stigma_vastu
Helen
"Healthy spirit lives only in healthy body"
Since age 12 Helen was facing unnatural irritancy and dramatic mood changes, but she couldn’t understand or explain the problem adequately.
Until age 16 she tried talking to her friends about it, but nobody would really take it seriously.
Some of them were eve saying “Why are you always so sad? You’re making me depressed too. If you go on being so sad nobody will want to be friends with you.”
Helen suffered from anxiety, bulimia and OCD alongside depression. When Helen was 15 mother took her to a therapist from a private clinic who didn’t offer any help and the only solution to all the problem was that Helen should get herself a job.
Parents were generally negligent about Helen’s situation. Mother was saying that Helen is not the only one who’s troubled and father just said “It’s all bullshit” and that Helen is in good health really even when she was physically sick. Father was sure that pills always cause addiction and there’s no use in taking any. In Helen’s family it was generally uncommon to talk about each other’s feelings.
Mother was insisting that Helen should get a disability certificate to get allowance as soon as Helen started attending therapy sessions and taking medications at age 16.
At the same time anxiety and depression were joined by apathy. Helen got into youth psychiatric unit in Tallinn hospital at age 18 and spent the next 2 months there.
Extreme amount of stress was also caused by school and a scientific paper she had to write and because of that Helen was also pressured by teachers.
Helen had to get a job because of poor financial situation in her family. She worked night shifts in summer when school lessons ended which also harmed her physical health. Her memory and concentration suffered because of lack of rest and communication with fiends. She started losing connection with reality which, as she thinks now, was a sort of uncontrollable defense mechanism to get stress relief.
Helen barely had any supportive people around, but in the hospital she felt better because of supportive and understanding personnel.
Helen says many others in the hospital were confused by rules in the hospital, but Helen says that everything was made for the patients, like balanced diet, sufficient sleeping hours and medication time at set time under supervision. It was all done in order to help patients recover safely.
Therapist was really the person who wanted to help Helen solve her problems.
Helen’s got a job in medical sphere now and her colleagues and boss know about the health issues.
She says health is that health comes first, way before comfort of others. And unless one takes effort to solve the problems, it might happen that later this person won’t be able to take case about oneself.
"A healthy mind gives a healthy body."
"The disease does not define you, you should separate yourself from your disease and not appropriate the qualities of the disease as part of your own character."
"The only source of happiness and endless positive vibes in my life is my cat. When I faced a need to hospitalize me, the doctor suggested day care so I could take care of my little friend. People working in hospitals, are the same, just like us, they are not devoid of empathy and will take all the necessary measures so that you can restore comfort in life".
