In the Beginning

Being diagnosed with a mental illness is a blessing and a curse. The diagnoses come when you are at your lowest and thinking you are going crazy. For me, I could not function with day to day tasks. I did not want to leave my house or my bed for days on end.

When I was in Philly, with the prompting of a friend, I went to see my doctor. I told her that I am not sure what is going to on with me or why I feel the way I do, but I feel like a pinball machine. If I do not get some help, I am going to tilt.  Well, the good news is that she listened to me, the bad news is that the solution to anxiety and depression is medication. I was prescribed my first set of meds in 2009, in which was a blessing. For the first time in months, I felt normal.

The second solution is therapy, talk therapy. The most common type of treatment is Cognitive Behavior Therapy, CBT for short. You find a therapist, and you sit and talk about what is going on, and then they ask you a bunch of questions such as, How can you choose a different path next time? My favorite, How does that make you feel? (sarcasm included). The trick to therapy is finding the fit for both you and your pocketbook. Therapy is expensive and not always covered under insurance. The same applies with meds, but I will touch on that later.

Chicago IL 2010 Bob Newhart from The Newhart Show character Dick Louden

I have been in and out of therapy since 2009. I have stopped and started because of money, location, transportation issues and mostly because I did not like the person. The most important thing you can do when it comes to therapy is your homework.  Research local therapist, ask your GP if they work with a mental health agency also ask your insurance company.  I know this is scary and it is terrifying. You have just been told you have a mental illness and now you have to figure out what to do next. You have to figure out the questions to ask to get the right treatment, and you cannot even get out of bed.

The beginning is tough, but it does get better. I was blessed to be in a community of people who knew people. My criteria for a looking for a therapist at the beginning was are they of faith. However, this did not matter as much down the road. My current therapist that I see is the longest one

I have seen. I have been doing research on my mental illness for years. I have come across some excellent YouTube videos that have helped me. One person, in particular, is Kati Morton. She has videos for everything mental health related. I know I have not covered everything for the beginning of your diagnosis and this post is getting really long so I will leave you with a link to Kati's video that help explains the origin a lot better than I can. The journey to mental wellness has begun.  I wish you well on your journey.
Cheers
Rachel