As mental health awareness month draws to a close, my view on my mental illness is that it's not going to go away. I have learned to live with it as peacefully and effectively as I can. The idea that I am going to wake up one day and not have mental illness is highly unlikely, and that was so damned difficult to accept. But with acceptance came a new determination, an infusion of energy, and an uncanny ability to think outside the box.
It becomes not about extinguishing symptoms but about living harmoniously with them. I think this is where many psychiatrists, mental-health-care workers, and many who have mental illness may have it wrong.
For example, I do not need to learn to go into a crowded store that is frightening and overwhelming to me when there are other stores that carry the same product. My measure of success is not whether I can go into scary stores; my measure of success is in finding innovative ways to live effectively and joyously, with the symptoms that I have.