Mental illness is something that I’m quite passionate about because of my own experiences with it. I’ve said it on here many times already, but in case you’re new to my blog, I dealt with a combination of three eating disorders when I was in high school; I have Generalized Anxiety disorder; I have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality disorder.
It ain’t my first rodeo, to say the least.
Focusing more specifically on my anxiety, I was diagnosed with it roughly 12 years ago. Have I cured myself of it? Hell no. Will I ever? I doubt it, but I suppose it is possible. Have I made tremendous progress in how I deal and cope with my anxieties? You bet your ass I have.
Over the span of 12 years, I have been able to come to a rather distinguished understanding of what coping mechanisms and tricks work for me, personally, in the context of my own anxiety. I still have bad days, and even worse days, but speaking in a general sense, I’m a hell of a lot better where I’m at now with my anxiety than I was 12 years ago.
Considering how long it has taken me to get to the point I am currently at in terms of navigating my anxiety, I think it makes sense to state that mental illness recovery is, in absolutely no way, objective. We as people are all different, and while mental illness is often diagnosed with blanket terminology, it affects all of us adversely. The anxiety I have is not the same as the anxiety you have, or your brother or mother or father or sister has. We use the same terms to refer to a specific form of mental illness, but mental illness is undoubtedly unique in the sense of how it manifests itself in different people. It isn’t objective; on the contrary, it is absolutely subjective, and I think it would benefit a lot of us if this mindset was applied more in the realm of mental health.
ontheedgeofeverything 