Looking for insight into those who suffer from mental illnesses

[itsManBearPigsilly]

Hi,

My name is Kevin, I am 25 and suffer from schzisophrenia. It has been a long road of recovery but am proud to say I'm completely stable now and living comfortably. I am now hoping to go back to school and re-enter the workforce with a job I can not only be proud of, but take joy in. This line of work in my opinion must be the most rewarding! People are my passion and am always told I have gifting with people, am a good mediater, peacemaker and conflict resolver. I would absolutely love to get into the mental health field. To know I am helping people with their lives on a daily basis would be incredible! I am not 100% sure of what to specialise in yet but am starting with most likely intro to psyc, then taking the ABA (applied behavior analysis) course in continued learning of the U of M. If I suceed in this it would be the greatest accomplishment of my life! It will take about a year to 2 years to get the funding together so I plan to use this time wisely and get as prepared as I can. I am also in the application process to volenteer at the MDAM (mood disorders association of manitoba) and the Schizsophrenia Society of Manitoba. Anyone who can give me advice, help me prepare, or even just share some of your experieces or struggles and what/who you've found to be helpful in your journey would make a world of difference to me.

Thanks in advance!

Kevin

 

[Andy]

Welcome to Psychlinks itsManBearPigsilly!:2thumbs:

That's quite the name!!

That is so awesome that your stable and now looking to go to school. You are the perfect example for people with schizophrenia and for people without it for that matter. You can get better and lead a normal life and a perfect example to help in getting rid of that negative stigma with schizophrenia. :2thumbs: I can't think of a more inspiring person to help others with mental illness get well.

I am sure you will find plenty of different things on Psychlinks to read about and plenty of peoples stories to read.

The only advice I can give you is to never let anyone tell you that you can't do something because of your illness. It sounds like you already know that though.

 

[itsManBearPigsilly]

Many thanks in order STP! I am glad to be a part of this forum, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot .
And thanks for the compliment on the name, im sure I'll get a lot of folks commenting on it lol. I got it from a south park episode, one of my favorite shows .

Thank you so much, I feel honoured that you see me that way . Probably the best compliment ive ever gotten! But it is so true, that it is possible to live a normal life. Thanks to the right medication, the right dosege, so many strong supports, God and time, I have gotten to the through some really hard stuff and really hard times. Seemingly miraculas at times. I've always believed there was a purpose for my life and feel like I've finnally found it!

It is unfortunate that the stigma is there, perpetuated by the media and movies. However society seems to me to be changing for the better in those regards as more and more people are being diagnosed with mental illnesses. There seems to be a strong effort to raise public awareness about these conditions and the more you talk to people, I find, the more people you know or are related to suffer from such an illness. We are not inevitably dangerous just becuase we are not well in that way. Not to mention there treatments that can be very effective.


Something I've also learned is that its not as much what you can or cant do, its a matter of where your going and how your going to get there. Time is such a crucial part of it and at the risk of sounding chiche "Rome was'nt built in a day" . When I was a kid and I would be riding my bike to a friends house I would always set goals for myself (it was usually quite a long distance). I would look ahead of me and see a sign and would tell myself, just get to that next sign. Once I passed it I would set a new landmark and head for that one. The moral of the story is a task may seem daunting, or a goal unachievable, but if you break it down and take it slow or in pieces your (in my opinion) much more likely to suceed. Always stick to a pace you can handle. That pace in time will grow stonger as you grow stronger.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Welcome to Psychlinks, itsManBearPigsilly.

 

[forgetmenot]

Hi welcome to PL it is nice to hear success stories such as yours I think your field chose is an excellent one as you can and will help many see there is healing. Can you tell me how long did it take to get you to the point of stability. Nice to have you here hugs.

 

[Cat Dancer]

Welcome!

 

[itsManBearPigsilly]

Hi welcome to PL it is nice to hear success stories such as yours I think your field chose is an excellent one as you can and will help many see there is healing. Can you tell me how long did it take to get you to the point of stability. Nice to have you here hugs.

Well it was up and down for a long time. I used to struggle with drugs and alcohole. Combine that with not wanting to take my meds because of the side effects and I was a wreck. I conquered a hard care drug addiction at around the age of 21-22 so around 3-4 years ago. About 2 years ago I started taking my meds quite regularly becuase I started to realise how important they were. I never really refused treatment however I would skip doses very often for different reasons... Mostly becuase I wanted to drink or I had to wake up in the morning (one of the side effects being overtired all the time, feeling sapped of my strength and having trouble waking up in the morning). I was diagnosed with the illness at the age of 19. From 19-23 My meds kept changing and dosages as well... things seemed hopeless, but finnally about a year ago or so I made it to the point im at now and am for the most part clear minded and able to function normally. I still have symptoms but the biggest thing is I can identify them as delusions and ignore them.

This is funny, I really did`nt think I`d be talking so much about myself, but it`s encouraging to know so many people care . Glad to be here, *hugs*