What is IT? Well, mental illness can take many forms, some of them prevent people from holding a job, going to school or even leaving the house. Some of them are not as obvious; depression, attention deficit and obsessive compulsive disorder, to name a few. Many of these things can be medicated and allow people to lead the type of life that they want to, but there are things that people don't see or know.
Finding the right medication for you takes time and a lot of patience. When dealing with depression for example, there are many anti-depressants out there and very few will work for you. The only way to figure it out is to try them and see if they work. In the meantime, you may feel worse, you may feel like you are losing your mind, gaining or losing weight, not sleeping or sleeping all the time. You also may have to try one for up to six weeks to ascertain if it works for you and if it doesn't, you can't just quit taking it, you have to ween yourself off of it. As you grow, you may need to repeat this process more than once.
Finding the right therapist can also take some time and patience. Not all therapist are created equal and not all people get along with each other. It takes time to check out different therapists to see if they are a match for you.
Finding the right people to let into your world can also be a challenge. No matter how open minded folks seem to be, you never really know how they are going to react until you tell them. That can be risky as there are all kinds of stigmas attached to mental illness, your friends may begin to treat you differently or decide not be around you anymore. Although it is for the best if they chose not to be your friend, it can be kind of lonely.
People who battle with a mental illness are in for a life long battle and need and deserve our empathy and respect.
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