Depression is not a choice.
Anxiety is not a choice.
Mental Illness is not a choice.
Recovery is....
With all the things in this life that we have absolutely no say in, recovery is one thing that we have the option to choose for ourselves. It is not something that comes to us, and like most things we want, you have to work for it.
It doesn't seem fair, that we don't get a choice in whether we deal with mental illness or not. Unfortunately we can't stop it from happening, however we can overcome it. Just because you're dealt a bad hand, doesn't mean you can't win the game, you just have to choose to play it with everything you've got.
Understanding that recovery is a choice is very important. I've had people tell me that I'm lucky to be where I am in my recovery, and it didn't sit well with me. I didn't choose anxiety, I didn't choose to be so overwhelmed and to feel so worthless that the only relief I felt was when I turned to self harm. I didn't choose this, but I chose my recovery, and every day that I get up, I have to choose it all over again.
Everyone who deals with mental illness fights a battle daily. You're on the defense trying to keep your inner demons at bay. When you choose recovery though, you choose to take the offence position. You choose to challenge your mental illness and take back your life.
One of the things mental illness does, is cause us to feel a significant lack of control over what's going on in our lives. Whatever your situation might be, recovery is possible and you have control over it.
Recovery isn't easy. I mentioned before that it's something that you have to choose every new day. You have to acknowledge that there are going to be struggles you haven't encountered yet before. There will be hard times, and even times where you don't fee like you're getting anywhere, but the thing about recovery, is if you are trying, you are winning.
Your recovery will always look different than someone else's, and that's how it's supposed to be. Your story wont be quite like anyone else's, so remember not to compare yourself.
Do your best, and don't expect too much of yourself right away. You're human, you're healing, and you need to take care of yourself.
It's time to make a choice. Do you fold? Or are you all in? Do you stay on the defense? Or is it time to bring out the offence? That's up to you. As for me? I choose recovery.
-ToriLynn
No comments:
Post a Comment