Posted by Tomatheus on May 25, 2015, at 12:53:26
In reply to Even if i would reach remission. Damage been done!, posted by Lamdage22 on May 25, 2015, at 10:11:57
Lamdage,
You are, of course, right that being put out of commission, so to speak, by mental illness symptoms or even some of the effects of the medications we take can leave us needing to "catch up" with everyone else when we start to recover from what ails us. A lot of what we do in life is, in a sense, built upon what we've done previously, and so if a person is left unable to work for, say, five years, then that person is going to be five years behind his or her peers as far as experiences with both work and life are concerned. Additionally, the stigma that's attached to mental afflictions probably makes it even more difficult for someone with a mental affliction (relative to someone with a health condition that's not "mental" in nature) to resume living something resembling a normal life after recovery. So, let there be no doubt that having a mental affliction affects our lives in ways beyond the immediate discomfort and impairment that our symptoms cause.
Unfortunately, we can't change the fact that battling a serious mental affliction can leave us in many ways behind our non-afflicted peers who were busy building their lives when we were struggling to stay sane and to function. And while I think that this fact must be acknowledged, I think that once we acknowledge that there's some damage that's been done that we ought to focus on changing what we can change in our lives. Life is undoubtedly unfair, and we may not be able to create the kind of change that we'd like to, but I'd be willing to bet that the opportunities exist for probably all of us to create some kind of positive change. And I think that focusing on the ways in which we can change our surroundings for the better is essential to moving forward, no matter how far behind in life we may find ourselves.
Tomatheus
Has long-standing difficulties with energy and concentration, as well as psychotic and cognitive symptoms
Taking Abilify & supplements
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1079204
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20150214/msgs/1079205.html