Julie
“There is no line in the sand between mentally ill and mentally well, with everyone belonging on either one side or the other. I see our mental and emotional functioning as a continuum, a line like a piece of string. Those who operate within the mid-section of the line are the ‘functional majority’ and those who operate a little further out, at either end at any given time, are less functional. Much of my life has been spent at the extreme ends, swinging back and forth.”
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“Many people have simply not believed that I am mentally ill – surely, I was simply moody and lacking in self-control. Those that did believe I had a mental illness thought of me as ‘crazy’ and avoided me at all costs. So many well-intentioned people believed that I could be completely healed simply by following their advice and applying willpower. It’s mind over matter, apparently.
Needless to say, they were extremely disappointed with me when I failed.”
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“I have been heavily medicated, institutionalised and locked in padded cells. I’ve been desperate to die many times, simply to end the pain. It was so severe that I believed I’d be driven mad by it. I was prescribed up to seventy-five tablets a day to keep me stable, and have tried too many different medications over the years to count. The side effects that accompanied those early drugs were something to behold. To this day there are long periods of my life of which I have no recollection. There are years that have been completely lost but, by the grace of God, I got by.”
Sonya Melbourne
A current member of the Australian Society of Authors and SCBWI, Sonya is a serious and committed author, who treats writing as a business as well as a passion.
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Her mother’s comment that her life was ‘filled with joy’ was what inspired author Sonya Melbourne to write a book about a lifelong struggle her mother has fought with mental illness.
Inspired Recovery will be a compilation of true stories from those diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who have achieved happiness and success in their lives. In short, Inspired is about the triumph of the human spirit.
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