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Recovery journey
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
In general I feel I am doing quite well, but for the time being I think I should keep on doing what I am doing.
Since first year of university in 2004 I have seen a psychiatrist after ending up in hospital and whilst at university I had two psychotic episodes and several bouts of depression.
It's now three years since I graduated and I feel reasonably good. I got involved with my local MIND a couple of months after I graduated and have completed a Wellness Recovery Action Plan and have attended a number of personal development and wellbeing courses. I've also worked in the south of France since university which was great and been doing voluntary work for some local charities.
I've been trying to educate myself as much as possible about mental health and wellbeing and trying to gain insights into why I was ill - I think it's helped so far, although I still have a great deal to learn.
I've just finished reading a book called Madness Explained by Richard Bentall which has given me a few more insights. I emailed him whilst at the University of Manchester and he told me that bullying could cause psychotic episodes, so I think that nastiness from people as a teenager is something that played a contributory factor at least.
I think some of the problems I had were :
low self esteem
poor body image
low on confidence
anxious around the opposite sex
general negative style of thinking.
Personally I think a lot of this was as a result of the nastiness I experienced as a teenager and with 'conditioning' I believed some bad things that were said.
However, since university most people have been nice, I've been complimented a lot and have made some good friends and despite what I used to think as a result of teenage put-downs I've done ok with girls and will hopefully get a girlfriend at some point in the future.
I think social environment has had quite a lot to do with my problems.
At present I'm just continuing to do more courses to learn as much as possible for example :
http://wirralmind.org.uk/
Does anyone know of any books/sites that have a good overview of the subject ?
Based on the wide variety of courses I have done there are many different areas that can be looked at eg positive psychology, relationships, loss, love, stress, relaxation, diet, exercise, self esteem, confidence, attitudes, beliefs - basically lots of different pieces to the pie that is life.
I mean what I aspire to is making the most of life and enjoying it, so the more I can learn now the better I feel, but I defintely think I have a lot more to learn. In some ways I'm not quite sure how to do it- I guess just reading different websites, speaking to people, doing courses, books is best and treat the whole of life as a journey and a learning journey to try and make the most of it.
I just wanted to share some thoughts really and get advice maybe about the learning journey and am I doing the right things ? I think I am, but there are still things I feel unsure of.
Since first year of university in 2004 I have seen a psychiatrist after ending up in hospital and whilst at university I had two psychotic episodes and several bouts of depression.
It's now three years since I graduated and I feel reasonably good. I got involved with my local MIND a couple of months after I graduated and have completed a Wellness Recovery Action Plan and have attended a number of personal development and wellbeing courses. I've also worked in the south of France since university which was great and been doing voluntary work for some local charities.
I've been trying to educate myself as much as possible about mental health and wellbeing and trying to gain insights into why I was ill - I think it's helped so far, although I still have a great deal to learn.
I've just finished reading a book called Madness Explained by Richard Bentall which has given me a few more insights. I emailed him whilst at the University of Manchester and he told me that bullying could cause psychotic episodes, so I think that nastiness from people as a teenager is something that played a contributory factor at least.
I think some of the problems I had were :
low self esteem
poor body image
low on confidence
anxious around the opposite sex
general negative style of thinking.
Personally I think a lot of this was as a result of the nastiness I experienced as a teenager and with 'conditioning' I believed some bad things that were said.
However, since university most people have been nice, I've been complimented a lot and have made some good friends and despite what I used to think as a result of teenage put-downs I've done ok with girls and will hopefully get a girlfriend at some point in the future.
I think social environment has had quite a lot to do with my problems.
At present I'm just continuing to do more courses to learn as much as possible for example :
http://wirralmind.org.uk/
Does anyone know of any books/sites that have a good overview of the subject ?
Based on the wide variety of courses I have done there are many different areas that can be looked at eg positive psychology, relationships, loss, love, stress, relaxation, diet, exercise, self esteem, confidence, attitudes, beliefs - basically lots of different pieces to the pie that is life.
I mean what I aspire to is making the most of life and enjoying it, so the more I can learn now the better I feel, but I defintely think I have a lot more to learn. In some ways I'm not quite sure how to do it- I guess just reading different websites, speaking to people, doing courses, books is best and treat the whole of life as a journey and a learning journey to try and make the most of it.
I just wanted to share some thoughts really and get advice maybe about the learning journey and am I doing the right things ? I think I am, but there are still things I feel unsure of.
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Comments
I'm currently getting help for similar issues. Still have a way to go yet.
Keep us updated, ya?
Glad you got hold of that Bentall book - sounds like it was really validating to find out what could have been underneath your distress to help make sense of your experiences.
I really like your holistic approach - paying attention to your body and mind.
It can be really helpful to check out how we are in our bodies - noticing how emotions and stress manifest there and taking care to look after ourselves - good food, gentle exercise, enough sleep etc. Some people also find activities like massage or meditation really helpful ways to relax - anything that is positive time for you counts in my book!
Keep taking care of yourself :wave:
I just think now has been the right time to do all this stuff as I was ill whilst at university and I got involved with MIND a couple of months after finishing in 2007.
I feel reasonably optimistic about the future, but of course you can't know what the future holds, but hopefully if I keep on doing the right things the future will be good.