person-centered care

I believe in person-centered care. You have to use everything you have within you to make it through this kind of illness. A person who is just reduced to a "pill-popper" will never be well in the long-run in my opinion. Take it from one who found herself at 45 in body and 21 in emotional and social arenas.


I have isolated myself since this illness started. It took everything I had to work, the times that I did. I never really had a therapist until i was about 37. Oh, I've had flashes in the pan, but no one you would go back to. Mainly, my treatment consisted of meds, hospital and psychiatrists visits. It's no wonder I've always felt so disconnected, even from myself. So, I found myself in my 40's feeling like I was in my 20s.


I feel very awkward because I'm just facing the world as a rational adult and yet I'm 49.


There was much work to do when I found myself free from the torture. I do want to live a whole life and not just go to work and do nothing else. I think I deserve much more than that. So, I devised a plan that has here-to-fore been successful.


First, since I had been in isolation for so long and I knew my social skills were "not," I joined a group at NAMI that goes to different events and once a month bowling and pizza. It's a great group. I knew I could go there because not only is it just for consumers but it is consumer run. You didn't have to feel like a sore thumb. However, at first I did. I went for a year until my job changed and interfered with the timing. But, it's great because you have many consumers at many levels and there's got to be someone you click with. I found a lot of people like this.


Second, I devised a plan to get me away from here. I need to start over and I need to be around family. So, I put myself on a timeline to move to Atlanta. I'm sure that if I pass their test for certification, I can easily find a peer support specialist job, which was my career goal. I have already accomplished the goal for working here as one and I get to work for the company I envisioned working for. I have 200 of the 500 hours it takes to get certified in this state and then I would just have to take the test in Georgia.


Third, I had to find a more comfortable church. I needed to start over. The church I went to, I was a member for 6 years and knew no one but the Seniors I worked with and later attended bible study with at their fellowship. The church has thousands of members, three services and its just unmanageable for me to navigate. What I needed was a smaller down-home type of church where everyone at least talked about being family with one another.


After a couple churches, I felt like Goldilocks. But, I finally got it right (I think, it's still very new for me). I feel the Spirit and I feel comfortable and the Pastor is a good preacher. I'm not intimidated by a sea of faces every Sunday morning and I like that. That's really all I need. So, I dubbed this one "just right."


I just received confirmation that I passed my medical for my Commercial Drivers License and now all I have to do is get myself finger printed. That, I won't worry about. I have had no major run-ins with the law. But, my medical was a nail-biter because I take so many medications. I'm sure I need them though (after all these years of being refractory, I would know). It would have been ironic that the very condition that most qualified me for the job, kept me from complying. Praise God.


After 35 years, I've quit smoking. I have been smoke free for 6 months and some change. Now, I need to concentrate on my diet, my health and my weight. No one told me that I would gain a lot of weight on these medications and at first I was too sick to really care. I wish that someone would have talked to me about nutrition and exercise when I was still a size 6 (smile).