THE POSITIVE SIDE OF EXPERIENCING ADVERSITY

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF EXPERIENCING ADVERSITY

BY: STEPHANIE ANNE ALLEN

I’ve experienced more adversity in my life than someone who is twice my age!  Been through the darkest and scariest times ever.  There were many years I thought I would not survive.  I believed I was destined to die by my own hands or those of the people I thought wanted me dead.  But with the grace of God, I survived, and I learned to embrace my pain and turn it around into something good, something special, and something worthy.

It all began early in my life.  I went through depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and borderline personality disorder.  I was a complete mess emotionally and mentally.  I survived a variety of symptoms including suicidal thoughts and attempts.   And I also dealt with hallucinations and delusions.  My thoughts were affected and so were my moods.

The depressed times were lonely and dark.  I was also a cutter on top of that.  I remember just begging God to take my life because I just couldn’t deal with the extreme mental mess I had become.  The manic times put others lives at risk.  And the psychotic times could have seriously injured or killed many people. 

I was psychiatrically hospitalized about 20 times in my life and this does not even include the six years I spent at a residential facility.  After I went completely insane and lost my mind, I had to spend over 2 months in jail and a year and a half at a psychiatric prison. 

There were so many times I believed that God just didn’t care, and He wasn’t going to help me.  No one would.  I could not comprehend why God would inflict me with such terrible mental illnesses.  I blamed Him completely for my life being in shambles.  I believed He just didn’t care or love me.   I began to feel like Job had in the Bible.  I was so lost and unable to function in society.

For over half my life I lived in fear.  I felt I would either kill myself and that someone out there would kill me.  Living in fear everyday for so many years is very difficult.  Living in a mental state such as I had, could have killed me or worse, others.   But God began to work miracles in my life when I least expected it.

I could have spent 20 years in prison.  I could have had to stay at the forensics center forever.  I could have been released on a contract.  I could have ended up homeless.  But God took care of me.  And He helped me to obtain a better life!

He brought me through it all.  God helped me find the strength, courage, hope, and faith to overcome it all and achieve a state of mental stability that I hadn’t had since childhood.  And now I am giving back and helping others who suffer like I have.  I have written 5 books on mental health topics.  One memoir and 4 self-help books.  I aim to inspire others through my stories and life experience, and I have.  I have gotten numerous comments from readers who tell me how much of an inspiration I am to them.  One even went as far as to call me her hero. In addition, I have become a NAMI Connections Recovery Support Group Facilitator. 

I now have hopes and dreams for the future.  They may not be what I had planned for my life, which was becoming an oncologist and finding the cure for cancer, but these are the hopes and dreams that God has for me.  It is His will that I must accept.  He wants me to write and help others with mental illness.  And so what choice do I have but to accept God’s will for my life.

I would never be the person I am today without going through all that adversity and pain.  I would never be able to empathize with others.  I would never have the compassion for others that I now do.  Adversity has strengthened my character and made me into a better person.  And that was God’s plan.  He turned my pain into hope.  Hope for my own life and hope for the lives of others.  God is good!

Please remember that even though you think you cannot overcome the pain and make it through, know that you can.  That pain you are feeling now, will be a very humbling experience.  God is molding you into a much greater person.  And that is what He has done for me. . .  Thank you, Lord!

To take a look at all my books, please visit my author page!

link to author's page 

Books include:

My Mental Madness Memoir

How to Survive Depression

How to Survive Bipolar Disorder

How to Survive Schizophrenia

How to Survive Anxiety

Introducing Amazing Book on Anxiety!!

Friends, for those of you was suffer from anxiety or have loved ones who do, I recently published my newest book titled How to Survive Anxiety.  It is the fourth book in the How to Survive Series.  It is proceeded by

• How to Survive Depression
• How to Survive Bipolar Disorder
• How to Survive Schizophrenia.

Also, my first book is titled My Mental Madness Memoir--The provocative true journey of my struggles through mental illness.

You can find all these books available in eBook, paperback, and audiobook versions on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/allenstephanie

GIVEAWAY on MY MENTAL MADNESS MEMOIR

This book takes you deep inside the mind of insanity and the will to persevere!  Please enter for a chance to be selected as a winner.  Feel free to share this link with everyone you know.  Much love to everyone.  Please look out for my next book!

ENTER GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAYS on all books in How to Survive Series

Hello Friends!  I have the pleasure of announcing the giveaways that have just been posted on all 3 books in The How to Survive Series!

• How to Survive Depression
• How to Survive Bipolar Disorder
• How to Survive Schizophrenia

Enter now for a chance to win a FREE eBook copy!  Giveaways end within a week depending on when winners are selected...

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/4500987e5238de39

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/ae279c5d19afe95e

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/b7d4fac273e1b824

All books, including My Mental Madness Memoir, are available in kindle, eBook, paperback, & audiobook versions.  Get yours today!  www.amazon.com/author/allenstephanie

BRAVELY BATTLING BIPOLAR

Bravely Battling Bipolar

By: Stephanie Anne Allen, NAMI Connections Recovery Support Group Facilitator

            Bipolar disorder, often called manic depression, can be a very deliberating illness to such a degree that the individual is unable to function normally in life. The symptoms of bipolar disorder are divided into two categories: depressive symptoms & symptoms of mania.  There are also two types of bipolar disorder.  Bipolar I and Bipolar II.  Also, suffering with the illness is inevitable, but so is the hope of recovery.

