Can You Still Be Happy if You Have a Mental Illness?

I am happy. I have a good life. Now, I've had to work real hard at it, doing all the things I have to do to remain stable with my disorder, but I am happy.

I think you have to have a balance. You can't go too far one way or the other, like the extremes of depression and mania in bipolar disorder. But it doesn't matter what your diagnosis is - I think it's up to you whether you are happy or not. Being happy for me, for instance, does not mean that I don't have any problems, because I do. But being stable with my disorder helps me to solve those problems in a rational, sane way.

I am stable. I take pride in that, because it was hard-fought and won. And it took some time, and alot of positive energy and optimistic thinking. And I didn't do it by myself, either (I think I was incapable of that) - I had a lot of help. But first I had to believe that I COULD be stable with my disorder which, at one point, seemed like it could NEVER happen to someone like me, I was that bad.

I am blessed, because today I enjoy the fruits of stability - a wonderful and supportive husband, a great marriage, 3 great sons, a home, a car, a job that I love, etc. But I use the word "blessed" instead of "lucky" because I don't think luck had anything to do with it.

At one point, I questioned my own faith, as I thought God deserted me when I prayed about being healed from bipolar disorder (and my other disorders) and wasn't.

But at some point I realized that it is because God idd not choose to heal me that I've done the most good. This blog (and my two others) for example. And the work I do for www.bipolarcentral.com and NAMI's IOOV program.

Today I am stable, balanced, and very, very grateful to God for keeping me this way. Because of this, I can help SO many other people! I LOVE doing IOOV presentations, for instance, because you can watch the faces of the people and actually see them change from Dark Days to Successes, Hopes, and Dreams! And when I see in the feedback forms that people now believe that recovery is possible, I am even more grateful to be a IOOV presenter. I believe we really help people.

So, whenever you feel discouraged, or don't think your story (or you) is important, remember the good you are actually doing. Take yourself out of the imaginary picture for a minute and think about where IOOV would be without you -- all the people who wouldn't be helped just because you shared your story. YOU ARE IMPORTANT! Never forget that.

Wishing you peace and stability,
Remember God loves you and so do I,
Michele