I've always heard that healing is not a linear process, that there are peaks and valleys along the way. Yes, we can look back and see how much time has been wasted out of life because of this. There's noting we can do to get that back. But we can recognize this, try hard to make a plan to change this, and move forward. Even just baby steps is moving forward. Set small goals and work your way up to bigger ones when you feel like you are ready. Yes, there may be set backs in this, but that's no reason to stop trying. There's no promises in life even without a MH condition. Even if a goal doesn't work out, it's not a failure. Maybe it's just not the right time for that goal. "All things in their proper time"