more on having a mental illness

Further to my postings about my mental illness, there are a couple of things that I’d like to add.

If you’re unlucky enough to suffer from a mental illness, you may find that it takes awhile before you fully accept your condition.  In my case, it took me about three years before I accepted my illness.  For others, it may take more or it may take less time.  Everyone is different.  This is obviously not something that can be rushed.  However, acceptance of your illness is critical to your path to recovery.  It’s certainly something worth fighting for.


Something that helped me accept my condition was my refusal to accept the label of ‘schizophrenia’ without unpacking it in further detail.  When you’re diagnosed with such a condition, you need to lift the lid and analyse exactly what it entails. Once I did so, I realised that it wasn’t quite as bad as it sounded, and I found the courage to carry on.  Don’t allow a label to define you and certainly don’t accept a label without dissecting what it involves first.