OwlunarSenior Contributor
Aging and Mental Illness
When I was younger my life was an impossible puzzle - my son had an MI and his behaviour worsened, my parents couldn't cope with it and pushed me away - I would not tolerate their behaviour and had enough on my plate and my then-h was totally useless and I had reactive depression and anxiety
There was no doubt why I was suffering - and I can say that I read stories here and know the helplessness people feel - or something similar to what they feel - no story is the same
It was a terribly dark period in my life and lasted for a long time but the good news is that all of those things that happened are still there in my memory but having a new therapist who is really interested in my family and the past is really helping me a lot
And time itself has been helpful - I have had useful and sensitive people in my life - and this has been incredibly lucky - but just time is enough - it has allowed healing and this is something I can share
The things that tortured me in the past bother me less - whether this is the truth that I have had a long life and a strong faith is enough for me to examine the past with this new therapist and find it bothers me less when I have shared - which is painful - but I am going away from my sessions with new strength to make the most of what time is left for my old and my "glass-half-empty" attitude of life helps me to see the best in things
I saw something on TV recently - a medical documentary - can't remember which one - and learned that Mental Illness can be more easily dealt with in later life and that people are less likely to develop Mental Illness
I guess that doesn't mean dementia or issues of elder abuse but rather the things that cause us mental anguish earlier in our lives - and we all have cause for such anguish - we handle things differently which is entirely natural
But with the right help we can put many events to rest with understanding ourselves and the other people in our lives at the time better. I don't think what we learn about the people who hurt us needs to be excused but rather finding reasons does give us some peace
I really hope each one of you can find some hope that your present struggles can find resolution as you grow older - it has for me - and I sometimes wonder where I found the strength to carry on and do all I did for myself and to find a better future. One way was to refuse to tolerate other people's bad behaviour but that can lead to being alone - loneliness perhaps but to me being alone is not lonely often but rather I feel a great sense of freedom in having the honesty and strengths of my own choices
And this has to be good news - I wish the best for everyone of you
Dec
