A recent article on Bustle.com asked seven women the question: “If you had the power to go back in time and address the misconceptions about mental illness you had as a teenager, what would you say?”
It’s a great question, especially given that it’s National Recovery Month, a month-long celebration dedicated to stopping the stigma, raising awareness and celebrating the many of you who are in recovery from a mental health illness and/or substance use disorder.
Here’s a look at some of the responses we thought might resonate most with you:
- Gabi wishes she understood that she wasn’t alone and that others were suffering just like she was. If only she knew this, she would have sought the help “before her illness become life-threatening,” she said.
- Tina would tell her teen self that it wasn’t her fault and she didn’t deserve it.
- Deb wishes that she had a better understanding of the self-harm behaviors – so she could educate others who thought she was just being “dramatic” or that she’d “grow out of it.”
- Sarah says if only someone told her “mental health issues wasn’t something to be ashamed of” and that she was “good.”
- Nicole would have liked to know that mental illness looks different in everyone – and “even over the course of a day in myself," she said.
What do you wish someone told you about mental illness and/or substance use disorder? In honor of Recovery Month, we encourage you to take the time this month to think about this question and to educate someone in your life about the hard work and rewards of recovery.
Take Back Your Mental Health
At Rising Roads, our staff is here to help you or a special lady in your life recover from a co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder. Let us help you take back your physical and mental health. To learn more about our psychiatric consultations, call us today: 866-746-1558.
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