Life is hard.
Paying bills. Looking after your health. Relationships. Work. Any one of these aspects of life is a potential minefield that everyone must navigate.
Throw in a mood disorder such as depression or anxiety, or something more impairing such as borderline personality disorder or post traumatic stress disorder and life gets even more complicated. Your emotions are that much more volatile. You are that much easier to trigger. That much more likely to obsess over random crap.
Mix it all together, and you have hell on earth. You have levels of emotional pain that unless you have been through it, you would not be able to comprehend.
So what’s the flip side?
Not just the pain is magnified. Not just the fear. Love is magnified. Passions are magnified.
Yes, mental illness can be scary and isolating. It can tell you lies, and make you feel like everyone in your life would be better if you ended your life. Mental illness is not something to take lightly, but it is not an end game either.
Symptoms can be managed if you get the right treatment. Skills can be learned to help you cope when the going gets rough.
The journey with mental illness isn’t always easy, but it is worth it.
Kevin
The Mental Health, Writing, and Photography Blog of Kevin J Sabo 