Mentally healthy or healthily mental?

So. I have a mental health problem.

I don’t know what it is. I don’t like labelling myself as one thing or another.

But I do have a mental health problem.

The sequence of events was, I went to a headache doctor because I was getting really bad migraine and possibly I would need an MRI to check if the insides of my head were all in there. When we got there, the doctor’s office had this really big and beautiful fish tank. Now, I brought my partner for help translating, but I usually try to do the talking about my own health myself. However, at this time, I did not focus AT ALL. The fish were just way too distracting. And my partner mentioned that this happens all the time.

..so the doctor advised us to go upstairs and see another type of doctor…

And we went. And I talked. And I talked. And talked. And filled out a survey. And talked some more. And had a panic attack. And talked some more. And now, a few months later, it turns out that I am on the AD spectrum of the ADHD thingy and somewhere else entirely on the ASD autism gooby.

This little journey of self discovery has been taking over my life in best way possible. Suddenly there are things in my life that made sense. Why have I been feeling this way and not this other “normal” way. Why do I react this way and not that way in this situation. I just thought I was scatterbrained and tended to “zone out” and that it was just my personality and there is nothing to do about it. Turns out there is PLENTY to do about it.

And the point for me is this: I got very lucky. This mental health doctor only speaks Japanese, but I have a loving partner to translate for me when I cannot.

I always thought that it would cost an arm and a leg to see one of these guys, but it turns out that he takes my insurance card gladly! Each session only costs me around 1800 yen and I go to him every two weeks now.

I still haven’t gotten to trying ADHD medicine, as it needs a process and a half to do, but I am still on this ongoing journey, and I will see it to the end. I got some SSRI stuff, which has improved my mood by 80% so far!

So, yeah. If nothing else, it is always, always, ALWAYS worth it to talk to someone about your mental health. You might discover something about you that you may never know otherwise.

As for myself, I am feeling a lot better so far. And I have just begun.