Statement of personal experience with mental illness

I come from a dysfunctional family with mild to moderate levels of mental illness. The mental illness is exhibited as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive(OCD), Posttraumatic Stress(PTSD) and attention deficit(ADHD). Two other illnesses in my family that can negatively affect mental health are Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue syndrome are characterized by chronic widespread pain and fatigue for unknown reasons.

My mother, father, and siblings exhibit some of the symptoms of these illnesses.

My parents and siblings have not been able to maintain a positive relationship. This has lead to my parents and siblings not getting together for family celebrations such as birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas since 1978. I have tried to make peace and maintain a relationship with all family members but it is very challenging.

Dysfunctional family patterns run in cycles and tend to repeat if not acknowledged and overcome in a healthy manner.

People in dysfunctional families tend to shift blame to other people and deny personal responsibility for their actions. An example of this would be a husband who is unfaithful to his wife and attempts to shift blame for his unfaithfulness onto the wife's imperfections.

I exhibit some symptoms of these illnesses and dysfunctions but they do not impair my ability to provide quality counseling. Personal experience gives me understanding, knowledge, and compassion to enhance the counseling I provide.

My personal experience with mental illness, living in a dysfunctional family, and the desire to help others are the primary reasons I entered the counseling profession.

In my own experience the following are some tasks that must be completed to stop the cycle of dysfunction.
1. Have a willingness to change,
2. Pray, study, and seek God's help,
3. Be humble and accept that I'm not always right,
4. Seek wise counseling,
5. Stop attempting to control, in other words letting go & letting God,
6. Forgive past dysfunction, but beware...trusting again may not be a safe option,
7. Don't engage with those who continue in the dysfunction, maintain boundaries,
8. Go through a healing process, and
9. Make permanent changes in my attitudes and how I relate in relationships.

Sincerely,
Joseph A. Williams

Email: joseph@williamscc.org

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