Skip to main content

Dear Peer

 Dear Peer,


    If I could send younger self a message when I was diagnosed I would tell myself to focus on two things: 1) stress management, and 2) self-encouragement. I would emphasize the importance of focusing on oneself, and not on others' perceptions of me due to the diagnosis. I would tell myself that most people will not understand, but that's not my problem. I would aim to reprogram the focus onto developing coping skills, an enriching self-care routine, building a stronger support system, and broadening my understanding of recovery, which is unique. I define recovery for myself as trying to stay in good space. 

    I would teach my younger self a few quick coping strategies such as how to manage anxiety, overcome depression, and identify a manic episode. Therefore, to relieve feelings of anxiousness manage house chores to get my mind off stresses and worries. To reduce the likelihood of experiencing my low places of depression - grasp the warning signs early on. Learn the subtle changes in routine, mood, and outlook, which indicates the beginnings of a downward spiral. For me that is poor sleeping habits, being easily irritable, not keeping my home tidy, and being bogged down by various stressors. Now when I identify the early warning signs I invest more time into my self-care regimen. My self-care is about finding peace of mind through praise and worship, writing, reciting affirmations, and walking.

    Occasionally, I maintain a mood journal to track mood swings to recognize concerns with mania and depression. I acknowledge great days, okay days, bad days, as well as my triggers. I record daily events and monitor them by keeping a color-coded scale for different moods. Pink represents great days, green—okay days, and yellow, orange, or red are for my bad days which worsens into the color red. To sum up these coping tips—keep a routine, rotate coping techniques, and stay on top of triggers and warning signs.

    Finally, I would advise my newly diagnosed self to get into therapy. Over the years, I learned how a therapist can help individuals rediscover their unique strengths and teach different coping skills. However, I can't go back in time to share these tips so I'm sharing them with you. To overcome the challenges of living with a diagnosis focus on yourself, manage the best way you know how, and never stop trying to find your good place in recovery whatever that looks like.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No, Please, That's Not Me

Prior to my diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia I did some things that I am not proud of. Now that I look back on things I blame my illness for my poor judgment. I am by no means condoning the behavior I carried out, and will share with you here. I will provide a few instances where my behavior was unlike me and caused an uproar. This post shows how schizophrenia affects other people. This post is for the family members and friends of people with schizophrenia, or showing bizarre behaviors. First, I asked my mother permission to give my friend a statue that was in my mother's house. My mother agreed to give my friend the statue, however, I took her permission a step further to get rid of what she had at my discretion. At the time I did not live with my mother who was away on a business trip. My mother buys and sells things so she had a lot of collectibles, antiques, and other interesting stuff. While my friend and me were in my mother's house my friend saw a lot of stuff that s
5 comments
Read more

What Is Remission?

Remission is the absence of symptoms for at least six months with the support of medication. In other words, a doctor who has never seen you before may not diagnose you as a person with schizophrenia anymore. Remission is also high functioning in several aspects of life, living independently, goinig to school or to work, and socializing with other people. However, this does not mean the patient is cured or the illness has went away, the illness is still present, however, under control. Remission is achieved with the assistance of medication. "Published studies suggest that 10% to 20% of people with schizophrenia have remission of their illness as they get older, 20% get worse, but in a large majority (60% to 70%), the course of illness remains relatively unchanged." To reach remission it is recommended that you aim for a stress-free environment. Therefore, do things to relieve stress such as journaling, exercising, talking to friends, listening to or creating music, making a
9 comments
Read more

by A Guest Blogger: For Addicts, Recovery Means Creating a New Life

If you’re struggling to maintain your sobriety, you aren’t alone. There are millions of fighters just like you working toward reclaiming their lives from drugs and alcohol. There are a few common traits that many successful recovering addicts share. Keep reading to find out what they are and how you can follow in their footsteps. They establish new patterns You can’t continue to live your life the same was you did when you were using. You must change and adapt to your newfound sobriety. Consider a career change; many recovering addicts find they have more success by starting their own business. One career that is easy to enter is dog walking. As a dog walker , you’ll reap many rewards including getting to spend time with dogs, which can actually boost your recovery efforts and stave off depression. Dogs have been used as part of a treatment plan for users as young as 11 and come with the added benefit of helping you stay physically active. Plus, being with
2 comments
Read more