I came alive at thirty-five

I CAME ALIVE AT THIRTY-FIVE

for years, I roamed the earth knowing that I haD SOMETHING PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND; HOWEVER, I WAS ONLY WILLING TO CONFRONT IT AFTER THE TRAIN WENT OFF THE TRACK.

let’s face it, we all have a past and we all have hang-ups that we simply don’t confront. While this may be true, there are many of us who remain mostly unaware of the things that cause us conflict. Sadly, I was the latter of the two. Fortunately, though, I came alive at thirty-five

As I am sure is true for many of you, my latest episode of being off work isn’t my first. In fact, I have been off for mental health-related difficulties twice before.

It was under those circumstances that I began the process of deep self-evaluation. What was it that landed me off work? To find an answer, it would mean that I would have to be honest with myself and put the work in. From my point of view, when you’re unsure how to make that happen, you turn to the professionals

How do I know if I have a mental illness

On the positive side, my counselling background made this lege of my journey very easy. For those of you who are seeking answers for your own interior turmoil, think of it this way; when something isn’t working right, we know that we have to call in the pros; plumber, mechanic etc. Well, when faced with issues of a psychological nature, a trained mental health professional is the go-to for all things psycho-emotional related.

Fortunately for me, my knowledge gave me the courage to seek the help I needed; a good thing too because while I was aware that something wasn’t quite right, I knew that whatever it was, it was getting worse. This fact was made especially evident the first time I went off.

why did I wait so long?

As is true with most things requiring maintenance, I let my not so fully operational brain go until I was left little choice but to fix it. And, as with most things, there’s a higher price to pay for “toughing it out.” I foolishly thought that I could manage the havoc inside; boy was I wrong.

Came alive at thrirty-five

What to listen to others dealing with similar pain? Checkout A New Dawn Podcast.

In my case, I let my anxiety disorder fester to the degree that I found myself off work. In other words, I waited too long. Since then, I have worked hard on correcting the problem; I’ve been doing so since I was in my mid-thirties. In fact, I often say I came alive at thirty-five.

I believe that you can to…

You read that right, I waited thirty-five years to try and fix me; I suppose one could say that’s sad, however, I will be eternally grateful that I started when I did. I have learned that perspective also impacts our wellness.

Not only do we need to enlist the help from our doctors and psychologists, but we also have to put in work. For me, this means a holistic approach. changing my diet, getting regular sleep and exercise. Since then, I live by the philosophy of better late than never.

I am happy that I did include all of these things as I throttled down the road to mental wellness because they worked! As I implemented them I started to notice a better, more calm self.

Want proof? Here is where I would link a study that you could access to leand credibility to what I am saying but, instaed, I will challenge you to try all of these life savers for yourself. I will however give you this:

How to safely start an excerse routine.

So, in short, as long as you are alive, you have the capacity to create opportunity; and thus, a chance to get make yourself whole again. Ultimately, the best advice I can give anyone with a mental health condition is, do it in baby steps, everything you do gets you closer to a better you. While it may be true that mental illness doesn’t necessarily allow for a constant routine, I still had great success in getting to a better place.

I believe that you can to… I came alive at thirty-five, so regardless of your age, I am living proof that it can be done.

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I Thought I’d be Cured By Now

Cured by now

Somehow, I underestimated the speed of my recovery.

When I first started this blog, The Road To Mental Wellness, I was certain that I would beat mental illness. Not only was I sure that I would get to the end of my wellness journey, I anticipated that I would be cured by now.

One might say “How can one predict a swift recovery when battling a mental health condition?” That’s a great question. It would turn out I grossly underestimated its strength. When I knew this battle lay at my feet, I was relived in a sense because I was no stranger to being debilitated by a psychiatric disorder.

Really, I should have known at its onset that this was no ordinary roadblock in life. Considering I am battling not one but three mental illnesses, a monumental fight that will force me to go the distance.

never run off entangled in a mental mess without figuring out a plan to free yourself.

My forecast, was indeed short sighted, it was predicted on my previous dances with anxiety. When I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, I systematically kicked its ass. I beat it by applying the same tools and principles I’m using today. So why am I not seeing progress?

How to treat anxiety

So what are these tools and principles? Well, in short, I do whatever it takes to get better. But John, what do you mean? Well, let’s go back to when my anxiety was winning and I was off work the first time.

While you’re here check out more posts here

I work with persons with sever mental disabilities and behavioral difficulties, sound stressful right? It is a unique environment, one that easily cultivates an anxiety disorder. I love my job but unfortunately so did my generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). To add more complication to the matter, I was also a volunteer firefighter. Essential dealing with death and destruction at every turn.

Whatever it takes means that you make yourself vulnerable enough to seek out the help you need, to finally do the right thing for you.

