Recovery it’s A Matter of Time ― by David McCannon

David Wayne McCannon

When the life storm of mental illness comes knocking at you your door, life seems to be all but over. Hope fades into a distant memory and life is forever changed. Nothing will ever be the same. Why should you die before your time?

When the life storm of mental illness comes knocking at your door, in a desperate cry for help you try to take your life. You find your way into a Psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of a mental illness. Why should you destroy yourself?

When the life storm of mental illness come knocking at your door, you will learn a new word recovery. Is this a myth? You know nothing will ever be the same. Yet the question remains. Why should I die before my time?

The life storm of mental illness can strike any given time on any given day of life. Like in any storm, destruction lays everything in waste and work is needed to restore order. This takes time. Medication may be needed. As we know this too shall pass. We learn recovery takes time. We must get to work. We don’t have to die before our time.

Despite of the life storm of mental illness life can be good. The good times does come again. We learn we can persevere and grow stronger with the help of our higher power, friends, and through the fellowship of another person. We learn life is worth living; it takes a lot of work, but it is worth it.

Like any other storm, mental illness leaves a great deal of destruction and everything lies in waste. Suicidal ideation is like a tornado that is inside your mind. Your life is in a state of emergency. Don’t wait! Call the EMS, or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It you have injured yourself, call 911.

Don’t give up; just live for today! You don’t have to go it alone. Seek professional help. There are people that care about you; people that are interested in your wellbeing. Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Psychiatrists are there to help put your life back together. Don’t go it alone!

Once you are stabilized with medication, then rehab begins. It is time to rebuild your life. The renewing of your mind is like rebuilding a house brick by brick. You must have a good foundation. Rehab is a process. It takes time. There are no shortcuts. The road to recovery leads thru, not around the problems we face every day in life.

Lone Rangers don’t make it in recovery. Don’t go it alone. Join a support group. There are three good ones I know of, Celebrate Recovery, National Alliance on Mental Illness (AKA) NAMI and Emotions Anonymous also known as EA.

When the life storm of mental illness hit me, it was Celebrate Recovery that helped me. I found a sponsor and he took me through the CR participants guides that helped renew my mind. I went thru the eight recovery principles based on the beatitudes of Christ. In doing this I found out that God loved me. Jesus my savior took on the righteous wrath of God for me. I was broken, and lost, but God’s grace set me free. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my LORD and Savior. I am no longer condemned. I have been washed in the blood of Christ and am declared “NOT GUILTY!”

Johnny Prince was my sponsor. I heard his testimony many times. He said that his sponsor told him this. He said, “Johnny, you thinker is broken. Your thinker needs to be repaired.”

Professionals like Social Workers and Counselors can give us the tools to fix our minds, but we have to use them. They cannot do the work for us. We have to put forth the effort to use the tools they give us.

When I received services from Advantage Behavioral Health in Athens, GA, I did a little one on one therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and in group we did Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

They also had what we called a recovery tool box. My tools I use for my recovery is the bible, Facebook, blogging, Celebrate Recovery, and finding inspirational quotes by Christian Authors. I still use CBT. It is Cognitive Bible Study.

Read God’s Word daily. It will change your life. Oh, one more thing. I highly recommend you find a good church home. We were never meant to go it alone.

The life storm of mental illness can leave you disabled and leave scares that are invisible to the naked eye. The work can be long and hard. But it is worth it. Do the work, you are worth it.