            Symptoms of depression include loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable, changes in sleep and eating habits, hopelessness, helplessness, crying spells, and suicidal thoughts and attempts.  Often someone suffering with depression describes that “a dark cloud has distended over their head”.  They often suffer from low self-esteem and self-worth.  They believe that life has no purpose.

            Symptoms of mania include impulsive and risky behavior, with an inflated self-ego and delusions of grandeur.  They may believe that they are a saint or God or have some other “higher status”.  They may spend excessively, gamble away their entire paycheck, or engage in irresponsible sexual behavior.  They may speed to a great degree while driving.

            When an individual experiences both mania and depression at the very same time, it is called a mixed episode and this can be the most dangerous state for a bipolar person to suffer with.  The mania may be saying that they a martyr, while the depression is saying that suicide is not a choice.  Combine both of those and you have a suicidal person who believes that their life’s purpose is suicide and that when they commit it they with be seen as a hero.

            A person with Bipolar I experiences at least one episode of full-blown mania with depression.  While someone diagnosed with Bipolar II has a lesser degree of mania (hypomania) with bouts of depression. 

            Treatment of bipolar symptoms include both psychiatric medications and various forms of therapy.  The meds, normally mood-stabilizers, will level out the symptoms of this mood disorder.  Therapy will help a person to problem solve and turn their lives around.  A combination of both of these things is highly recommended. 

            Recovery is definitely possible.  I am a prime example of someone who achieved recovery through resilience.  If I can overcome this, I know that you can.  You must be strong, and you must never give up.  Someday my friend, you will be “in the light” again.  You can get your life back!  And that is what I wish for you.

(Stephanie Anne Allen is the author of My Mental Madness Memoir, How to Survive Depression, How to Survive Bipolar Disorder, & How to Survive Schizophrenia)

Check out all of Stephanie Anne Allen's Book here!
www.amazon.com/author/allenstephanie

Defeating Devastating Depression

Defeating Devastating Depression

  By Stephanie Anne Allen, NAMI Metro Connections Recovery Support Group Facilitator

I could sit here and quote textbooks, but I want to write this from a “real person” point of view.   Not only do I have a degree in psychology, but I also have much personal experience with mental illness.  I was a victim, and then I became a warrior, and now I am proud to say that I am a survivor. 

Depression is a devastating mental illness that affects millions of people worldwide.  It does not discriminate, affecting all ages, nationalities, social-economic statuses, and both sexes.  It can ruin a person’s life, but only if they allow it too.  There is treatment, and there is hope of recovery. 

The symptoms of depression range greatly among individuals.  Most sufferers state that they “feel extremely sad”.  Others state loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy.  Some comment that their sleep and diet are affected.  Many times, those with depression will say that all they want to do is cry. 

            Many of the depressed find it difficult to do just the basics in life including taking care of themselves, and often times holding a job becomes a great challenge.  They lack the ability to concentrate.  They explain that a “dark cloud” has extended over their heads.  They often lack self-esteem and self-confidence.  They seem to approach life in a negative way.  They often are hopeless and helpless.  They see no purpose to their lives or a reason to be alive.

            Depression can be life threatening, because many people with depression become suicidal with ideations and attempts.  I never want to see it go that far.  I want people with depression to reach out and ask for help.  Most depressed people do not really want to die.  What they do want is help, and many are afraid to ask for it, due partly to the stigma attached with having a mental illness. 

Depression is said to be caused by both environmental and biological components.  I honestly believe that so much more research needs to be done on depression and other mental illnesses.   We seem to be in the “stone-age” when it comes to the knowledge we have on mental conditions.

Please reach out for help if you think you many have this illness.  Be not ashamed.  It is like any other illness.  It is a physical condition that just happens to affect the brain.  And remember that you are not alone and that you can achieve resilience and recovery.

            If you suspect that someone you love suffers from depression, please encourage them to seek treatment, but do not force it upon them.  People with depression often feel like they are not in control of their own lives and if you force them to get treatment they will retaliate by resisting treatment.  Approach them with compassion, understanding, and unconditional love.  This is of the greatest importance.  And if you yourself have been there you can also use an empathetic approach.  That is the most effective way. 

            If someone threatens suicide, please take them seriously.  Maybe you don’t think they’d really ever do it, but when someone says they are going to kill themselves, it is really a desperate call out to you for help.  We have lost so many to this senseless act, and we don’t need to lose any more souls that have purpose and worth in this world.

            Treatment consist of medication and various forms on therapy.  Antidepressant meds are the most effective medication for depression but if other mental conditions exist as well, a combination of different medications can be used in treating the condition(s).

            Therapy can help a person get in touch with themselves and sort out their issues.  It can offer a person to explore problem solving techniques.  A therapist is not there to tell you what to do.  They are there to help guide you and help you to  formulate solutions for yourself. 

            Recovery is definitely possible with meds and therapy.  Please also get involved with others who suffer from depression.  This will help you to not feel so alone and gives you the opportunity to form a reliable support system for when you are in need.

            I hope you feel that I have been “real” with you.  I have been there, and I feel empathy for all those who suffer.  But I also feel great hope that you can, and you will, recover. 

Stephanie Anne Allen is the author of: 

My Mental Madness Memoir

How to Survive Depression

How to Survive Bipolar Disorder

How to Survive Schizophrenia

www.amazon.com/author/allenstephanie