Friday, October 10, 2014

Getting Back On The Horse - October 10, 2014 - Jonathan Harnisch

It seems like I’ve been back on the horse after a couple challenging days, which followed my thirty-day mark of awesome fun and positive days continuously. I’ve been having some good days. Today, I’m just a little sad and sleepy, nothing too difficult to handle. It really seems like my good vs. bad days are most associated with whether or not I feel I am being taking advantage of in some way. It may be a chicken and egg thing, in that I can become symptomatic, and this leads me to feel suspicious. On the other hand I do think that if I am finding myself overly suspicious that may indicate I am symptomatic. The other thing is that when I act out in a significant way, people can react to that negatively, which then often makes my suspicions a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Through therapy I am able to understand there can always be some truth to being taken advantage of. People don’t always treat us fairly, or may try to gain an edge in a situation (e.g. taking an extra cigarette break, while working for me, on my time). However, my therapist’s recommendation is for me to process my suspicions before acting out on them in any dramatic way. I find therapy sessions are good times to process. I tend to gain some clarity over time and I can imagine holding off on any big reactions as being helpful in moments of suspicion.

As has been the case over the last month: exercising, getting out of the property, interacting with others, all tend to help me feel better. I’ve got to remember; this isn’t black and white, and “slow and steady wins the race” with this stuff!


Other than that I have had concerns about diet and some recent weight gain. It could be good for my therapist and I to go to Trader Joe’s. I’d like that. I think we can easily find some good tasting and healthy stuff to eat!

World Mental Health Day 2014 Blog Post #WorldMentalHealthDay


Today marks World Mental Health Day 2014. The focus this year is on schizophrenia. Since I've been advocating for mental health and schizophrenia awareness in 2009, this year seems to be the most successfully talked about event in the news and on social networks online other than popular culture and other dramas. Most people aren’t affected by mental health. Many people are now familiar with the often-quoted statistic that 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in any given year.  In some ways this statistic is misleading. It creates the impression that there’s a distinct group of people who are affected by mental health and that we are therefore a minority. We all have mental health that needs to be taken care of in the same way we all have physical health. I am so immensely grateful for today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart those for all who continue speaking out and living each day with or without one’s own mental illness.