Hi, one of the biggest problems people have once they are told of their mental illness, they use it as a crutch, which allows them to use their condition when they want or to take advantage of certain situations or to say what ever they want and you have to accept it. Just because a person has a condition doesn't mean they are disabled or not intelligent in any way. They can accomplish what ever they put their mind to, the sad part is a doctor told them they have a condition and now they become so fixed on it, it begins to be a big part of their life. >I stepped up to the base and took on helping a 40 year old living with ocd, bipolar, severe depression, and living with paranoid schidzophrenia to the point I would find him hiding in the pantry to advoid being detected by the government with their heat sensors. He couldn't afford his medications at a cost of a $1000 a month, so, this guy was a wreck. Four months later, his boss(employer) asked him "Wayne are you back on your medication?" Wayne said no, Rusty has been helping me. By the way he was dianosed with ocd and bipolar in high school.
The brain is a very powerful tool once a person can control their thoughts. How does a person control their thoughts? By being selective of their thoughts. Its very important to know what the future looks like, its very important to prepare things today to make tomorrow easier, its very important to address issues with a positive attitude the same way a child is taught, plan tomorrow by illiminating any situation which may create stress,(remember when a person has too many little stresses, they can feel like one big one) write down everything you do in a day and do it again the next day like a journal, what you will see after a couple of months are paterns which are habits.
What I learned about people in generalthey are creatures of habits. when aperson has a mental condition this type of living allows the person to spend most of their time reliving the past or their looking to the future with very little hope. So, my advice to shake things up before more habits are developed. Habits allows you to eat, clean, watch tv, listen to a conversation, drive, and while doing these things be able to think about non-productive things like "I can do anything, I have a mental condition, I don't feel good, I this and I that. But, when a person is faced with new things to do each day, they havn't time to get lost on their petty trip.
I gave Wayne so many new things to think about he didn't have time to look back or to think about himself. I'm talking about a man who has been living with mental illnesses for over 20 years and here he was without medication and getting better with each day.
A person can chose to stay in their world or they can say If, I don't change my way of thinking I will not have a future. A person with any kind of mental illness has the ability to make decisions about their future. Looking back on yesterday only means tomorrow will be like today.

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