This last week, I have realized that I needed to take time to mention to one of my treatment team members how thankful I was for them for being a support for me over the past two decades. Believe it or not as I may not have always been able to see how much they have supported me in my journey since being a young man and evolving to the person that I am today, something last week made me see that I needed to tell them “Thank You” for the countless support that they have given me over the course of several years.

While they have not been the only one that has been there at my worst, they have been there the longest and therefore know when things are not right with me. Even as I was planning to evade day services last year without not fully comprehending the plan or actually talking it out with the necessary people, someone else had to make me see how much this one staff person at day services was a support to me and while I was not totally in mind to see that at the time, I eventually saw it and am now proud that I did.

Having support when combatting any mental health or neurological challenges, especially when you are an adult living on your own, such as myself, is essential in keeping things in check and maintaining optimal mental health and adherence to mental health treatment. It is they who see you consistently and know when things are not working for you and can make calls of concern to others on the treatment team so the issue can be addressed.

I used to get angry when this was done and thought of it as a way of others ganging up on me to get what they wanted without seeing the full picture of the situation and that indeed I was not well at the time and that my behavior was scaring them and others who were afraid of what could happen when I was not in their eyesight of supervision. I now see that more and that indeed while I know that I was not doing the right things in caring for myself, it was out of true concern because it was bad and given the wrong preceptors, really bad things could have happened without those supports reaching out and addressing concerns that needed to be addressed.

While those supports can see the challenges, they can also see the good in me too. They see how I can be a role model to others and learn how to navigate the many challenges in life that cross my path with greater ease over time. That others look to me for what life can indeed look like and that I can be the one that shows the way. They remind me of all that I achieved in those days when I could not think of anything good or that things are not the best. I also acknowledge that while I may not have always agreed with their decisions, that I have learned to accept them and be the better person who knows that they know what they are doing. Being through so much in the past year, I have determined that I still need to have support and am grateful for every one of them.