Things to help recovery

- therapy
- coping skills and tools
- a support group
- a network of people to check in on you
- regular exercise
- a good, healthy diet
- patience and time
- positivity/optimism without too high expectations

These come from a site that has been useful to me (if occasionally also triggering worrying and sadness, called crazymeds.us (Link: http://crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage). This site has a lot of info. I'm talking a lot. Krakens for earrings big lots. But one of the most useful bits is an analogy for mental illness as the 'psychic equivalent of a broken leg'. The website's been updated so I can't actually find the analogy, but chances are it'll eventually be back up, somewhere. If not, I may  have to write about it myself, with great credit and thanks to the authors of that site. Another page I'll probably write about from there is about lessening the the risk of suicide when you start taking medication, which has all sorts of good tips  on it. Please do visit the homepage of crazymeds if you feel like you need information. Another very helpful website full of information is beyondblue (LInk: www.beyondblue.org.au) about depression, anxiety, bipolar and other disorders. And if you're considering suicide (even a passing fancy) it's a good idea to get yourself some help, make a doctors appointment, see your professional, or give lifeline (13 11 14) a call, they're nice and always ready to listen. The psychologists and psych nurses at the Mental Health Emergency Response Team in Western Australia (1300555788) are also helpful and will be able to suggest actions to take and help you organise what you might need.

Oops, babbling on a bit about mental health services there, never mind. Since this is my blog, and about me and what's happening with me, so, put up with a variety of crazy talk.

The important thing from the crazy med site was that there is some evidence, and a whole lot of anecdote, that it can take close to 2 years from first flip out to some kind of 'normal'. I don't know whether it wwill take me two years, but at the same time, since I get perfectionist, and tend to want to have things done right, done as soon as possible, especially when my moods and anxiousness isn't good, I am working hard for some kind of acceptance of that it'll get better, but it may not be easy or quick. Considering the whole rest of my life that's ahead of me and how much I still want to do, though, 2 years isn't that long. So I'm willing to put the time and effort in. At least, to keep  trying another day. One thing at a time, one day at a time.