Ranting and Raving

 

 

*Disclaimer:  Thanks to bad planning and then insurance issues I was off my anti-depressants for 3 days and just started them back up a few hours ago.  So, I am a bit "off" and "down". 

 

So, I bought this cute little sign for myself last night.

It is perfect for me to buy myself.

If anybody else bought it for me, I'd be pissed. 

Since figuring out that I was depressed and had anxiety issues at the age of 15, I have heard every variation of "Get Over It"; from "you're faking it for attention", to "just breathe".  My favorite?  "Just relax!". OMG!  Why didn't I think of that in this struggle?  It would have been so much easier if I had just relaxed years ago!  Bleh.  If somebody told that to a cancer patient, what would happen?  Those parents who have been into "faith healing" and letting their children get sick and die are being convicted of crimes.  Why can't that apply to parents who do not take their children's suicide threats seriously, or who ignore obvious signs of mental disorders?

 

*Yes, I know this is going on a ramble, but I did give you a disclaimer....

 

Well, it is the same reason that it is not possible for most people to call into work because of an anxiety attack.  Mental illnesses, especially emotional disorders, still are not considered "real" to most people.  I mean, to a point, I get it.  Unless you have felt it, it would seem easy to just relax. 

Unfortunately, this is a real thing.  My brain chemicals are messed up.  How I perceive things is distorted.  My coping skills are compromised.  I am on actual medication.  It comes with actual physical symptoms, besides the myriad of mental symptoms.

 

So, why am I allowed to tell myself to get over it?  Because sometimes, that is what I need to do.  But, nobody else ever tell me to get over it, because that is not their place.   Not my husband, not my family, not my friends.  Nobody else.  Nobody is in my head, nobody is feeling how I feel.  No, I don't have cancer, but I am still sick.  I can't "get over it", just like that.  When I tell myself that, it usually is accompanied by lots of crying, medication, and mental preparing.  And it usually isn't "get over it", it is "you can get past it".  I need to push past what I am feeling to live life.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Naps do help, though. 

 

So, thanks for listening to my little rant.  Sometimes, I just get so irritated by the lack of understanding of emotional disorders by the general public.  Mental health needs to be addressed and realized to be just as important as cardiac health, or any other kind of physical health.

 

Anybody have any "great" advice they've been given to deal with their issues?