To help better understand how a person suffering from a mental health issue, you can think of it like any other injury in the body. It takes time to heal, and if the injury is severe enough it may come back later due when you put too much pressure on the injured part.
Many years ago while partying in Baja Mexico and enjoying one too many tequilas I walked outside of my hotel room and down a set of imaginary stairs to the parking lot. That first step, was a four foot drop, right leg fully extended, and an unsuspecting right foot received all of the impact. The aftermath, was a lot of pain and a considerably large sliver of my right foot’s third metatarsal sheared off from the rest of the bone and has been sort of lingering around in my foot ever since. It healed fine, and oddly I was always able to walk on the foot even after the injury (even though swelling and redness was very apparent — there is a good story on this, as I enjoyed surfing in the pacific ocean for that week, continued to socialize with friends and the pharmacia gave me better medical advice than the Doctors back state-side … but that’s a segway I won’t go down right now)
I run, I like running, running helps my mental health. I can zone out, and get some precious time to myself which I need to stay mentally healthy. It’s such a strange thing that exercising the body helps me heal and recharge my mind. The problem is, that foot, specifically that third metatarsal. That sliver of bone isn’t meant to be where it is, it obstructs and rubs against the tendons in my right foot, I can’t stretch that foot because of it … it just pops and cracks. After an intense run, I feel pain radiating from that metatarsal in my right foot, it’s crying out and I can’t relieve it’s distress.
When I run regularly, the pain is a daily reminder of that time in a drunken fog I plotted down a set of fictional stairs to my right foot’s despair. The injury itself healed many years ago, but the injury reminds me it’s there every time I put too much weight on it. Just as mental anguish can come back from trauma experienced long ago, but didn’t heal quite right, especially if you “put your weight on it”.
Back to my foot, I know how to handle that pain. I can massage and ice my foot now and again, but the best solution has always to dial back my running schedule when it starts to act up. I remain cognizant of the injury and if the pain starts to feel like it’s getting worse, then it’s time to seek a doctor’s opinion. Physical therapy has been discussed and I know if i’m not careful and end of exasperating the injury, that’s the plan.
For mental health injuries, there may be some usefulness in this analogy. You can deal with the minor problems yourself, but you must be mindful and aware of the injury’s presence. The pain is there, and if doesn’t affect daily life, Good! If the pain is starting to get too much, then take a step away from what’s causing the suffering to allow things to heal. If you’re having trouble seeing or catching yourself before the injury gets worse, things could get out of hand quickly and badly. If you’ve exasperated the injury then you must seek help, that may be in the form of (non-physical) therapy, medication or other methods. The hope is to learn your capacities for how hard you can work that part of your brain/body. I know now how hard I can run before my foot really starts to bother me and inhibit my ability to walk or exercise further, and I know now how hard I can work through stressors before I really start getting bogged down and become a tyrannical asshole to everyone around me and unable to live a normal life.
So nowadays, I run to help my mind and body, but not too hard and not too frequently. I’m aware of my foot injury which keeps me on the path where I mostly get benefits from running. Like everyone else, I also experience stressors in life (these things are unavoidable); I am aware of my mental state and watch as these stressors affect it, if it becomes too much I know to take a step back, and take a break. Better yet, I know what types of breaks work best for me, they help me be able to remain on a path where I get great benefits from interacting with others, and still avoid complete mental breakdowns.