sane-ish

I was a mental health patient for roughly seven years and voluntarily institutionalized myself for a short period of time. I'm actually pretty grateful for my treatment, although it has been a long and difficult journey. There are some things you have to figure out on your own...

Many people still think of psychiatritry as a pseudoscience; often used for ulterior motives. In my experience, it is pretty vague, but only because we don't quite understand what's going on with the brain. Some drugs do work though. They're not perfect, but they can do incredible things.

How do you combat negative statements about your profession? What do you think needs to improve in psychiatry in order to become more credible?

I get that, but sometimes I wake up in a funk and I can't point to any reason why. My foul mood recedes given time, but It doesn't feel like I have a choice in the matter.

It can feel like waiting out a storm. Just like it is not always the best option to drive in low visibility, it's not always the best option to keep pushing on when your mind doesn't want to. So I take a break and come back without guilt and pick up where I left off.

I am a bit turned off when people use self-pity to describe the state of depression. Sure, there's the element of that, but I feel like it's dismissive of how painful of an experience it can be. It's the tension of wanting to figure out how to deal that is just as frustrating.

I dunno. The more stories that I hear, the more I think sustainable recovery is a very individual path.