The life of a person with a mental illness is often accompanied by the necessity of taking prescription medications.
My name is Matthew McAllum, I am 50 years old. I have been on mental health medication since 1991. I was raised in a Christian family in Dunedin, New Zealand until I was twelve-years-old when, in 1980, I moved to Hong Kong with my family.
I learned much in Hong Kong, especially about living with other cultures.
I returned to New Zealand in 1984, after a holiday encompassing many countries, including the U.S.A. and Europe; then boarding at Nelson College, in Nelson for three years learning about New Zealand again. I then moved to Auckland to live with my family.
I now have a job as a cleaner in a very large retail and wholesale bakery in the suburb of Mount Wellington.
I live in a group of flats in Mount Wellington under the auspices of Community of Refuge Trust, having done so for approximately 7 years.
Here are some things I would like to share about having a mental illness.
Mental Illness
The life of a person with a mental illness is often accompanied by the necessity of taking prescription medications.
These usually come with some unwanted side-effects, for example
- sweatiness
- headaches
- over-eating
All of these can seem like a terrible compromise for obtaining clarity in one’s thinking but it must be borne-in-mind that this is for our benefit.
Think: “No pain, no gain!”
You’re going to need to be in it for the “long-haul”.
I’m afraid you can’t say to yourself, “I give up on this stuff … “, or you won’t see any results.
There is a “light at the end of the tunnel” however, so keep the hope alive and you shall experience some sort of normalization of your thoughts and towards your medications which you are taking.
If you begin to feel like, “this isn’t getting me anywhere!” seek some help from someone you can trust to share your personal information with.
This could be a psychiatrist, a friend, a relative, a family member or a counselor.
Keeping yourself healthy
Try to keep yourself healthy by doing these things
- Eating the right food (e.g. not fattening ones, like chips) and drinking healthily (i.e. avoiding alcohol, sugary drinks and limiting your caffeine intake).
- Doing some type of physical exercise (even going for a walk two or three times a week is beneficial).
- Treat yourself occasionally, but if your medication makes you want to eat too much, try to limit spending money on food.
- Doing a fun activity also helps to keep your mind from going back to yourself and your problems. Going into a natural environment can be an effective way of having fun, or completing a quiz, or whatever you like to do. At least get outside for a walk now and then!
Another thing to know is that we do have a Father who understands our pain. He went through it too – when Jesus, his only Son, was on the cross two thousand years ago.
If we ever feel lonely, bewildered or in pain, all we need to do is take it to Him, our Father, in Jesus Name.
I always like to pray by praising God first, secondly to thank Him and thirdly to present my needs or problems to Him. He will then solve them for us.
Matthew McAllum 
