REVscene Automotive Forum - View Single Post - Jan 28 is Bell Let's Talk Day (for mental health)

Zordon · 01-28-2015, 07:03 AM

Hey denham,

Thanks for sharing your story and I do agree it's important for people to be more aware of mental illness.

Here's my story from a different perspective.

My experiences of mental health is from a different point of view. My wife was diagnosed with a severe case of OCD less than a year after we were married. It first started off as a mental break down and she was unable to stop her thoughts from repeating. It was so bad that she was unable to leave the bed panicking about contamination.

At first, I was optimistic that maybe drugs and therapy could help her recover quickly. That definitely wasn't the case as I soon found out after buying books to study her condition and how her mind works. Her symptoms include counting rituals, contamination phobias, insomnia, and general anxiety. As much as I want to be strong and force her to do more things by herself, I became a crunch in some ways. Having seen how fast her mind can spiral, i did my best to try to reduce her anxiety episodes.

A year and a half later, she is still battling with OCD but I can see that her therapy is helping her cope with her struggles. I'm helping less and allowing her to expose herself to different triggering events.

There were times where i thought to myself, what did i do to deserve this? On the opposite spectrum, I thought maybe i'm the only one strong enough to stay and help her through this. Having friends to talk with help but it's hard to find someone who truly understands what i'm going through.

I'm not an expert by any means but if anyone is experiencing mental health issues, you can always PM me for a chat/support.

Please retweet #BellLetsTalk today and raise some money for mental health initiatives.

01-28-2015, 07:03 AM	#2
Zordon I don't get it Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Burnaby Posts: 421 Thanked 317 Times in 120 Posts Failed 62 Times in 6 Posts	Hey denham, Thanks for sharing your story and I do agree it's important for people to be more aware of mental illness. Here's my story from a different perspective. My experiences of mental health is from a different point of view. My wife was diagnosed with a severe case of OCD less than a year after we were married. It first started off as a mental break down and she was unable to stop her thoughts from repeating. It was so bad that she was unable to leave the bed panicking about contamination. At first, I was optimistic that maybe drugs and therapy could help her recover quickly. That definitely wasn't the case as I soon found out after buying books to study her condition and how her mind works. Her symptoms include counting rituals, contamination phobias, insomnia, and general anxiety. As much as I want to be strong and force her to do more things by herself, I became a crunch in some ways. Having seen how fast her mind can spiral, i did my best to try to reduce her anxiety episodes. A year and a half later, she is still battling with OCD but I can see that her therapy is helping her cope with her struggles. I'm helping less and allowing her to expose herself to different triggering events. There were times where i thought to myself, what did i do to deserve this? On the opposite spectrum, I thought maybe i'm the only one strong enough to stay and help her through this. Having friends to talk with help but it's hard to find someone who truly understands what i'm going through. I'm not an expert by any means but if anyone is experiencing mental health issues, you can always PM me for a chat/support. Please retweet #BellLetsTalk today and raise some money for mental health initiatives.