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One of the reasons that I have been fairly successful at some things in spite of being mentally ill, and have been able to stick with treatment most of the time, is that I have used cognitive techniques to combat much of the suffering that has come up.  

You won't see me write a piece about "dual diagnosis" and this is because I have very limited experience with substance abuse with the exceptions of cigarette smoking (which is a bad idea that I absolutely don't recommend) and a lot of coffee. I have not resorted to street drugs because my source of relief from pain has often been that I have meditated.  

This is not absolute, since I also rely on antianxiety meds. However, because relief by means of mental exercises is often a reliable solution for me, emotional pain does not feel like a boogeyman--it is more like a nuisance.  

If you rely wholly on your psychiatrist and psychotherapist to "fix you" when you are in pain, it doesn't always work very well. While some situations call for assistance from a professional, there are other situations in which we can, on our own, deal with suffering. Life inevitably brings some rough spots. How we deal with them is a large factor in how well we do in our lives.  

Learning how to create relief from pain from the inside, through changes in the thoughts, changes in perception, and through having an understanding of how the mind works to produce suffering, is a source of great power. It doesn't increase power over other people or over the outside world--it is a source of power over oneself.  

"Handbook to Higher Consciousness" from the late Ken Keyes Jr., was the first book I studied about spiritual growth. Although Keyes seemed like somewhat of a cult leader, his philosophy helped me a lot. I eventually filtered out the parts that didn't work for me. Rather than admiring Ken, as people in his groups were apparently expected to do, I focused on developing my own tools, using the basic ideas of Buddhism as explained by Keyes as a launching board.  

Some parts of Keyes' philosophy were in defiance of common sense. In these instances, I favored common sense over what he was saying.  

Furthermore, I eventually realized that meditation doesn't cure mental illness. Instead, almost as good, meditation allows a mental health consumer to face the slings and arrows of living with mental illness.  

Other spiritual teachers have other books on meditation. However, Handbook to Higher Consciousness was a good read for understanding the very basic concepts. Suffering is often created internally, and it is inflicted by wanting things to be different from how they are.  

Over time, I threw out more and more parts of Keyes' philosophy. However, the basic idea stuck with me, which is that events that we can't control don't have to cause us mental anguish. Further, I discarded the specific techniques that he outlined for reaching "higher consciousness" and I instead developed my own set of techniques that I could use on demand for relief from emotional pain, so long as I am in a situation where I am able to concentrate.  

I also visited the Berkeley Psychic Institute. And I eventually decided that trying to be psychic is unworkable for someone with a psychotic disorder such as mine.  

I have gone briefly to a couple of Zen Buddhist meditation centers in the Bay Area. I decided Zen Buddhism doesn't work as well for me as the techniques I developed for myself. However, I would recommend Zen to mental health consumers if they are able to handle it.  

I would recommend a book called, "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I would recommend, "An Introduction to Zen Buddhism," by D.T. Suzuki.  

(If you are practicing meditation and have a mental illness treated by medication, it may seem that medication interferes with meditation. However, an untreated mental condition interferes with meditation far, far more than does medication. Stay on your medication and work around any limitations it is causing with meditation practices. It can be done--I have done it.)  

In pursuit of meditation, I suggest a purpose simply of being happier, and not one of reaching a mysterious "enlightenment." If any parts of a meditation philosophy conflict with treatment for mental illness, you must decide in favor of treatment, and you should not abide by a conflicting philosophy.  

Over time, I have come to realize that physical comfort and emotional comfort are not necessities, especially when I can keep in mind the thought that "I am okay."  

Happiness isn't always synonymous with a continuous state of emotional comfort. If comfort is not a priority, a lot more can be accomplished because you don't always have to coddle your emotions. This is one of the things perhaps that goes beyond the philosophy taught by Keyes, and it points to the main deficiency of a philosophy designed to keep us seeking relief from emotional thorns. If you always need to be comfortable in the inside, you will not be able to survive in our society.  

On the other hand, persons with mental illness have a greater need for calmness, compared to non-afflicted people. Even if we were to create some immunity to emotional pain, too many uncomfortable emotions could cause instability, which puts us at risk for a relapse. It is important that we pace ourselves and not put ourselves in situations that are overwhelming.  

Taking time to relax, to check in with ourselves, and to let the tension drain out, is a necessary part of the day. Meditation can become a valuable resource in one's arsenal of tools for maintaining mental health.