My life with mental illness

My name is Anna Harris, I'm 22 years old and I have a mental illness. . There are days when I get frustrated and wish my illness would go away , and there are days when I am fortunate to have this life changing illness. I am a completely different person now then I was before. I'm more open to my family and friends. I'm not afraid to talk about my illness. I'm lucky to have such great family and friends who are supporting me through this difficult illness. I have a new perspective on things now. I see myself in a different light then I did before. I'm not the same Anna that I was a year ago.
But sometimes I do have days where I had a magic potion to make my illness go away. But of course that will never happen, this illness will be with me for the rest of my life. I'm slowly but surely coming to grips with that fact. I'm proud to have people who are supporting me through it. I'm writing this because I want to bring awareness to this illness. There is no reason to fear mental illness. I'm not a scary person. I won't hurt you. I'm recovering well, I'm still the same person but just a little different. I want people to know that it's ok to have a mental illness. Don't fear yourself because of it, appreciate yourself, take care of yourself, and most importantly love yourself!
I hope people will understand that having a mental illness is ok. It might be scary at first, but coming to grips with it will come down the road. You'll come to understand yourself and this illness. Talk to family and friends when you fill the need, they'll help you. Get support from your doctor as well. Help goes along way. They'll help you understand your illness as well.
It has been difficult for me to be social since I got sick. I haven't seen two of my good friends in a year and a half. I do fear what my friends will think of me when they see me. Will they be afraid of me? Or will they welcome me with open arms?
I haven't been out and about due to my illness as well. I am shy, well that's always been true. but i fear it's gotten worse since my illness. I have joined a support group, but have yet to speak up because of my shyness. I have though written about my illness on facebook and now on my blog.I think writing about it makes my negative thoughts about my illness disappear. I hope whoever reads this understands me, and my mental illness.