My travels down the path of mental illness towards wellness and health.

Thank you for such a brave and honest article. Your experiences have helped you develop a special understanding and empathy with your patients. Your insight is remarkable and I wish you nothing but the best in both your career and personal life.

What an odyssey you have been through, and what an inspiration you are to all of us who live with this vicious, rotten, evil, sneaky, frustrating, and yet intriguing disorder. Thank you for sharing your story!!!

It take courage to share this, and I would like to commend you for it. It is such a privilege to read this. Thank you.

Very nice article. I'm glad you were able to recognize what was going on and get help. Good for you.

Quote from dolcebellalunait was learning the nursing interventions that made everything come full circle in my head. It was the group projects about coping skills that had me applying my classwork to my mundane life outside of the classroom. It turned on a switch that triggered me to seek wellness and health and to organize the clutter inside my head.

It will always sting when I hear a co-worker say, "Oh that patient is just attention seeking." (Maybe if you pay attention to what they're doing or saying, rather than how that makes you feel, you'll remember that they're in the hospital for a reason.) I'll bite my tongue when I get told, "That patient needs PRNs around the clock because they're out of control." (Is there something that's triggering them that we should be more mindful of? Are we doing our best to notice warning signs and address them *before* the patient gets out of control?)It is one of my "chalk on the blackboards" things. You have explained clearly and so well what it is like on the other side. Your skill and determination are to be commended.Great article.