Mental Health Support

Denninmi,

The path and course of others facing this illness is not your path. You may share some experiences and be able to relate to what they are feeling, but they are them and you are you. Their path is NOT your destiny.

Does your diagnosis make sense to you? If you think the diagnosis is correct, that's a very valuable tool in your arsenal right away. Insight into self is absolutely priceless when battling a challenge to mental health.

Drugs are just a tool in the toolbox. They don't work miracles and they don't work very well alone without any help from your participation in therapy, but they remain a very valuable tool.

Have open and honest communications with your provider about meds, your concerns, any side effects you may think you are having and above all, NEVER just stop taking them because you think you are feeling better without talking to your provider first. A good rule of thumb is to plan to be on a med for about 1 year after you start really feeling better, during which you will taper off the med safely. This is because you need that extra time to develop good coping mechanisms that will help you through during crisis and challenges in your life in a healthy way.

PS - I like your terminology "neurological control." In other areas of medicine we separate the macro from the micro in a condition and it's signs and symptoms. Mental health challenges seem to me to be a "micro" neurological issue. I've long been uncomfortable with the terms "psychology" and "mental health," as they come with negative connotations, which I find absurd but that's a whole other topic.