Having a mental health condition can be tough. It’s easy to feel hopeless and wonder if you’ll feel this way forever. Wouldn’t it be great if it could just… go away? Sadly, it doesn’t really work that way—but that doesn’t mean you’ll always feel the way you do now.

Treatment vs. cure

When someone is cured from an illness, it means it’s gone forever. Some illnesses can’t be cured—like diabetes. Once a person gets diabetes, they’ll have it for the rest of their life. But even a lifelong illness like diabetes can be treated. People who take their medications regularly and make some lifestyle changes can live long and healthy lives. These medications and lifestyle changes are treatments for diabetes.

Mental illness is the same way. There’s no cure for mental illness, but there are lots of effective treatments. People with mental illnesses can recover and live long and healthy lives.

What now?

Treatments for mental illness include lifestyle changes, support groups, medications, and therapy. Everyone is different, so you’ll probably need to find a combination that works best for you. Some of these things, like medications and therapy, require working with a professional. But there are also lots of things you can do on your own. Learning more about mental illness is a great place to start—and this website is a great place to do just that!