So when I first got sick, I had two hospitalizations back to back. I mean, it was within a month that I was hospitalized twice. I came out of that and realized this is something that I need to figure out with the help of psychiatrists and therapists.

I think it takes time to get to a good combination of things to manage your mental health. I think that in the beginning, when you’re first diagnosed, there’s a lot of stress and a lot of fear, but once you work with your doctor to find the medication that works for you and you are able to get on a good recovery path, the next component is adding in the total wellness. Like adding in exercise every day and looking at your diet and really making changes that can lead to a really healthy lifestyle. People think, "Oh well, I only have 15 minutes - I don’t have time to exercise." But 15 minutes can make a big difference. So go for a walk and get some fresh air, get some sunshine.

With psychiatry being such a complicated, intense field I feel like sometimes the doctors do have to guess and say let’s try this and see if it works. But you also have to be willing to put in the work yourself.