You're not taking over the thread - the things you mentioned are exactly what this thread is about. Yes, the illnesses can take away our previous talents - but not forever - we can re-emerge through recovery through psychiatry, psychology and meds, and for some spiritual enlightenment. And we re-emerge as a NEW butterfly, maybe different and maybe better in many ways. Raising a child is the hughest achievement and your urge to have your daughter proud of you shows that you are already progressing to a better you.

I went from 60kg to 114kg mainly because of psych meds. I had always had weight fluctuations but never anything as dramatic as that. I got a Lap Band which was disastrous, had it taken out last year but it has caused permanent damage to my swallowing function and even with it out I still choke and throw up. For the rest of my life I will need to take a tablet half an hour before every meal to prevent the choking and throwing up, but it doesn't even always work. With all the meds we take both for mental illness and medical illnesses, things get so complicated. People don't understand that not only are we dealing with a serious life threatening mental illness, we have to deal with both physical and mental side effects - I was mis-prescribed a whole class of medds for 6/7 years that swept away my whole life and then nearly my life. I am 100% compliant with my meds and didn't learn until I had nearly died and then moved to a knew town and a new psychiatrist that these meds were contraindicated for me. And in terms of our lives being a shambles to a greater or lesser extent at different times, the fact that I have to take meds at 5-6 different times a day DOES NOT help me to get a streamlined life.