Will I feel like this forever? Will I ever get better?
Right now you might be wishing that you could know that you would feel better. The answer is yes! Treatment is effective, and recovery is possible.
That doesn’t mean every day will be perfect—you are allowed to have bad days and you deserve to have good days. You will get better at preventing issues that trigger you, and you’ll also get better at dealing with stressors that you can’t avoid. You’ll learn who to call or where to go when you’re feeling like you want one more drink or one more high.
Sometimes people feel weird about asking for help. But if you had a broken leg, you’d go to the doctor, right? So if you get help, you have a real chance of learning how to cope. One day you might even feel ready to cut back on your therapy or to taper off your meds. But if this is an indefinite part of your recovery, there is no shame in continuing to take medication and going to therapy!
“I had a mental problem or emotional problem and I didn’t know how to deal with it, but now I think, ‘wow, that’s an experience I’ve been through and something that makes me stronger every day.’ I’m able to accomplish things even with a mental disability and go farther than most people that do not have it.”