurosurgeon. Not an impossible goal, even in the UK. After that, I had ten years of bipolar disorder, three sections and much misery, drugs and side effects. I now live drug free, work at jobs I enjoy and know I will never be ill again, at least not with bipolar disorder. My life has never been happier, more fulfilled, healthier or more secure. This for me is recovery. I have been lucky. Not lucky with my "illness", not lucky with my “outcome” but lucky that I have had access to information, support and the money I needed to find my answer …. eventually.
My luck depended on being a doctor. This meant I could access research on bipolar disorder, psychology, and nutrition. I was lucky with having some true friends and lucky to earn enough from a few hours work each week. I also had a string of bad psychiatrists and therapists, with an occasional enlightened beacon, which made me realise that psychiatry and therapy would not give me the answer. Instead I found my answer in a healthy lifestyle. This consists of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, omega 3 fish oils, daily exercise and a ban on junk food and alcohol. In self-management; not blaming my “illness” and personal development. And equally important, in a reasonable and rational set of beliefs and values, writing, being heard and learning to listen. And best of all, with a few good and honest friends.
This makes me privileged.
My recovery took me nearly twenty years. My next question is “What would I have needed to know, to have reached this point more quickly?” And “Can it be done more cheaply?” Finding that out is now my life’s work. The Internet helps enormously. Self-management groups, providing security, support, wisdom and experience of the illness, help. Promoting a healthy lifestyle and writing blogs are some of the answers. Finding good and honest friends is the tricky one. Many people, especially those with bipolar disorder, find themselves failed by their friends just when they need them most. Learning social skills, developing appropriate social expectations and fine-tuning social judgements to help find those elusive good and honest friends is hardest.
www.moodmapping.com
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