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Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

@greenpea: Thanks its lovely to meet you to Smiley Happy I always forget which bipolar I am LOL I think its 1 as well.  I agree wholeheartedly with you about helping others.  It always brings a smile to my face.  A little bit goes a long way Smiley Happy

 

 

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

@Gazza75  🙂 I think it goes bipolar 1 you get mania and hear voices whilst bipolar ii is more of the depressive type. I got a bit of depression but mainly mania and hear hallucinate and have delusions :D.  Why I am now shizoaffective disorder now I have no idea rofl!

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

Loving this thread @greenpea 

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

@Ali11  Thanks Ali11 it is great to hear positive experiences from so many :Dxx

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

I also really enjoyed reading this thread @greenpea

I relate to your experiences @frog, where my mental health issues have taken and given, often in opposite ways.

The good for me is that my mental health challenges have led me to meeting some incredible people. Being on the forum is one of those paths my MH has taken me on that I'm thankful for, but it has also happened in places like waiting rooms, hospital, recovery centres and groups. I've heard and been witness to some amazing stories of resilience and survival, spent time with and learnt from super interesting (and often very fun and funny) characters, and shared some really special moments with people I otherwise probably wouldn't have met. I know I am a better person for spending this time with others.

Another path I am on and loving is my recent work adventure which is in a lived experience role. My MH journey has also given me empathy, understanding and compassion. It's allowed me plenty of time (too much sometimes!) to explore and understand myself and my place in the world too.

I think one of the things I like the most that my MH challenges has given me is motivation to be part of change. My not-so-great experiences with the system, support services, professionals etc have given me determination to do what I can to make a difference somewhere somehow. I'm always on a mission (or 10) now 😁

There's a lot of negative I could go to, and I sometimes do when I'm feeling down, but there are heaps of positives too. It's nice to stop and think about them.

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

@CheerBear  beautifully put CheerBear :Dxxx

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

Oh @greenpea! What a great way to start the day; reading these wonderful expressions of grace. 🕊 Thankyou...

And thanks also to:

@Gardener @frog @Queenie @Fredd50 @Meowmy @Gazza75 @Ali11 @CheerBear for sharing your thoughts.

 

For me, realising I was actually intelligent was a huge eye opener. I've seen this same trait in everyone who writes on the forums. (Posts above are perfect examples for sure) For some reason, those who suffer with MI tend to have high intellects. I don't have stats to turn to, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere.

 

Another plus was learning to lower my adrenaline levels. I'd lived in a state of hyper-vigilence all my life due to childhood trauma and didn't know any other way. Now, I live in moments of acceptance instead of dread, coping with a more calm demeanour.

 

One of the most difficult issues to overcome was accepting I'll never be the same person again. Coming to terms with this was extremely painful, but once I understood my limits, managing life became easier. It's not perfect, but way better than a few years ago.

 

An enjoyable aspect of recovery has been educating myself on trauma and its effect on the brain, then how that manafested in my life. This activity bought me closer to my truth more than anything. I can now pass on that information hoping others find solace in the words; "It's actually not my fault"

 

Your stories have been a welcome start to my day. They're lovely and express how amazing we truly are. Non suffers would do well to take a page from our books to face their own daily lives with gratefulness.

 

Warm thoughts;

Hope Heart

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

Thank you all for sharing your stories @Hope4me @greenpea @Gazza75 @CheerBear and everyone who has contributed. I can identify with things in each one and this is such a wonderful reminder of our common ground.

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

@frog  Hi rog so true we do all share a common ground and more so how much our community cares for each other in so many ways. These positive posts are an extension of that xxxx

Re: What my Mental Illness has done for me in a positive light

Hi all @greenpea @frog @Hope4me @CheerBear @Ali11 @Gazza75  @Meowmy @Queenie @Gardener (apologies if i have missed anyone).

Thanks @greenpea  for this thread, its a great idea! And thanks @CheerBear for pointing me in this direction. I dont think im at the place yet to contribut to this thread but i rly appreciate all who have! Hopefully one day soon i will be able to look at the positives that hav come out of having a MI and be able to post here to be an encouragement to others as you all have been.

Thanks again everyone. 💜

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