Mental Health Awareness Month

May 2,  2020

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness month. The definition of mental health is a person's condition regarding their psychological and emotional well-being. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how a person thinks, acts, and feels. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. 

I have the opportunity of working on the Texas Campaign alongside Soba Recovery for a few days this month. 

Mental Health Awareness is something I do not take for granted. Being a person who lives (or walks) in recovery with lived experiences, I know all too well the deep, dark abyss where the illness can take a person. I know firsthand what mania looks like during a full-blown Bipolar episode. My last Bipolar episode was in the summer of 2005. It was a very traumatic ordeal and a pain that I do not ever want to live through or experience again.

The events of that summer day will stay with me until I leave this earth. I was humiliated. Demoralized. Treated like an animal and mocked by the very ones who were to protect and keep me safe. It was then, I decided to never again let mental health dictate my life. This traumatic event was the catalyst that changed my life forever. I put myself in counseling. I began attending support groups, learned what my triggers were, how to prevent them from escalating my illness. I worked with a therapist and a psychologist. I had to make some serious life changes and that included removing people who pulled me down mentally and emotionally. 

What does this mean: I did what I had to do to flip the switch. I created an action plan. I learned recovery through and through. I walked, talked, and breathed recovery twenty-four/ seven. I had to take care of me because no one else was going to do.  I had to be willing to put the work in if I wanted to change. 

My work at one of the Texas State Hospitals for nearly 7 years was a very rewarding job. I could relate to people who were at their darkest moments in life. 

I was in a position to offer them HOPE. Why? Because of my own HOPE and RECOVERY. 

Hope and Recovery were offered by treating them like human beings instead of treating them like a number. I listened to their pain. I listened to their stories. 

Many of the tools I learned, I shared. Above all, I listened to them, I heard them. I validated them. I gave them HOPE that people do recover and live a life full of quality. It may look different, but it is possible. I know because I AM the Evidence! 

In 2016, I had to step out of employment due to other major health issues. I was devastated. In denial was more like it...but I survived. Again, I put my recovery tools to work. This time, I had new triggers and action plans that I worked through. Over and over I had to work the steps to keep myself well and out of the hospital. It worked...but I had to do my part because no one else could do it for me. 

In the early part of 2019, I experienced depression for the first time ever.  I do not wish that on my worst enemy...talk about the deep, dark abyss. I did not think I would ever return from it. The days ran together, the tears flowed at a drop of a dime. I had many sleepless nights and many days, where all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt like a zombie. It was horrific. I literally could not function. It was very debilitating, to say the least. My outlook on life was very bleak. I was desolate. I felt as though I did not have anything else to live for. I was hopeless. Again, I sought the help of a Therapist and a Psychiatrist. 

I credit my years of working in the mental health field, and being able to recognize the triggers, and implementing my action plans sooner than later. The Action Plan was part of my  Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) - (a tool developed by Mary Ellen Copeland) helped me get back on track very quickly. I have had a personal WRAP in place since 2005. It is interesting to me though as I sat there across from the Therapist and the Psychiatrist at times, thinking to myself - what am I doing here? I know better, how did I allow myself to go there in my head? Talk about self-reflection. Self-sabotaging. WOW -- I got very angry not at the situation that landed me in the depression but at myself for allowing the circumstance to take me to the dark abyss called depression.  I am thankful that the doctor, therapist, and I was able to get me back on track in a short period. But again, I had to work at my recovery. They were not going to do it for me. Today, I still work my recovery twenty-four/seven. I have to if I want to stay well and be well. 

There are many examples of mental health. Depression, Bipolar, Anxiety & Panic Disorders, Eating Disorders, Schizophrenia, PTSD and, Substance Abuse & Addiction. Now with the Coronavirus pandemic, mental health, alcoholism, and drug abuse are very high on the minds of people. These concerns are very valid. Not only for the doctors, but for the individual themselves, and their friends and family members. Stress, fear, and anxiety of the unknown can set mental health issues in motion very quickly. One day a person can be totally fine and the next day completely consumed by their illness. 

Today, many people are living in fear and worried. Many people are stressed. People have lost their jobs, their livelihood, their peace of mind, and their financial stability. This can create many triggers for a person living with mental illness, alcoholism, and or substance abuse. 

I am glad that I was able to have someone hold my HOPE when I could not hold it for myself. Their strength helped me do what I needed to do to get on the road to recovery. It saved my life, literally. They held me accountable and in turn, I began holding myself accountable. 

I would encourage you if you know someone who has had issues with mental health, alcoholism, and or substance abuse - reach out to them. Listen to the things not being said. Listen to their words. If you spend time with them, watch their body language. There are always red flags that can be picked up if we are listening and looking for them. Be aware. Be mindful of the situations people are experiencing. Do not be judgmental and don't be critical. Listen. Listen. Listen. If the need is there to seek professional help, by all means, make the call. You or your loved ones ARE too important not to make the call. 

You may be thinking to yourself that you do not know the first place to start in order to find help. I would like to direct you to Soba Recovery. 

Soba Recovery would like to spread awareness that they are still here and running - even when it feels like you have nowhere to go fighting your addiction - you do. 

The Soba Recovery facility is a safe place (and very clean). 

Soba Recovery takes their client's livelihood seriously and creates a family for them even when theirs cannot be there. 

Soba Recovery is Licensed through the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and accredited by The Joint Commission on Accreditation Healthcare Organization (JCAHO).

Soba Recovery opened in August 2013. 

Over the years, Soba Texas has helped hundreds of families, locally and beyond, battle the horrific aftermath of addiction, they have saved hundreds of lives.

Soba's mission unites individuals with their loved ones and helps them regain the tools they need to continue to live a prosperous and sober life. 

Soba is staffed with 24/7 doctors; nurses and residential techs who look over and care for the clients around the clock. 

They have an in-house chef and cleaning service that work together and clean the facilities multiple times a day, 7 days a week. 

Soba Recovery has a very simple admission process with addiction specialists on standby 24/7. Here is the direct admissions helpline 866-547-6451 and their website is https://sobarecovery.com. 

If you would like to research Soba Recovery further, feel free to visit Fox San Antonio. 

In closing, I want to leave you with this poem. 

The Unstoppable YOU

Written by Diane Georgiadi, Canada

Hope for a new tomorrow 

Filled with joy and peace

Filled with knowing

You are so worth it

You are so valuable

And you are so unique

There is no one like you

Rejoice in who you are and

Where you are going

Moving onwards and upwards

To new things, to brighter things

To exciting things

Hope for a new tomorrow...

...This is your journey

It is all you can make it

And more

Take the time for you

Take the time

To find out what you need

Where you want to go

Learn, discover

Unwrap

The New, the exciting

The unstoppable 

You

Heart to Heart Soul Creations

H2hsc2020

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