I used to attend a church in my neighbourhood, and I loved a lot of things about it. But it wasn’t a perfect place, and I don’t suspect any place outside of Heaven will be perfect. There were people who looked at me, saw I wasn’t always employed, that I acted strangely sometimes when I was extremely tired and judged me. There used to be a sign for people with schizophrenia where a marionette was hanging by just a few strings, and the title, “Cutting words” was at the top of it. In work and in school, I feel it is so important to be mindful and understanding of the difficulties faced by people with mental health conditions. However, if a person with a diagnosis can meet their peers half way, and develop a thick skin for insults and stigma, it can really help move that person towards a recovery from their illness. It is also important to note that your illness is just that. Yours. You don’t need to share with anyone or tell anyone, certainly not an employer. It may be beneficial to tell some people so they can accommodate your disability, but unless it can pose a risk to others, you are not required to reveal your condition to friends or co-workers unless you want to.
In the end, the church I attended stopped being a place where I found any joy or companionship and I stopped going. A short time later, they were set upon by a plague of termites and rebuilt another church outside of the city (no I am not going to get into any biblical revenge stories here). But I was able to keep up some of the friendships I developed there, and in fact, though it was over 25 years since I attended that church, there is a couple I knew from attending that I will be visiting on the West Coast in a few weeks and I almost can’t wait.
For those who don’t want to listen to the whole podcast, I want to quickly summarize one part of it. If you end up in a hospital for a mental health condition, there is always a transition period going in the hospital and another one coming out. My top suggestion is to exercise as much as possible and use your time to learn more about things like diet and medications. This will help you in many ways, including making you look and feel better, and fitness and diet will help ease your transition out of the hospital.
There are a few things I also suggest for when you are out of the hospital, the first is to take a Life Skills or Communications Course at your local clinic, or perhaps at a nonprofit that serves those with mental health conditions. The Wellness Recovery Action Plan is another course (WRAP) that will greatly benefit your recovery. When you are done these, right away, it is critical to get out into society and feel like you are a valid part of it. Try and get a volunteer job. When you volunteer, you can pick your job and what type of work you want to do. It will greatly benefit you even if you don’t later apply for a paid position somewhere. The volunteer job may also work its way into a paid position if you dedicate yourself to it.
The next step, and this is not for everyone, is to get a paid job. My method of doing this after a hospitalization or period of unemployment is to just get any job. Dishwashing, telemarketing. Some sales jobs require a certain type of person and I think if you aren’t that type of person you shouldn’t worry about taking on a position like this. The important thing is to get experience you can put on your resume. Work the new paid job for a few weeks, develop a good relationship with your boss, and put the feelers out on other positions. Do all that, and remember that more can be required of you in a paid position, but more will be given. Stick it out. Tell yourself you will try for one month and at the end of that try for three months. After this time, you will find you have adjusted to and accepted the life of a working person and you will have many new opportunities open up for you.
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