It has taken me a long way to get to where I am today. There were times when I was acting in an unbelievable way. Many times, the immediate answer was to put me on a psychiatric hold for one reason or another. I often learned how to climb the ladder in those situations. I found ways to discharge myself. Once, I made an unhealthy decision to discharge myself from a psychiatric facility. I used the power of having consent at the age. That would later come back to bite me in ways that it still does to this day. In time, I realized the importance of staying well. I learned to do what is necessary to avoid returning to the hospital permanently.

It has been a long time since I have been in a psychiatric hospital. Still, there have been times when I have been pretty close to getting to that point. Thankfully, I have a great support system that has allowed me to bounce back each time even better. But I know the reality is still there. If I do not take care of myself, something like that can happen. I know the things I need to cope would be very limited. Being integrated with others who have complex issues is not the most ideal situation for me.

I was placed in psychiatric hospitals and later in a residential treatment facility. I held a great deal of resentment towards my parents for what they had done. Even in the past few years as my mother had to become a full-time caregiver to my father. She reminded me of how much my father did not want me in such a placement. He strongly believed that being at home as a family unit was a necessity after treatment. He was the one who always saw the real potential in me. I couldn’t see it at times.

I fought through everything. Having as many people support me as possible made me the person that I am today. I learned the dangers of not taking care of myself. This lesson came the hard way over the past few years. I greatly valued understanding what was necessary to stay well each day. It was difficult to do. Even as hard as it was to see about my family, we never gave up. We continue to fight for what we need to do. No matter how hard it is, we persevere. We make do with what we have to make sure that happens.

Life can be hard now. But I know how valuable it is to have the things in my life. They give much support. This support lets me do the things I need to do to be successful in life. Every day I become stronger. I discover more and more about myself. I allow myself to see my potential. I avoid falling back into old ways because I know how unhealthy that would be for me.