The Long Journey Toward Mental Health

By Peggy Rice

I just returned home last night after a 5-day journey across the country. From Colorado to Wisconsin and back again, almost 2300 miles. I want to use that trip to draw some parallels to our journey from mental illness to mental health. This is for those who struggle with mental health challenges, but also applies to those who love someone in such a battle.

The Journey Can Feel Long

It took only 5 days to go and come home, but each day felt like it would never end! This can be true when we walk the journey of mental health – days drag on – day after day of fighting the depression or the anxiety or whatever the symptoms may be. It seems like there is no end in sight! Moments become minutes which become hours, which become days, weeks, months, sometimes years. For some people, mental health challenges may be a life-long journey – often 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. Will the end of the road ever come into view?

While it’s hard to think of waiting a lifetime for relief, for many, the experience is not life-long, but has a beginning and an end. Maybe it’s just one episode. Maybe it starts in the teen years, then comes back in mid-life. And we can know that the journey will eventually have an end. When we reach heaven, we will be completely healthy. No mental illness, no emotional struggles. Complete and whole.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV  Of course, mental health struggles don’t feel light and momentary. But when compared to an eternity with Christ, they are just a blip in time.

Don’t Go It Alone

This cross-country trip had me and my husband in the front seats. On my mental health journey, I had my husband, sister, best friend, church friends, therapist, psych doc, general doc, plus many old friends from where I had previously lived, who I reached out to via emails. I was not alone, though it sure felt like it at times! But the truth is, there were people who cared about me, who prayed for and with me, who encouraged me.

I highly encourage you to find someone, or some people, who can walk your mental health journey with you. Find a safe person – someone who is willing to walk the long journey. A pastor, or Bible Study teacher, or girlfriend, or family member. Certainly a therapist and psych doc. Fresh Hope (freshhope.us) has online support groups, if you can’t find anyone in your area.

Take Breaks

It was important on our car trip that we stopped to go the bathroom and stretch our legs. Every couple of hours! We need to do the same thing as we journey with mental health struggles. Build in some time and space to think about something other than your mental health challenge. Volunteer someplace, go to the library, walk around a pond, stretch before getting into bed – anything to break the normal routine.

Be Kind To Yourself

On our trip, our mornings started pretty early, but I am not a morning person, so I often took a nap or two along the way. We drank water, and ate snacks (both healthy and a little junk food).  Same for the mental health journey: take naps, eat healthy, stay hydrated, allow yourself a treat (Is it chocolate? Ice cream? – just a little!).

Medicine Can Help

A couple of times, I took a pain reliever before I went to bed – my body was sore from being cramped in the car for so many hours, and I had kinks that stretching didn’t relieve. Often in mental health struggles, a prescription from your general or psych doc might be helpful to get your brain working right again, to get those neurons firing the way they’re supposed to. Medicine doesn’t fix it all, but I found that it lifted me up enough from the depths of despair to allow me to begin to think clearly, and to have the ability to work on my thoughts and stop the ruminating.

 There May Be Moments of Joy – Celebrate Them!

One night, we stopped at my parents’ house for a few hours, and got to visit and eat dinner together. Another night, we were with my sister-in-law. And another with my daughter and son-in-law. There was laughter, and relaxing together. This interruption to the journey can happen in mental health, too. Not all days, not all moments, are down and dark, or full of anxiety. Even if it’s just a brief reprieve, allow yourself to enjoy it. While you may not celebrate it like you would without a mental health challenge, even a little celebration of the change in routine is healthy. And in fact, as you heal, there will be more of those moments and less of the hard ones!

Certainly, the journey we walk from mental illness to mental health is not easy. But we do not walk it alone. Jesus is with us every step of the way. And there are things we can do that will aid in our healing, and make the journey bearable, even productive.

At the end of your journey, you will have a story to tell. Of God’s faithfulness to you as you walked along toward mental health.

Peggy has been involved with Fresh Hope as a Group Facilitator for 5 years and as the Hope Coach trainer for 3. You can reach her at peggy@freshhope.us