One of the things about severe mental illness is the need for help from others. There are times when I resent this, because I value my autonomy highly, but at the same time I think other people are what makes life worth living.
There are the professionals. When we are fragile and the essence of ourselves is at its most vulnerable, we want professionals to make the decisions that we would be making if we were well enough and well-enough informed to make; and when we are still distressed but well enough to make decisions, we want them to respect those decisions.
But however well-qualified, experienced and kind they may be, they’re not us. They may do or say things that we wouldn’t want. We may expect too much of them.
When I turn up to see my psychiatrist in a mixed manic and depressed state, desperate for help but ready to bite his head off at everything he says, telling him that I have tried literally dozens of medications over the years and several types of therapy, he can adjust my medication a little more, arrange some extra visits from my nurse, or maybe refer me for yet more therapy, and he can offer some kind words, but he has no miracle cure.
I see my community psychiatric nurse (CPN) at intervals, varying according to how well I am, and when I am at my worst, nurses and others from the local home treatment team visit me at home.
It generally helps to have experienced professionals there to talk me through the rough patches, although there comes a point in my misery where I cannot find the words to express how I am, so they fill the gaps and I am left feeling that I have been talked at, not with. Yet without the help of nurses I would not be alive today.
There are the therapists. Some I have been able to talk to frankly, some I have not. They have varied in their levels of empathy and in how far they listened to what I wanted to say. Talking therapies can help, but they are not a substitute for other support.
There are the telephone helplines. Each has it’s own unique style, each has contributed to keeping me alive, and each has infuriated me at the point at which someone at the other end has assumed that what I want of them is that they should tell me what to do. I don’t. I simply want them to be there for me.
There are my friends and family, who give me the love and support I need to feel that life is worth living, especially my parents. Most friends did not want to know when I got really ill, but some stuck by me and I have made new ones. With them, I can look forward to a life worth living. Next time, I’ll tell you more about how I’m trying to do that.作者: woodmqf 时间: 09-2-5 01:16
第一段：
One of the things about severe mental illnessis the need for help from others：需要他人帮助是与重性精神疾病有关的事之一。
value my autonomy highly:看重自食其力
worth living：值得活（这个意思和上文不得不要帮助更对应一些。）
第二段：
术业有专攻：很妙！！
第四段：
but ready to bite his head off at everything he says：虽然……却准备大发脾气，对他所说的一切反唇相讥，（我）x
第五段：
although there comes a point in my misery where I cannot find the words to express how I am, 尽管这样的时刻会到来，在我痛苦的时候，我无法描述我的感受，……
第六段：
They have varied in their levels of empathy and in how far they listened to what I wanted to say： 他们移情水平不一，倾听我内心诉说的耐心也各有不同
第七段：
There are my friends and family, who give me the love and support I need to feel that life is worth living, especially my parents.：有了朋友和家人给我爱与支持的滋养让我感觉活着是有意义的，尤其，我的父母功劳最大。
楼主表扬的“术业有专攻”只是一时小聪明跳出来的，其实翻译到后来才看出与下文的“There are the therapists……There are the telephone helplines……There are my friends and family……”是排比的，不过时间有限就没有细加推敲。
组长最近有别的事要忙，翻译的量会有所下降