Description

This blog is part of a larger series of blogs of open letters to people living with mental illness. Kayla is a woman who had been very sick and has grown more stable over time. Now she is looking for ways to move forward and achieve more without losing her previous gains. The home page for these blogs includes letters to Tony, who is much sicker and needs more basic interventions. That page can be found at http://beyondmentalillness.blogspot.com.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

10/29/11

Dear Kayla,

Congratulations. You have improved and stayed stable for a while. As you know, that is a pretty important achievement.

After becoming stable, your focus changes. It is sometimes difficult to understand and work with the changes.

Many people who have become stable simply stay in place. For me, that would not work. For me, and this is just me, focusing on keeping stable is like treading water. It can work for a while, but eventually I need to start moving or I will drown.

But changing your focus can be difficult. When you are very sick, you are best off simply focusing on one small step at a time. Once you become a little better, you have more options. But sorting out those options can be tricky.