Mental Health: A Game of Snakes & Ladders

*Image by tim rich & lesley katon, copyright protected

Mental health blogger Ian, shares with us the first steps he took to take control and cope better with his depression and anxiety. You can read more on his blog and follow him on Twitter. 

Mental illness is like the rungs of a ladder. You look up at the ladder, thinking there’s no end to it. The early stages of mental ill health can be like this; you are in despair, thinking how difficult it is to get on that first rung. But it can be done. Nobody says it’s easy and there will be times when you slip back down, hopefully temporarily.

Step One: Get Support

One of the first things you can do is to get help onto that first rung; the help of doctors, family, friends or mental health services. The overcoming of that denial that says, “I’m fine – there’s nothing wrong with me – I’ll get over it”.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has helped me enormously too; one-on-one sessions with a trained professional counsellor, where he/she challenges your patterns of behaviour and ways of thinking.

Step Two: Overcoming Stigma

Also, you have to convince the doubters that there’s something wrong. You will hear the familiar refrain of “Get over it- there’s nothing wrong with you – pull yourself together”- as though mental illness is a made up thing to get sick notes. You cannot turn mental illness off and on- it’s your body’s way of saying “I’ve had enough”.

Step Three: Little Steps

That first rung seems inordinately big but with the right help you can clamber onto the next one. When I was first diagnosed with clinical depression, I had six or seven major issues going on. I couldn’t cope. The first piece of advice was given to me by my sister, who said “Tackle one thing at a time – then move on to the next” (a priceless piece of advice). If you try and tackle too many things, your head will just about come off with the strain. Little steps and enlisting support from your networks are key to any improvement. 

Step Four: Get Active

There will be setbacks, as I’ve mentioned. There will be people, circumstances, and health that will dictate how far you fall again. But once you've conquered the first few rungs it’s time to consider doing things that you previously enjoyed. Try and get into a social group, talk about your experiences, volunteer, exercise or anything you like. Again, not an easy task and there will be periods where you do not feel like doing anything. But believe me it has enhanced my life to a level where I’m doing something like this!

Step Five: Share your Story

Getting your experiences down does make a difference, whether on paper or online. Your mind is concentrating and your experiences coming through- some painful, some joyous, and then you can share these with others to help them too.

I do have my down days with anxiety and low confidence; my life is not exactly a vein of rich gold but by following these steps my life is certainly more enjoyable.

Just remember, it may seem like a long way down but equally it’s a long way up with a great sense of achievement along the way. YOU CAN DO IT!

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