I have been very open about my mental health struggles here on my blog. For a number of years, I have been sharing my journey to try and help other people. For background, I was diagnosed with OCD when I was in my early teens.
From there, I developed anxiety, depression and more recently I was diagnosed with ADHD. All of the different conditions together really do fight against each other and give me a hard time. At a point in time, I thought that I would get to a place where I ‘fix’ my mental health. However, I have learnt that it is not about fixing my mental health, it is about learning to live with it. Because of that, I have some mental health goals.
Be able to manage off medication.
Medication has been something that I have gone backwards and forwards with for some time. Where I feel like there is absolutely no shame in medication. I know my mind on medication and off medication. I know that I am my most ‘regular’ self when I am not relying on medication. At the moment, I need medication to keep me on track and I see no shame in that. One of my short term mental health goals is to get to a point where I can once again transition off my medication.
To stop mentioning my mental health as much.
Up next on my mental health goals is to stop mentioning my mental health as much. Obviously, I write about my mental health here on my blog. However, in real life, I mention it quite a lot and very early on in conversations. I feel like I have a duty to people to explain to them that they are speaking to somebody with a mental health condition. To be honest, I don’t know why I do it. It isn’t like my mental health affects general conversations, especially in the workplace. I just always feel like I have to lead by saying, “Just so you know…”, but I certainly don’t need to.
Be comfortable with where I currently am.
No matter where I am, I always think about where I could be. I cannot simply be happy with my current mental state, I always have to be looking to the next milestone. It is not that easy for me and I need to be happy with stability. For example, the last time I came off medication, I wanted to think about never feeling that low again. Instead of taking time and being grateful for where I am and feeling in that moment. This is something that will really take some work for me. That is why it is one of my mental health goals.
Develop the understanding of those closest to me.
My friends and family are pretty good at understanding my conditions, but there is room for improvement. I think the thing that they need understanding on is how my different mental health conditions work together. Inside my mind, my different conditions seem to battle against each other for dominance and that affects how I am on the outside. I want some of the older members in my family to realise that I am not just ‘mentally unwell’. There is more to it than that and I want those closest to me to gain some understanding.
I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this blog post about my mental health goals. Some people may wonder why I continue to write about my mental health and that is because I want to provide support. There are so many people out there that will have struggles of their own. I want to show that there is nothing to be ashamed of or to hide how you feel. By talking openly about mental health, we can remove the stigma and better support one another. As always, I would love to hear from you guys on this. Please do leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts on this subject. What do you think about my mental health goals? Do you have any hopes and aspirations that you would like to work towards in regard to your wellbeing?
