Over the course of my journey, I have had opportunities to meet some amazing people. They too, have gone through big challenges, but have found ways to make it through. Karen Tyrrell is one of those wonderful, courageous people and I invited her to share her story with you here.
Karen's book ME AND HER: A Memoir of Madness is now available to read and I have enjoyed getting to know this amazing lady. Thank you very much Karen for sharing your journey.
My
TRIUMPH over Mental Illness … Karen Tyrrell
My name’s Karen Tyrrell,
author of Me and Her: A Memoir Of
Madness. I’ve triumphed over mental illness and I share my story of hope
and Recovery.
How
did I become Mentally Ill?
As a teacher, I was repeatedly
harassed and stalked by my parents of one of my students. Each day they wreaked
verbal, written and psychological abuse. I developed severe stress, jaw
clenching anxiety, night terrors and long term sleep deprivation until I could
take no more. I escaped and ran to a lonely motel. Eventually police found me,
incarcerating me in a psyche hospital.
How
did I Recover from severe mental illness and Transform my life?
My first step was to embrace
my diagnosis of bipolar disorder and learn everything about my illness. I was determined
to recover and return home to full mental health and to teaching my class of
year two students again. Mental illness is like any other illness … it has
symptoms, diagnosis, treatment … and most importantly Recovery.
How
did I Reclaim my life?
I radically changed my daily
routines into ultra-healthy ones and learned how to balance my emotions. I developed
a proactive wellness plan with a repertoire of coping strategies to counter-act
the early warning signs of stress and insomnia.
I
embraced the eastern philosophy of Mindfulness, learning to live in the NOW. I
empowered myself with potent visualization techniques, rehearsing positive
outcomes, facing life’s challenges head-on. Each day I scribbled down how I was
feeling, expressing my angst, literally writing my way to recovery.
I’ve
come so far along my journey to Recovery but realise so many out there are
still grappling with stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia, addictions and
mental health issues. My dream is that
Me and Her will open up discussions
on mental illness and mental health, providing hope and a guide to recovery for
those dealing with their issues.
I’m proud to say, I’m
now a pro-active mental health advocate, public speaker, workshop presenter, coordinator
of Logan City Writers collective and the writer of six books. If I can recover
from the depths of severe psychosis and mania, think of what YOU can achieve in
your life.
Please go to Karen’s website
www.karentyrrell.com to subscribe to her
FREE mental health Me and Her newsletter.
Just leave a comment on the contact page. Please join Karen’s Facebook page, Karen
Tyrrell Author. http://www.facebook.com/karenwrites19
What would you like to ask Karen?
Thanks so much Ros for requesting me to Guest Blog about my triumph over mental illness and my journey to recovery.
ReplyDeleteIf any of your readers would like to ask a questions I'm here *LIVE* on line to answer their queries.
cheers,
Karen :)
It's my pleasure I so much enjoy hearing of others courage and victories with our challenges. Love reading the book.
ReplyDeleteGreat job. Thanks again for sharing. Cheers
Ros
Thanks Ros for your fabulous *5 STAR* review of ME & HER: a Memoir Of Madness over at Goodreads yesterday. I'm thrilled you LOVED it :)Here's the link to my Reviews for your readers...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13568261-me-and-her
I'm here to answer your readers questions ...
Awesome!!!
DeleteIf you could recommend one particular thing to help what would it be?
ReplyDeleteThanks Ros,
ReplyDeleteEveryone should have their own Wellness Plan, a repetoire of coping skills to make you resilient to life's little and BIG challenges.
Karen :)
You are so right Karen. I found that going for a walk, being gentle as much as I could. If I felt need to go to sit and be near the ocean or be surrounded by nature I did it. It is up to us to look after our self and listen to our intuition and do what is right for our self, as we are all unique. Thanks Ros
DeleteDid you find people treated you differently once you were diagnosed?
ReplyDeleteMy family and friends were relieved that I was getting treatment.
ReplyDeleteI kept my diagnosis guarded from strangers.
Three years ago I "came out" on my website. I shared how I RECOVERED from mental illness and now I'm a pro-active mental health advocate helping others on their journey to recovery.
http://www.karentyrrell.com
Mental illness is like any other illness ... it has symptoms, diagnosis, treatment... and most importantly RECOVERY.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had an episode since 2006. What would you like to ask about HOW I recovered?
It is fabulous that you have not had an episode since 2006 how did you continue to stay balanced and what do you do each day to remain ok?
DeleteI radically changed my daily routines into ultra-healthy ones and learned how to balance my emotions. I developed a proactive wellness plan with a repertoire of coping strategies ... how to de-stess and to sleep better
DeleteI embraced the eastern philosophy of Mindfulness, learning to live in the NOW. I empowered myself with potent visualization techniques, rehearsing positive outcomes, facing life’s challenges head-on. Each day I scribbled down how I was feeling, expressing my angst, literally writing my way to recovery.
Karen,
ReplyDeleteThese are all wonderful thoughts and practices to do each day. Eckhart Tolle helped me to focus on the NOW and living today is a daily practice.
Thanks for sharing your journey.
Ros
I Read Eckardt Tolle's book too. Loved it. So many lessons to be learned. Karen:)
Delete