Perceived: Losing and Finding my Mind

FINAL CHAPTER

I think that my life is beautiful. While I haven’t had any episodes since, yes, I do have my down days and moments, but so does everyone. I think it is so important to listen to the experts, and get the help you need including going to therapy if required, as going through a mental health condition you might not know much about can be life-changing, and people going through that need all the support they can get.

My second piece of advice is to find something to use as a coping mechanism, whether it be surrounding yourself with loving and accepting family and friends, praying if you are religious, surrounding yourself with nature and spirituality if you are not, or just surrounding yourself with positive vibrations in general.

One thing that haunted me for a long time was how the methamphetamines from the second episode had been found in my system. I have spent many hours feeling angry and bitter about it. I will also never know whether the first episode was caused in the same way, as I was never hospitalised the first time, and have no way of knowing. However, I have come to terms with the fact that I never will know who spiked me. I hope that this story creates some awareness around drink-spiking as well. It can have extremely serious implications, so it is important to be street smart, safe, and not a ****** who spikes people.

My battle with mental health has had its negative and positive aspects. I have been through some of the most traumatic experiences in my life like being admitted to a psychiatric ward and thinking my family and friends are out to kill me. However, I have also been through some of the most positive, enlightening experiences that I have ever been through. Prior to suffering from my mental health condition, I hadn’t given much thought to mental health issues, and how they do not discriminate – they can happen to anyone. One of the most powerful lessons I have learned is that it is so important who you surround yourself with during your times of self-doubt, that life is temporary and we should always carry ourselves with humility; knowing that life isn’t always perfect and we can make the most of it no matter what comes our way. Self-care is also so important, and being society’s perception of “successful” isn’t everything…happiness and contentment are everything.

All in all, I sit here thinking about our surname, and how it means “Warrior” in Tamil. My family and I have shown the strength of warriors these past few years in overcoming our battles, and the fact of the matter is…everyone has their ups and downs, and everyone has that warrior within them.