I write about my many health challenges and life struggles in my posts not to ask for pity. I write about them to show you how life’s challenges can make being in recovery or reaching for recovery a challenge. Learning how to cope with what life throws at us takes us a step higher above the dark hole of mental illness. It is easy to fall into negativity, hopelessness, and sadness when things go wrong and when life piles on one problem after another. It takes a strong person to take the steps to lift ourself up higher into the light.

When things go wrong, they seem to happen all at once, and when you have mental illness, it can be very overwhelming. It’s overwhelming for anyone to handle rough times, but it is worse when you have mental illness. It’s easy to see the worst scenario of your situation and to block out the good. This can lead to excessive worrying, crying, anger, and despair. It’s okay to have feelings and to get down when so many things go wrong, but we can’t allow ourselves to dwell in those emotions. We must lift ourselves up and push forward.

I’m going through one of those times when everything seems to be going wrong. Our SUV keeps having problems, our dog has a sore leg, I have several medical tests this month, I have a hint of glaucoma, bills keep coming up, and there isn’t enough money to pay for them all. I have been worrying about everything going on and I have cried in my husband’s arms. Everything seems hopeless.

This last week I was on vacation, and we didn’t have enough money to do much. I spent a couple of days being lazy and in the dumps about our situation, but I didn’t spend the whole time dangling over the hole of depression. Tuesday my husband and I took a ride to Conneaut, Ohio which is about forty-five minutes from our home. On Wednesday we spent the day with my older sister. We splurged on going to a fast-food restaurant with my sister and we took her to a few stores. It was fun spending time with her. The point is I didn’t spend my whole vacation dwelling on all the problems my husband and I are facing.

I also used coping techniques to deal with our hardships. I have called or texted people on my support teams. I have journaled out my feelings and listed the positives in my life. Plus, I’ve kept myself busy doing things I love and that relax me. I wrote three pages in my next memoir, and I’ve done some woodburning. Writing is my passion, and it makes me happy to be able to tell my story. I also love to plan out a woodburning project and work to make it look beautiful. It’s exciting and rewarding. Both my writing and my woodburning take me away from my problems for a while.

Doing each of my coping techniques helps me step up higher above the hole. Yes, I am in recovery, but I’m not cured. Even though I am happy with my life, I fight and cope each day to remain in recovery. Some days are harder than others, and when life throws everything at me at once, it threatens my ability to stay strong. It’s up to me to take the steps that will lift me up and help propel me forward.

Being in recovery isn’t a matter of being happy and never struggling again. Instead, it’s a matter of taking steps each day that lift us up a little higher and keep us from tumbling down the hole of despair. It’s about facing hard times and allowing ourselves to feel sad, angry, frustrated and so on. Then we can use coping techniques to deal with those feelings. It’s a matter of pushing ourselves to fight to stay in the light. It’s about our strength being tested daily, but having enough determination to push back. Recovery is wonderful, but it is also work. It’s worth every step and struggle you put into it.

Reaching for recovery is a long and hard road to take. It doesn’t happen overnight. Finding the right medicine, fighting an awful illness, learning new ways of thinking, and learning how to cope are all hard to handle and takes determination. It may take years of ups and downs to reach recovery, but it’s worth taking the steps to lift yourself up higher. Life’s unexpected challenges will pop up on your road and threaten to detour you, but you can and will push past them. You can succeed and reach recovery no matter how hard life can be if you have the determination to take the steps.

Never let life’s challenges get in the way of your recovery or your steps to recovery. You are strong, you are important, you are worth it, and you do deserve recovery. Fight for your happiness because you deserve to keep stepping up higher into the light. You are a special individual who deserves to shine. Stand up and fight.

Times are tough right now for my husband and me, but I won’t let it get me down. I’m going to keep fighting and taking the steps that lift me up. Because I take the steps to lift me up, I stand determined in the light of recovery.