If you were dropped off in the middle of nowhere – someplace in the mountains or maybe a remote island — and someone took all of your devices, would you be able to keep track of the date and time?  To top it off, what if you ate only what you could scrape together, and you began to hallucinate about food?  Would you be able to tell someone when your last meal was?  Did you ride in a plane, or was it a helicopter?  Did you approach from the east or the west?  How long was the ride?  If you answer their questions correctly, you win a prize.  I know, this sounds like an episode of a reality show, but it’s actually a good analogy to what happens during a mental-health crisis.  The biggest difference is, though, that the prize you are fighting to win is your most-cherished earthly possession: your life.

Mental illness is something that can begin at any point in your life, and it is something that can remain with you for life.  Just like with any other disease, you can experience improvement and regression.  Our senses are filtered through our brains.  If your brain is not working properly, your experiences, feelings, and behavior will show the evidence of the disfunction.  You may stop interacting with your family and friends.  You may run down the street, swinging your fists at the purple flying monkey that’s attacking you.  Changes within you lead to changes around you.  You may lose the right to make your own decisions.  You may even lose the ability to be around your children.  You may need to take medicine that gives you uncomfortable side effects.  You may need to spend time in a facility in order to protect yourself from your unhealthy self.  Keeping yourself mentally healthy now lowers your chance of fighting an unhealthy mind in the future.

Please check out our original story The Thingys.