And, as we all know, work is but one dimension of life. My personal life suffered from my ailment and inevitably, it also played a roll in my decline. I ended up in this negative, anxiety and environmentally driven feedback loop that accumulated to the degree where something had to give. It morphed into a mental health emergency. I knew I something had to give and let me tell ya, I wasn’t about to give up my life. So faced with the prospect of ending it all, I parted ways with my life and walked off the job and right into stress leave. I also made drastic changes to my personal life.

Being fully aware that I was teetering on the edge, I knew that if I were to survive this ever present demon that I would need a plan. If there’s a lesson for you in my own mental wellness journey, its never run off entangled in a mental mess without figuring out a plan to free yourself.

Whatever it takes means that you make yourself vulnerable enough to seek out the help you need, to finally do the right thing for you. In my case, I sought the help of a psychiatrist for medication and when he offered up referrals for counseling and a mood group I said yes! I read extensively about the mental health benefits of clean eating and exercise so guess what? I said yes to that too.

Benefits of a good diet and exercise on mental health

By saying yes, I turned away from the path of this mental health emergency toward the road to mental wellness. It was a six months journey but nonetheless I did recover. After this, I went back to work and did really well for a long time.

come hell or high water I will get there.

Cured by now

Sadly, despite all the progress, I was never able to completely eradicate the beast within. That said, I was winning the battles with all my new coping tools. I managed but started to realize that my amour was wearing thin. Near the end, I knew that I was badly damaged and needed help.

When I came face to face with my last traumatic incident I relented, fell to my knees and crawled my way out of my workplace. The only thing I knew is that I had finally fallen victim to post traumatic stress disorder. At least, that was what I suspected.

My suspicions were proven to be true as I was officially diagnosed with PTSD by a psychologist. So, there I was and still am fighting the biggest mental battle of my life. Still off work and will little progress made I have to look at it and say no wonder this is a longer fight.

When you read through the literature on PTSD you see the word debilitating a lot, indeed that’s true. Comparing the two mental health conditions and the two paths to healing is foolish of me. Does this mean that this time I won,t make my way back? Of course not. This round, it’s a much higher mountain to climb but come hell or high water I will get there, I will win.

Please note: that if you think you may have PTSD, please contact your health care provider and talk to them. I highly recommend you request a referral to your mental health services.

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You may also enjoy: PTSD: The Impact Of Stigma On Firefighters

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Impending Danger PT 2

In part one of Impending danger: Psychological shock, I talk about how my fight, flight or freeze system is always engaged because of the hypervigilance that accompanies post-traumatic stress disorder and how it impedes me from living a full life. My mind is always combined my firefighting past with the present; off work and struggling with mental illness me. So then, how am I moving on?

More on Fight, Flight or Freeze

Well, I believe that the odds of success are more likely if one has a plan. In my case, my plan goes far beyond taking a pill and hoping for the best. The complexities of PTSD are far greater than “pill to make it better” approach. Nothing about this mental health journey I am on is easy, I accept it; for better or for worse it’s amalgamated itself within every fibre of my being.

You maybe wonder at this point; “OK John, What’s the plan?” Well, in order to increase my odds of beating this monster, I had to open up to the many options out there. I looked into and otherwise read about many potential options. Word of advice; if you’re looking for answers too, don’t take whatever you see on the internet and run with it. that could end up being a recipe for disaster. Rather, look for commonalities in your search. For example, through all the research I have done and it’s been a lot, on better health, sleep almost always comes up. Therefore, I try taking sleep very seriously.

The absolutely crucial need for sleep tops my agenda of how I attempt to move on. The lack of sleep makes every symptom of PTSD, depression and anxiety so much worse. Noise, the hypervigilance and the startle response are all intensified when I am exhausted. My psychiatrist and I are working to try to quell the nightmares and help me sleep with medications.

I try to eat well and I exercise four days a week. Both of these are essential to symptoms management and are key to my survival. Isolation, for me, is essential but there is a fine line between healthy alone time and out-and-out hiding from the world. I have learned that, like it or not, I need social connection. I find that I end up really enjoying the company of those I care for.

Getting to know my internal conflict, that with mental illness, I have sadly but rightfully come to the conclusion that I am not the man I used to be. I can no longer successfully integrate myself in the wider world like I once was able to do. I have learned that I am too easily overstimulated to tolerate any length of time in a public setting. So, for now, I force myself outside of my comfort zone but know when enough is enough. I am learning how to cope better through mindfulness.

Ways of coping with mental illness.

So in the face of Impending danger, how are you moving forward? Man, it sure isn’t easy, but it is so worth every battle you face.  Whether it’s with your interior world or the external one around you, you are struggling with, learning good coping skills and other techniques will help you win your life back.

Forgot to read part one? Impending danger: Psychological shock PT.1

Did you enjoy this blog post? Check out: Spontaneous Mental Combustion

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