As life has continued to evolve over the course of my independence, I am comprehending more the realities and dangers of doing the dangerous things that I have done that have made me mentally unwell and realizing the importance of things that are necessary for me to live a stable life.

Over the last few years, I have lived a very unstable life. It has involved me not adhering completely to my medication regimen. Until recently, I have not fully understood how not being adherent will eventually have consequences that can be detrimental in the end. Regardless of what my brain wants to think, adhering to my medication regimen is a must do in my life and I must do whatever needs to be done to make sure that I take all my medications in the way that I need to.

The most important thing that allowed me to fully understand the importance of fully adhering to my medication regimen was understanding and accepting things that while there are side effects to the medication, they do not in any way interfere with my well-being. I have been on the same medication for over two decades and despite overall side effect of being overweight, all other side effects in no way affect my ability to live the life that I know I can live.

While indeed I am overweight. I am in all other ways healthy physically. Regardless, it is important for me to work towards being physically active on a consistent basis along with eating healthy to counteract the weight gain as best as possible. If it is an issue, then I must address it properly. I do realize that it is unhealthy to be at the size that I am, however, I must do what is necessary for me to be well by taking care of all dimensions of my well-being.

It is important to remember that it took place in a residential facility to find the right cocktail of medication that has been proven to work for me. Even though I have had different psychiatrists over those years, the medications have been a constant in my life. As routine blood draws have occurred, there may have been a need from time to time to change the dosage.

Some of the best advice that I can give is to document relative factors that you feel are affecting you while feeling like something is not right or that something needs to be changed. However, one thing that must be fully understood is the fact that you should never change anything regarding your medication without talking to your doctor first. When you meet with your doctor, they are being paid to manage your medication, they are there to help you in your journey and just because you feel that you may not need a medication is not totally your decision. Especially in my case as things have been proven to work well when I am fully adherent. If that is the case, then there is no reason to change.