I know this is a struggle for me. I notice every mistake I make. I dwell on them much longer than is healthy. When I do something well, even to the point of getting complimented? I forget it relatively quickly.
That’s not a good balance. I know I’m not alone in that. So what do I do?
It’s the step where you can truly understand at the deepest level that what happened was not your fault. Many a survivor will say that without ever really feeling it, and you can tell because they will say that and immediately begin talking about how weak or needy they were as a child. As if that explains why they were abused, when in fact the only explanation necessary is that someone decided to abuse them.
Look, we know that untreated mental health issues impact people’s lives in many ways. Would the lack of treatment at 20 for bipolar make a huge difference in lifetime income? Of course, it would impact the ability to even finish college successfully and that would then continue to impact things significantly. Would the need to take leaves of absence or go to work every day with depression and no access to help for that cause you to be less successful? Again, statistically, I think that would be obvious that it happens more times than not.
There are other ways in the article below but this one? This one is pure gold right now because we are all so overwhelmed, stressed, anxious and uncertain about everything. In the midst of that?
Keep track of your wins
I hope we can start to understand this better and provide a wider variety of tools to help with the wide variety of ways that mental health issues can manifest in different people.
I also hope we can start to understand that there is no one “right” way to treat our mental health issues, no magic solution that everyone can just go and get.
Lastly, I also hope that we can understand that my symptoms are not your symptoms, and the way something like depression can appear for one person versus another doesn’t make one more or less severe.
Would you know if someone you know is having a panic attack? Whether it be at work, at some social event, or even within your own home with your family, it can make a huge difference to first know what a panic attack looks like, and then if they agree to your help, what help you can provide.
