Mental Health Friday #8

I am diagnosed (at the moment) with rapid cycling bi polar type 2, extreme anxiety, agrophabia, fear of crowds, but that stems from the anxiety.

I feel I was lucky that I had been in my relationship for a while, before I got diagnosed, because for my partner he was suddenly dealing with a different person. Rather than the out-going, always smiling, high flyer, he had known for the previous two and half years, instead, he was dealing with a 6 month pregnant lady, who would cry at the drop of a hat, refused to leave the flat and couldn’t give a flying fig about her job

Due to the fact that I was pregnant, it was easy enough to get me to the doctors and luckily, I wasn’t that far gone and was still able to see something wasn’t right. At that point I was blaming the hormones triggering something, but the fact is I have always been a little bit quirky, shall we say, and thankfully my partner who had known me for nearly 20 years, knew it too.

The doctor sent me for CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy) and by the time my son was born, I was not only very stable but with the support of my partner, had started up my own little business and we moved into a house with a garden.

Things were fine until nearly 2 years later when I had a miscarriage and plummeted downhill. Thankfully, because my partner and I had communicated so well, he was fine in looking after both myself and my son but it put a massive strain on our relationship, of which we are still recovering nearly 18 months later. But I am getting more stable, we have a three year old who is happy, loud but happy and myself and my partner are communicating and getting things back to where they should be.

So yes I was lucky, but what about the single people living with mental illness? The problem with mental health that I have found is, sometimes, it gets competitive and more importantly, if you date someone with mental health problems, it can be detrimental to your own mental health. Its not one of those diseases which is easy to come together with other people, I am not saying it doesn’t happen of course it does, but you do have to be careful.

This however is where the stigma comes in. As someone who is dating, when is the right time to mention that you have depression, where the person you are dating doesn’t look at you as though you are a homeless person that is about to throw poo at a window. From my single friends, one of the things they are wary of, is if they are upfront about it, prospective partners may prey on their vulnerability

I think we are now starting to break through the stigma, so many people have either been affected themselves or know someone that has.

I know I had a supportive partner, but we have had to learn to know each other again. In the space of two years, I came to terms with my mental health and had a baby two really big things which are going to change a person. My partner had a baby and a crazy person as a partner, which is going to change him. But it is possible with communication and determination to have a happy family and to keep the love despite mental illness.

     submitted by Katrina who blogs at itsgoodtobecrazysometimes.com where she talks about life as she knows it being a British citizen, having mental illness and being a mother at the same time.

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If you’ve a got a story that needs to be told, I would love to hear it. You can contact me at my email: mykahani@yahoo.com Looking forward to hearing from you.

IMAGE CREDIT:Healthy place.com