KYCAN’s
MENTAL ILLNESS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM: Robert
Robert
referred us to these recovery book titles during our Interview.
Our interviewers questions are being answered by Robert, he is a
54 year old male.
1) What is your mental illness and/or do you have a substance abuse
problem? My mental
illness is major depression and bipolar disorder. I don’t have a substance
abuse problem.
2)
How and when did you become aware that you have a chemical imbalance that is
also called
a mental illness? Vocational Rehabilitation requested that I make a
psychiatrist appointment
which made me aware of my mental illness. I was in my late 20’s (about
1/10/90) when
I
became aware of my mental illness. I had become depressed after a death in
the family.
3)
What are the warning signs you look for with your mental illness? My
mental illness
caused
me to be very hyper and have suicidal thoughts. I would go on spending
sprees and refuse
to
take my
medicines.
4)
What was the worst part of your mental illness experience? The worst part
of my
mental
illness was when I had suicidal tendencies and low
self-esteem.
A) During what time frame did the worst of your experiences occur? My
worst experiences
occurred when I had problems keeping a job before being diagnosed with a
mental
illness.
B) How much impact on your life did the worst of your experiences have?
Withdrawing
from people and activities, plus sleeping a lot and paranoia seem to be the key
impacts on
my life.
5) How
has it affected your
life:
A) Mentally? A Lack of self-worth, stressed, paranoid,
racing thoughts, depressed, suicidal
thoughts, and lack of
achievement.
B) Physically? Chemical imbalances require
medications.
C) With your family? My family feels compassionate and expects medication
to
work.
D) With your friends? I became a loner with poor social
contacts.
E) Spiritually? I lost confidence in things of a spiritual
nature.
F) Your finances? I had strained finances, increased stress being on
disability.
G) Your career? Lack of fulfilling work, could not hold a job, afraid of
losing disability if I
could get a
job.
H) Your health? I had nervous disorders and
tiredness.
I ) Your extracurricular activities (sports, games,
family time etc.)? I became withdrawn
from my family and all social
activities.
6) Is it genetic? If so how many family members have the mental illness?
My mental illness
is genetic because two family members have a mental
illness.
7)
At what point did you become able to understand the issues associated with your
mental
illness? In 1993, when I was in therapy with Seven Counties
Services.
8) How
long have you had your mental illness? Since
1990.
9) How
long has it been since you had a mental illness relapse and/or a substance abuse
relapse? My last mental illness relapse was in September
2007.
10) Have
you ever been suicidal and when was your last time? The last time I had
suicidal
thoughts was in September
2007.
11) How did
the process of achieving an understanding of your illness start? I began
to
understand my mental illness dating back to 1979 when Vocational
Rehabilitation
referred me to a psychiatrist.
A) Was there an influential person or persons involved? Vocational
Rehabilitation influenced
me to seek treatment for my mental illness.
B) Were there some events that had an influence on you? My first psychiatrist
appointment
influenced me to realize I had a mental illness.
C) What has worked for you when dealing with ongoing issues? Tweaking my
medications
and
talking with my therapist has helped me with ongoing issues. I also
utilize KYCAN
and Therapeutic Rehabilitation Program’s (TRP’s)
as support
groups.
12)
What is helping things go well for you now? My recovery has been successful
because of
my treatment recommendations. Also because of my volunteer and support
networks like
KYCAN and TRP’s have helped me stay on top of my mental illness. I also
participate on
the board of directors of
2 organizations..
13) What has helped you in your recovery from your mental illness:
A) Your attitude? Maintaining a positive attitude no
matter what challenges
occur.
B) Your outlook on life? Maintaining a good outlook on life
helps.
C) Your mental health treatment? My medications and peer support helps me with
my
mental
illness.
D) Has a trained counselors input and feedback worked?
YES, Therapists, psychologists
and Mental Health practitioners.
E) Have you learned to avoid certain actions associated with mental health
because
of
the consequences involved? Yes, avoiding idle time when not doing
anything
F)
Has an awareness of the experiences of others helped you find your way? Yes,
sharing
with peers of similar life
experiences.
G)
Has trying to repeat the recovery successes of others been a source of guidance
for
you
during your own recovery? YES, one in particular is my best friends
examples.
14) Tell us how you are coping with your mental illness
today:
A) Medical treatments?
YES
B) Support groups? KYCAN and
family.
C) Family support? Yes, family support is
helpful.
D) Do Friends help?
Yes
E) Spiritual (relationship with your higher power)?
Limited
F) Exercising? Special
Olympics
G) Career or job?
Excellent
H) Working on a goal? Yes, handling my finances with out a case
manager.
15) What kind of changes have you made in your recovery? I make sure that my
medical
and therapy appointments come
first.
16)
What are some of your challenges with your recovery? I still have a challenge
with
avoiding depression and spending sprees in my
recovery.
17) What are your strengths? My strengths are: I am hopeful and care about
people. I am
also on two business
boards.
18)
What do you appreciate the most these days? Today, I appreciate life in
general. I can
also manage my finances and volunteer my time.
19) What
kind of advice would you give another consumer in their recovery? Refer to
some books with an emphasis on specific readings about
recovery.
20)
How has KYCAN helped you in your recovery process? KYCAN has helped me
to
understand my mental illness and other people’s mental illnesses. Serving
on the
board of KYCAN has given me a leadership role in the consumer
movement.
KYCAN has allowed me to take classes on WRAP and BRIDGES which has
helped
me in my recovery. Participating in the Voters Education program has made
me
realize that I do have a say in what goes on in the government with respect to
the
mental health field. Recovery reading titles
suggested by
Robert.
Robert referred us to these recovery
book titles during our Interview.
Thank you
for your participation Robert.