Just like the course of any physical illness one might have for a long period of time, so is the course of mental illness. Just as an individual experiencing excruciating back pain for long periods of time alters his or her activities, people with mental illness alter their lives. As during the rehabilitation period for a physical disease we must first be allowed time in our lives to heal our emotional pain. We may need to stay away from those who cause us emotional stress, certain places or other environmental circumstances, much like the lower back patient has to avoid heavy lifting or overworking his or her lower back in any way. It is natural to alter our lives due to physical or emotional pain.
During this time we must seek treatment to heal our pain. We must be willing to accept needed help, which isn't easy for most human beings because we may have a tendency to want to be independent in our own way and be a unique individual separate from all other individuals. For a lot of people who have illnesses, it takes an awful lot of trust to accept help.
When there are caring and empathetic medical personnel involved in our health, whether we have a physical or mental health problem, we seem to gravitate towards acceptance.
Now comes the real challenge. After treatment, God willing, we survive and our ailment goes into remission or subsides. This is when our ability to go on from an experience that has caused alterations in our lives is tested. Human beings have a tendency to accommodate their lives to an illness to such a degree that we lose sight of who we are apart from our illness. When there is no longer a physical barrier preventing us from being rehabilitated we sometimes exercise what I call "the habit." We don't realize we are better. We still live like we are sick and helpless. We don't appreciate having our health back. We use our former serious state of illness as a reason to not move forward and live life to its fullest, working with and around our limitations. We just can't believe we are better and out of pain and able to live life again. Today in the world there are so many medical treatments, which practically cure our ailments that this way of thinking must be absolved. It's old. It's from the days of amputating legs for gunshot wounds. So my advice to anyone who is sick, treated, and still in "the habit" is to break free and thank your lucky stars there was a successful treatment. Be positive, love life and never give up.