Dear Reader,
“What was it like?” That’s the question opened up in the last entry. What is it like to go through a mental health crisis with a loved one?
As I begin to answer, it’s easier to start with the dragon.
Agonizing. Waiting.
Those two words leaped into my mind at the question. That’s what it’s like.
No quick fixes. No “better in the morning”s. No “take this and you’ll feel better”s. Medications for mental illness don’t work like that. They are slow and the brain is complicated. For Mr. B and I, we waited 8 weeks. (More, if you count the time it takes to re-establish normal life again afterwards.) That how long it took for the meds to take full effect and for Mr. B to feel stable again. Symptoms slowly, slowly receded; flaring up right to last day of 8 weeks. Symptoms such as paranoia, delusional thinking, high levels of anxiety, trouble sleeping, inability to focus or handle conversation, not to mention the unpleasant side effects of coming back onto the meds.
The difficulties I went through can’t even compare to Mr. B’s suffering during that time. He’s the strongest man I know; I love and admire him dearly for it!
But anyway, I’ve touched on the waiting. That’s easier to talk about than the other one — the agonizing.
Daily Living with Mental Illness 