Sharing Is Caring - Joyce And Her Story
- by Joyce Savage
- Jul 10, 2017
- 2 min read
Sharing is caring. And it is through sharing that we help people and change lives. It is important for all of us with mental health issues to know we are not alone in our own struggles and there are others like us who need support too. We can learn so much from each other!
That's why I want to introduce to you a new type of posts I am starting - SHARING IS CARING featuring guest bloggers posts. In this series I will be inviting other people with mental illnesses to share their stories and things they have experienced. I have the honor to introduce to you Joyce, my fist guest blogger. This is her story.
With love,
Sofia Blue
My name is Joyce Savage. I have suffered with Borderline Personality Disorder, depression and anxiety for a couple of decades now. I am going to try to concentrate on my depression for this post.
I started suffering from depression badly as a teenager. I was not popular and was bullied verbally mercilessly. It got so bad that I became agoraphobic after I graduated from high school. After a few years of that, I couldn’t take any more. I had been in touch with a school counsellor through my old English teacher. I ran into the guidance office crying. A lady asked me if I was Joyce. I said “Yes” It was the counsellor I’d been in touch with. She asked me what was wrong. I told her I felt like I was dying. I was dying inside. She got me signed up with Community Mental Health. There was a six-month waiting list. Sadly, there’s still a six-month waiting list today.
Eventually, I started seeing someone at CMH and started on antidepressants, along with something for my anxiety. The first antidepressant I took I believe was Risperdal (Risperdone). It made my vision blurry. I went off that and tried another one. This one worked. Over the years, I’ve been on a few different meds. I am currently on Cymbalta and Abilify. The Abilify is supposed to make the Cymbalta work better. So far we have found a dose that works for me. I am on 60 mg of Cymbalta and 10 mg of Abilify. I don’t know if I’ll need to be on them forever or not but if so, that’s ok with me. Some people need insulin every day for their diabetes; I need meds every day to control my depression.
I still have occasional bad days; my life isn’t perfect. But the good days definitely outweigh the bad ones. I hope that if you’re suffering from depression (or any mental illness), that you find something that works for you. There is help out there. There is some stigma out there regarding mental illnesses and medication but it’s a lot better than it used to be. We’ve come a long way. But we can do even better. We can spread the word about mental illness. The more we share our stories, the more we break down stigma.
Feel free to check out my blog on BPD!
Thank you for reading.
Joyce.
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