Loretta’S Journey Continues

By Loretta Knapp

I wrote this book in the interest of other people who are dealing with some type of mental illness like me. I encourage them to seek help and build up a support team, my only wish is that Family members reach out their hands to help you or whomever is suffering mental illness to help them cope. I hope you enjoy reading this 2nd book and find it helpful. I found this book to give me hope and put me on the road to recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490767123

Loretta Knapp

I’m Loretta, I’ve dealt with mental illness for a long time since I was a child. The struggles that I went through and hurdles I jumped over. I received help with my mental illness with outside support. I hope that my journey will continue to get better as it goes on and I learn to accomplish many more things in life. I’ve made progress, I’m a better person. I understand my illness better with support. One problem I had was getting a new car and the expense to fit into my budget and I’m doing fine, I have 4 more years to pay on it.

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Copyright 2015 Loretta Knapp.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6713-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6712-3 (e)

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Contents

I’ve come a long Way

Taking Medication Has Its Good And Bad Things About It.

Living With Depression 4-26-12

When People Ask Me How Am I? 10-2-12

Life 11-26-12

What Does Watching and Playing a Sport Mean TO Me 3-12-2013

D0 I Like This Person Who She Really Is 5-8-13

Mental illness

Christmas 2012

New Year 2013

Pastor Forry and Janice Forry 1-4-13

Addictions 1-21-2013

Dad 2-3-2013

My Fantasy of What Heaven Would Look Like If I Make It There 2-13-2013

Hearing Voices 3-21-2013

I’m Sorry

Having a Support Team 4-5-13

Some Things I Have To Learn To Live With 4-14-2013

Finding Yourself 04-17-2013

Functioning With Mental Illness 4-23-13

DO I like this person for who she really is? 05-08-2013

How Gale and I Became Friends 5-9-13

Recovery 6-1-13

Hope 6-4-13

When Debbie and I Became Friends, 6-13-13

How My Mom Would Want Us To Remember Her By

A Cry for Help7-5-13

Loretta’s Not A Little Girl Any More 7-10-13

Life Has ITS Moments 8-4-13

Soon to be 55 8-21-2013

Eulogy for My Brother John 9-02-2013

Grieving 9-2 13

Noah Built an Ark 10-6-13

Faith Hope and Love 10-12-13

Having Mental Illness Is Hard To Live With

Sleep 11-28-13

Christmas 12-28-13

How Did I Bring 2014 In?

I Started the New Year Off On the Wrong Foot 1-25-14

Missing My Dad 2-3-14

Life 2-10-14

Some Places I Can Go To Get A Smile 3-4-14

Pain 3-8-14

Motivation 3-13-14

Stress 3-16-14

I Take a Look in the Mirror 4-12-14

Coping 4-12-14

Losing my mom 4-30-14

How My Mom Would Want Me To Remember Her? 5-15-14

How Hard It Is Coming Down From a High 7-13-14

Fighting 7-28-14

My Birthday Turning 56 8-18-14

Thinking About You John 8-26-14

Dealing with Mental Illness and Losing Weight Is A CONSTANT Battle 2-20-15

Who Am I? 3-10-15

Birthdays 8-24-15

My Journey 9-11-15

I’ve come a long Way

I’m 54 and I think I’ve come a long way. You may not see it but I have and I think Pat my therapist would agree with me. I’ve managed to keep my new apartment for 3 years, I see Pat every 2wks instead of once a week I still sign a no harm contract with her but that’s so I don’t harm myself in any way like suicide.

Since my mom has been in a nursing home I’m accepting it better and learning to adjust to her illness as well.

A while back my one case worker put me on a budget since then I’ve been able to save money, before I was living from pay check and till the end of the month I only had a few dollars in my savings account, now its built up.

Another thing I’m doing is volunteering at my church Saint John Gualbert. I enjoy doing it very much it makes me feel good. As I said in my first book I get a chance to talk to Irene and Dorothy two very nice people.

I have a peer specialist and a blended case manager come to my apartment to help me with different things. Pat and my blended case manager say I could become a peer specialist, I say no I still have a hard time handling my problems.

As for my friends I try to keep in touch with them as much as possible, without my friends who know where I’d be.

And then there’s my family but I’m always calling them, like the saying goes you can pick your friends, don’t get me wrong I like my family but there different.

Taking Medication Has Its Good And Bad Things About It.

For me its helps me cope with my depression, and mood swings, and anxiety. I know I’ll be on medication the rest of my life, but that’s okay as long as long as it keeps me alive. One thing I don’t like about the medicine is the side effects some are weight gain, nausea, loss of appetite, crying hallulation, muscles stiffness, dry mouth and many more, I’ve had some of these and there not fun. Medication can help you too lead a so called normal life.

For me it consist of getting up in the morning, taking a shower, eating breakfast, wait for my peer specialist Helen to come to do some work, when she leaves I have lunch, go for a walk on a nice day, come home talk to Gale my friend and then my other friend Martha comes up and we talk after she