It has been a difficult journey, but I am proud to share my story about overcoming behavioral health and dual diagnosis. A few years ago, I was lost with no direction in life and felt like I had reached a dead end. Being surrounded by chaos due to external life events had taken its toll on me mentally, and left me feeling completely overwhelmed.
I knew that something was off with myself but didn’t know where to start the journey to recovery. After some encouragement from friends and family, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give mental health treatment a try. It was scary at first because I honestly hadn’t done anything like this before, but it all turned out better than expected in the end.
Within my first sessions, I started to gain control over the symptoms of my behavioral health challenges as well as come to terms with my dual diagnosis. With medication management and regular cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions, there was an improvement in how I felt each day - it was amazing! I credit CBT for helping me learn better communication skills, change distorted thinking patterns, develop stronger coping strategies for dealing with stressful life events, as well as cope with difficult emotions. For anyone who is looking for mental health treatment options- CBT has definitely been worth it for me!
Unsurprisingly managing both behavioral health issues at once can be traumatizing so getting help is essential. Through recovery, I have become more understanding not only of myself but others in similar situations which is very rewarding. My mental health journey hasn’t been easy but the outcome was absolutely worth it- giving you hope that you too will find peace again.