Mental Health is Health

Taken from the quarterly newsletter of the  National Alliance on Mental Illness Jacksonville -- December 2023 Those of us  who live with mental illnesses often have “aha moments.”  It may be  something we discovered in therapy. Or something someone said in a support group. Perhaps it jumped out of a book or movie, or hit us when we were just walking down the street.  Aha moments give us insights into our own journeys or offer something practical we can do differently to get better. In my long recovery from disabling depression symptoms, the aha moment that made the biggest difference for me was the simple realization that mental health is health. It involves the brain and body chemistry.  It involves our genes.  It involves the central nervous system. It involves the gut, and more. It may or may not involve a lifelong battle with symptoms that can be constant, come and go, or change. The symptoms can be serious, mild, and everything in between. They ca...