I found 27 keys to better mental health | Opinion
The heaviness of my sigh matched the weight of the steel door that locked behind me with a loud clunk. I hadn’t committed a crime and I wasn’t in jail. I was in a locked hospital psychiatric ward because I had a brain disorder called schizophrenia. The hospital wasn’t a terrible place to be. Unlike in the hellish insane asylums half a century ago, patients weren’t restrained with straightjackets. The awful practice of lobotomy had long since been discarded.
On June 15, 1995, my favorite nurse, Judi, unlocked the door and let me and Pastor Diane out. I went out the revolving hospital door. I never got stuck in it again. I was 35 that day. By God’s grace, today I’m 62. I didn’t do it alone. I had a church family that prayed, listened and showed up at all the right moments. The two friendship quilts that First Mennonite Church of Iowa City gave me remind me of their love. I had support, education and advocacy from the National Alliance on Mental Illness . Goodwill Industries helped me with job coaching and computer training. With support from Weight Watchers, I reversed the weight gain caused by side effects of medicine.
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