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Breaking the stigma of mental illness

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I love reading personal stories. This is a good reminder that recovery isn't a linear process.

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Recovery Took Me More Than One Try

My name is Jonathan and I am 28 years old with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. I was born in South Korea to a mother who was labeled "mentally unstable." I was adopted by my family as a baby and grew up in Virginia and Louisiana. As a child, I was markedly different and as I grew older things got more and more complicated.

I didn't start the process of seeing doctors and therapists until I was 15 years old and it took an entire decade for me to be properly diagnosed and placed on the right medications. Over the years I had a variety of diagnosis' to include: ADHD, Asperger's, Oppositional-Defiance Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar disorder, then finally schizoaffective. I had been placed on almost every different anti-depressant and anti-psychotic available and they were all accompanied by mixed ranges of undesirable side effects.

From the side effects to not believing that something was wrong, led to the vicious cycle of going on and off my medication and turning to illegal drugs to substitute. When I finally did accept that something was wrong, my family still had a hard time accepting that I had a mental illness. The denial amongst my family made me feel isolated and alone and only fueled my ever-growing addiction to drugs. As my drug in-take increased so did my symptoms. However, sometimes the drugs helped alleviate a lot of my symptoms, especially the hallucinations and delusions.

I have had a pretty typical story about mental illness, with multiple visits to jail, hospitals, and rehabs. My story translates to the story of so many others who suffer with mental illness. I don't ever claim to have suffered any more or any less than the next person. We all have our equal struggles and universal stories of despair and little hope. But where my story begins to change, is unfortunately, where for too many unfortunate others, their story ends.

When I was about to lose it all, I finally got clean from drugs in January 2016. I spent three months in rehab and one month in a Sober Living Facility. I then began to rebuild my life in a small town in Northern Louisiana. But, while I was in the SLF, I was encouraged by the man that ran the place to take myself off all my medication. He believed that spirituality would save me, not my medication. So, I went months without taking any medication. This ultimately led to my rapid fall back into mania and psychosis and in October 2016 I had another full-blown episode of psychosis.

I moved back home with my parents in Northern Virginia. This past year and one month has been the greatest recovery period of my entire life. My doctor tried me on a new medication, along with a combination of other medications that I had always been on, it was an amazing success. Little to no side-effects, except for restless legs and the occasional muscle spasm, and huge results, almost all my symptoms were managed simply by the medication. There were still some lingering voices and delusions, but I've learned to cope with them.

The one thing that made my recovery possible, besides medication, was my mom. From the very day I got home until now, she has shown me unconditional love and support and a true willingness to fully understand me and be there for me. This year has not been "the perfect recovery." In this year alone, I've had a suicide attempt, a drug overdose accompanied with a felony possession charge, a reckless driving conviction, a DUI conviction, losing my job, and a host of other difficult situations. My mom has stuck with me through all of this, never giving up on me. It was her love for me, that made it possible for me to love myself. She gave me the courage to fight through another day. Ultimately, I learned how to believe in myself and that I had the power within me to overcome all my battles. I learned to find the positive in a negative and to stay focused on my goals.

I am now almost finished with school and on my way to becoming certified as a substance abuse counselor, I have also become trained as a NAMI Connections support group facilitator and I co-facilitate a meeting every Monday night. With all the ups and downs that have filled this past year, I have managed to focus on the ups and remain stabilized on my medications and active in my treatment plan. I finally feel like I have a grip on my own life. I am now dedicated to helping those who have suffered with mental illness and drug addiction like I have.

Share your story, message, poem, quote, photo or video of hope, struggle or recovery. By sharing your experience, you can let others know that they are not alone.

Recovery Took Me More Than One Try

My name is Jonathan and I am 28 years old with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. I was born in South Korea to a mother who was labeled "mentally unstable." I was adopted by my family as a baby and grew up in Virginia and Louisiana. As a child, I was markedly different and as I grew older things got more and more complicated.

I didn't start the process of seeing doctors and therapists until I was 15 years old and it took an entire decade for me to be properly diagnosed and placed on the right medications. Over the years I had a variety of diagnosis' to include: ADHD, Asperger's, Oppositional-Defiance Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar disorder, then finally schizoaffective. I had been placed on almost every different anti-depressant and anti-psychotic available and they were all accompanied by mixed ranges of undesirable side effects.

