For as long as I can remember my reluctance to take medication for mental health issues came from a belief that other people get by just fine every day without meds, why can’t I? But it finally dawned on me that I take allergy meds daily because I need to be able to survive the pollen in Hampton Roads while other people don’t so much as sneeze even when their cars are covered in yellow.
Mental health is no different than any other medical issue a person may have. Each of us needs different tools to get through life with ease and for me, meds were the answer to the question. Once I was willing to accept that life got much better. I’m not saying I never spin, I just spin a whole lot less. And I know one person who is very happy with the change in my anxiety issues almost as much as I am…my husband.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this, I can be a handful on a good day. So imagine what I must be like when my anxiety makes me completely irrational. My husband didn’t know if he would come home to me sobbing over not being able to find the right socks or open cabinets to see everything reorganized to fit my current cleaning craze. I would go from being super excited to go out to dinner to unable to pick out clothes or panic about being around too many people in public.
Loving someone who is dealing with mental health issues isn’t easy. It takes someone understanding to make it through the swings that happen. And it takes a lot of communication. Because I am aware of when I’m feeling a little nutty I am able to tell him what is going on. I may not be able to stop it or control what my brain is doing, but I try to explain as well as possible that I just feel off and out of sorts. I think that my willingness to try a new solution to the problem, my medication, as well as our open communication makes loving and being loved through my issues possible. Not easy, but no one ever said life was going to be easy right?
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