By Karen Kalata
See though, today is only Monday and I was so happy that I finally reconnected with Jackie from NBH. There was a time, way back that I wasn’t sure about her. Didn’t know if I would keep her and wondered just how much value she would add to my life.
Then I finally thought to myself of all the things that I did like about her. That was that she kept all of my appointments, she was a careful listener and I felt comfortable enough around her to tell her my well-kept secrets.
Mind you, this is “Talk Therapy”
It might as well be called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. And I love it. I have been in treatment for more than half my life now. And I really feel that it’s a good practice to have a therapist in the backdrop of your life. Just to have someone on your side, in your corner.
See I have mental health issues. A chronic condition that I need to watch out for and add as much prevention to as I can. This means taking care of myself. All of this came to surface at such a young age. I forgot about my mental health issues when I was young. I just figured it was an out of the ordinary experience, and it was time to get a good job in Manhattan and try to improve my position in this world.
But as we all would figure, things come to surface once again. So yes, I had a second bout of psychosis. This time, I decided to just settle down and take the best care of myself that I knew how. This for me, meant going on Social Security Disability and making my psychiatrist and therapist part of my family.
So I have had many therapist and psychiatrist in my life, but getting back to Jackie from Nevada Behavioral Health. Yes, she really proved herself today when I told her all about my pressing issues. Not to mention my hospitalization due to acute psychosis and insomnia.
All of this was really troubling to her because she thought that I was doing so well. This my friends, is how quickly a person can spiral downward. I’m just so blessed for all of my hospitalization and the great professionals that I met that helped me along my way.
I feel that as I get back to my normal self, this go around, I will do so quickly. It’s not going to be a matter of years before I get back to high functioning. I want it now, today, as quickly as possible.
Jackie was outstanding today, she offered me some worksheet to learn from. Not to mention, she asked all of the right questions for me to see for myself how off my behavior was.
We briefly discussed me setting boundaries with people, which was never my strong suit. I simply like to live my life by giving all that I can to help the lives of others. I often times, put myself and my own needs second. And as time, and situations prove, that it’s not the best way to go about handling a situation.
So Jackie emailed me some awesome worksheets on Boundaries. I will read through these and learn from them, and make good use of them. This was not her first time, that she has sent me over learning material. She’s actually a wealth of good information.
About Jackie, I do think I’ll be keeping her for the long run. As she’s just right for me, not to mention we have done a lot of work together. So I will move forward with all that I learn from her.
Embracing the changes that I need to make for myself, and hopefully improved my social interaction with others. I will try to put all that I can into practice.
If you can, find your Jackie in life. Do try to seek the aid of a therapist. For even once a month, or to work through your situations. You may learn that you will be happy when you do.