From the side effects to not believing that something was wrong, led to the vicious cycle of going on and off my medication and turning to illegal drugs to substitute. When I finally did accept that something was wrong, my family still had a hard time accepting that I had a mental illness. The denial amongst my family made me feel isolated and alone and only fueled my ever-growing addiction to drugs. As my drug in-take increased so did my symptoms. However, sometimes the drugs helped alleviate a lot of my symptoms, especially the hallucinations and delusions.

I have had a pretty typical story about mental illness, with multiple visits to jail, hospitals, and rehabs. My story translates to the story of so many others who suffer with mental illness. I don't ever claim to have suffered any more or any less than the next person. We all have our equal struggles and universal stories of despair and little hope. But where my story begins to change, is unfortunately, where for too many unfortunate others, their story ends.

When I was about to lose it all, I finally got clean from drugs in January 2016. I spent three months in rehab and one month in a Sober Living Facility. I then began to rebuild my life in a small town in Northern Louisiana. But, while I was in the SLF, I was encouraged by the man that ran the place to take myself off all my medication. He believed that spirituality would save me, not my medication. So, I went months without taking any medication. This ultimately led to my rapid fall back into mania and psychosis and in October 2016 I had another full-blown episode of psychosis.

I moved back home with my parents in Northern Virginia. This past year and one month has been the greatest recovery period of my entire life. My doctor tried me on a new medication, along with a combination of other medications that I had always been on, it was an amazing success. Little to no side-effects, except for restless legs and the occasional muscle spasm, and huge results, almost all my symptoms were managed simply by the medication. There were still some lingering voices and delusions, but I've learned to cope with them.

The one thing that made my recovery possible, besides medication, was my mom. From the very day I got home until now, she has shown me unconditional love and support and a true willingness to fully understand me and be there for me. This year has not been "the perfect recovery." In this year alone, I've had a suicide attempt, a drug overdose accompanied with a felony possession charge, a reckless driving conviction, a DUI conviction, losing my job, and a host of other difficult situations. My mom has stuck with me through all of this, never giving up on me. It was her love for me, that made it possible for me to love myself. She gave me the courage to fight through another day. Ultimately, I learned how to believe in myself and that I had the power within me to overcome all my battles. I learned to find the positive in a negative and to stay focused on my goals.

I am now almost finished with school and on my way to becoming certified as a substance abuse counselor, I have also become trained as a NAMI Connections support group facilitator and I co-facilitate a meeting every Monday night. With all the ups and downs that have filled this past year, I have managed to focus on the ups and remain stabilized on my medications and active in my treatment plan. I finally feel like I have a grip on my own life. I am now dedicated to helping those who have suffered with mental illness and drug addiction like I have.

Share your story, message, poem, quote, photo or video of hope, struggle or recovery. By sharing your experience, you can let others know that they are not alone.

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Recovery Took Me More Than One Try | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

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My name is Jonathan and I am 28 years old with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. I was born in South Korea to a mother who was labeled "mentally unstable." I was adopted by my family as a baby and grew up in Virginia and Louisiana.

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Standing against the stigma associated with mental illness is a very important step toward recovery.

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Holistic approach for a complete recovery

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Rana Avery:  I am not promoting Tom Wooton's methods however, I 

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Rana Avery:  I am not promoting Tom Wooton's methods however, I 

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https://youtu.be/jDeLaxIPcc8

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Hi everyone, I saw this image a few months ago and I think it fits really well for recovery. A lot of people think that recovery will be a smooth and painless experience but in reality everyone is different and does not have the same recovery process. I liked this picture because in reality it may not be a smooth and short process.

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I thought this image was very cool! Recognizing the small accomplishments is a huge deal, and it could be something interesting to do with clients for them to look back on.

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Recovery begins when you realize that there is something you need to recover from

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Some food for thought

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This is something I found which speaks to strengths base communication. I love how flipping the words can create a positive perception.

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A short video about PTSD in children and adolescence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bAKfOpS-L0

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I have the opportunity to work with many folks of the hoopa and yurok tribes. It's always good to remember the impacts of historical trauma when working in the mental health field and helping folks into recovery. I found this little clip very insightful. Have a great week all!

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Trauma May Be Woven Into DNA of Native Americans. Native Videos

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Trauma May Be Woven Into DNA of Native Americans. "A Deep Embedded Genetic Depression" Native healers, medicine people and elders have always known this and it is common knowledge in Native oral traditions.