Five minutes with Liz Spikol
Q: What positive things do you have in your life that you wouldn't have gained without your experience of mental illness?
A: I've absolutely gained a sympathy for people who are, for lack of a better term, frail in some way. I have a deeper understanding of the way people arrive at undesirable places in their lives. I never look at a person and assume I know everything about them. I assume I know nothing, which means I'm not judgmental. The illness has also given me perspective.
After suffering that way and coming so close to death, nothing really bothers me. If I survived that, what can hurt me now? I feel fearless. My two mantras when I'm nervous about something are, 1) "What's the worst that could happen?" 2) "Will I even remember this in a year?"
Q: If you could add your own chapter to the 'training manual' of psychiatrists, what would it say?
A: Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. I would just write that over and over again until it achieved a brainwashing effect.
Check out Liz's blog here.
