I deal with anger and stress management on a daily basis. Dealing with my illness is not easy for me; I’ve been on the road to recovery for a while now. I try to express my concerns and feelings on paper. It is very hard for me to express them out loud to others.

I am currently enrolled in recovery classes at Northern Lakes Community Mental Health in the Houghton Lake office. Whenever I get stressed or upset about something, I try to work it out using journaling or working on my hobbies. I try to relieve my stress by sewing or doing some crafts or plastic canvas work. I also have been teaching myself how to knit. I like doing some work in my garden, needle crafts, painting, sewing, cooking and baking, and scrapbooking. I also like taking road trips downstate to visit my family and friends, playing games on the computer, reading, writing letters to the ones I love, taking pictures with my camera, drawing and coloring. All these things help me feel good about myself.

I am also learning other ways to raise my self-esteem so I can live a better lifestyle. I know I need to avoid people and things that lower my level of confidence and do things that help me feel good about myself. I enjoy going to the groups that meet at Northern Lakes and sometimes I volunteer at an area resale store. I also share my problems with my mother and she is understanding and has a way with her words that inspire me to keep working hard towards my recovery process. I also would like to thank my Case Manager, Julie; Dr. Melvin; Barb, the Nurse; and Andrea from Riverhouse for everything they have done for me.

I have four pets – three cats and one dog – and they help me unwind every morning and afternoon and are very precious to me. My fiancé and his family are very supportive in helping me stay on my journey. I have learned that sometimes we all need help and CMH opened the door to help me begin my recovery process, but I was the one who had to decide that I wanted to walk through that door to start the next step. I am happy with the way things are going for me and I will continue my progress.