Do you know the story of Herbert the Snail? If you attended Vacation Bible School or Sunday School as a small child, there is a pretty good chance you do. Herbert is the main character and it is a song about patience. The chorus of the song goes like this:
Have patience, have patience
Don’t be in such a hurry
When you get impatient
You only start to worry
Remember, remember
The God is patient, too
And think of all the times
When others have to wait for you
Now, the purpose of this post is not to weigh in on whether a particular deity is patient—though if you are interested in ways in which spirituality can be connected to mental health, you can find thoughts here and here.
What we want to do here is zero in on the fundamental message one can learn from Herbert the Snail. That message is, simply, that having patience is a good thing.
That is true in all kinds of situations, of course. Our focus here, however, is on the importance of patience to a person doing the work to improve their mental health.
People Love a Quick Fix
Perhaps due to the fast pace of contemporary life, people tend to want a quick fix to any problem they find themselves facing. How fast can the shop repair the dent in the car? How soon can a delivery driver get our dinner to us? What is the fastest way to complete this project so I can move on to the next project?
This desire for fast solutions does not necessarily serve you well when the problem that needs addressing is your mental health. That is true for a number of reasons.
First, Diagnosis Can Take Time
If you have ever had a physical ailment that your physician could not identify right away, you already know that diagnosing health problems can be challenging. That is certainly true when your mental well-being is under consideration. It may well take time to suss out the nature of your mental health challenges—and the process might involve getting more than one opinion.
This can be frustrating because you obviously want to move on to the next step: treating the mental health disorder. But that part of the process can take some time, too.
Second, Effective Treatments Are Sometimes Elusive
Mental health disorders are complicated for a variety of reasons, and not every person experiences improvement from the same medications or approaches to therapy. That means the early days of seeking out an effective treatment for your mental health issue can involve some trial and error—a situation that can certainly test your patience.
For example, you and your doctor will be looking for the medication that best manages your symptoms while having the least bothersome side effects. You and your therapist will need to establish trust and find useful ways to address the issues you are facing. And you may need to make some lifestyle changes to better support the efforts you are making with medication and therapy.
Third, Mental Health Treatment Is Often Ongoing
When you have a cold, you can generally count on it fading away in the not-too-distant future. Even when a physical illness requires medication, it is often the case that you simply need to finish your prescription and then can move on because you are feeling better.
Mental health challenges, however, frequently require ongoing treatment in a manner similar to more chronic physical illnesses. That can be frustrating at times. It is only natural, after all, to hope that a round of medication and a few therapy sessions can effectively address your mental health issue and allow you to get back to your normal day-to-day life. It can serve you well to set impatience aside so that you can maintain improvements in your mental health and build on them.
Fourth, You Have to Be Patient With Yourself
All too often, a person struggling with a mental health disorder tries to convince themselves that they can beat it on their own. Or they decide that they have had enough medication and therapy and can leave those things behind.
When folks do those things, it is often because they have lost patience with their own progress—or lack of progress as they likely see it. But giving up on treatment because you are feeling impatient does not help you reach your goal of better mental health. In fact, it likely sets you back. Better to stay the course and remind yourself that something this important to your quality of life is going to take some time—and that it is definitely worth it.
We Are Patiently Waiting to Help You
Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Peak View Behavioral Health relies on evidence-based approaches to treatment to help individuals who are struggling with a mental health disorder. We are ready and able to address the various kinds of depression, panic or anxiety disorders, issues that have developed as a result of traumatic experiences, and more.
You can count on our team to treat you with empathy and respect as we work with you to find effective and lasting treatment approaches that can help you renew the balance in your life and embrace a spirit of hope.
