Experiences of Mental Illness Stigma

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I recently found two news pieces in which they talk about experiences of stigma in mental illness:

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=275760

http://7thspace.com/headlines/339479/experiences_of_mental_illness_stigma_prejudice_and_discrimination_a_review_of_measures.html

I am very excited that research is being done into stigma, as it is something which is, unfortunately, alive and well. However, I am not entirely happy with the way that websites, like these two above, have reported on the subject.

It almost seems as if these two reports are more focused on the experts doing the research than the people who are experiencing stigma in their day to day lives. I mean…that is what they are researching, right? At least they should be.

I know I have experieced stigma, and I also know that I am not alone. I used to be very confident in telling people of my issues story, but after some very bad experiences with stigma, I no longer tell people right off the bat. I wait quite a while until I feel I know the person well enough and I know they won’t judge me, by some preconceived notion, that just because I have suffered from a mood disorder, that this must mean that I am a bad person and must be kept away from.

This has happened to me, on occasion, with people who I had been good friends with. I knew them well. Once they ‘found out’ I was Bipolar, they stopped speaking to me. They stopped wanting to be my friend. Why? What changed? Am I not still the same person, simply because I told you something you didn’t know? Or maybe, it is because they didn’t see it. That scared them. Maybe they assumed that they would be able to notice in someone a disorder like mine, and because they didn’t in me, they were scared that they too, or their other friends, or their family, may be suffering as well.

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Tags: mental illness, Mental Illness Stigma, Mood Disorder
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Is Bipolar Disorder a “Severe Mental Illness”?

I found this question on Yahoo Answers quite interesting:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ao1fqUk0VLZxLMXKrE6ev2wjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20100410073512AAx0VJF

So, what constitutes a ’severe mental illness’? I’m not quite sure. I think you can generally say that it depends on an individual’s symptoms and how much it effects their life. I think if this person’s life is severely affected by the mental illness, then you can say her illness is severe. If she handles it well, perhaps its not so severe.

OR, is an illness determined to be severe by it’s symptoms? I’m not so sure. With this method, you can surely say that Cylothymia may be less severe than Bipolar II. However, if the person living with Cyclothymia refuses to take their medications, or generally doesn’t have great control over his mood disorder, than it may effect him more ’severely’ than someone who has Bipolar II, but is dealing with it well. Taking their prescribed medications and working daily to deal with their disorder.

What do you think about mental illness severity?

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Tags: Bipolar Disorder, Cyclothymia, illness severity, mental illness, Mood Disorder
Posted in Bipolar Disorder | No Comments »

Psychologist and Psychiatrist: The Differences

When new to the mental health world, there are many nuances which are very confusing. One question that gets asked often is, “What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?”

Many people with mood disorders will have seen both of these types of specialists at some point in their treatments. Some people begin with seeing a psychologist, others with the psychiatrist. It really depends on what the person who refers you feels that you need.

Psychiatrist: A psychiatrist is a medical doctor with an M.D. They specialize during their residency in psychiatry. This means that they are able to prescribe medications. Often the psychiatrist does just that-prescribe medications, although they may also perform psychotherapy.

Psychologist: A specially trained person with at least a Master’s degree in psychology. The psychologist also needs to pass certain exams and requirements to become licensed. They cannot prescribe medications in most cases. You will usually go to a psychologist for psychotherapy. These professional can have an MA, MS, PHD, or EdD degree.

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Tags: M.D. They, Master, mood disorders, MRI, ms phd, PHD, psychiatry, psychologist, psychologist and a psychiatrist, psychotherapy
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Depression Sufferers Should Get Better Treatment in Britain

Says the GPs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8578099.stm

Britain’s health care system is pretty well known for being slow. It has been reported that people wait months for care that in another country they would be able to get in a week. It is important to note that I am not necesarily speaking of emergency care, but day to day problems.

However, the treatment for Depression, which is some cases can be an emergency, has also been reported to take up to two months to see a doctor and then, only about 65% of patients get to see one:

Some 65% of doctors say they can “rarely” offer psychological therapy to depression sufferers within two months of referral, a study suggests.

The Royal College of GPs survey of 590 UK doctors also found 15% said access to psychological services was only “usually” possible in that timeframe.

This all leads to a new campaign backed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists:

They are challenging every political party to gaurantee in election manifestos, to make available evidence-based therapies to everyone who needs it, given a 28 day window from requesting to recieving services.

Hopefully, this will get done at the next Parliament. They also hope that enough funding for both the training and employment of all of these therapists is approved.

“If we can treat people early we can keep people in work, keep them off medication and help them get on with their lives.”

Popularity: 39% [?]

Tags: depression sufferers, news bbc co uk, psychological therapy, royal college of psychiatrists, treatment for depression
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Mental Illness As A Weakness

I found this post on Answerology:

http://www.answerology.com/index.aspx/question/2804307_Do-you-see-mental-illness-as-weakness.html

I find this a very interesting question. And part of what my response would be was already mentioned by one of the commentors:

This is something I say all the time. I have people ask me if it bothers me that I know that I will probably need to rely on medication the rest of my life. For some reason (please let me know why if you feel this way) people feel as if taking medication for a mood disorder is somehow making yourself reliant on something.

My thought is similar to the commenter above: I think of my mood disorder as my body is misusing a chemical in my brain, be it Serotonin, Dopamine, what have you. Oddly similar is Diabetes. Diabetes is also a misuse of a bodily chemical-the same problem as a modd disorder, simply different symptoms and result. Someone with Diabetes will likely need to take a medication the rest of their lives as a maintenance measure to help their body use it’s chemicals correctly (they may also need to keep a diet), I would like to ask how is this any different than taking an anti-depressant, or mood stabilizer to help your body use the chemicals it needs to use?

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Posted in Mental Illness Stigma, Mood Disorder | No Comments »

Starting Local Mental Health Groups

I found this article today:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/boynton-beach-women-start-mental-health-initiative-400233.html

Women in Boynton Beach start a local mental health group. This is something that anyone can do. If you do not have a local group, and you want one, you should start your own. Check out this article and NAMI, they both have good resources for starting a group.

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Posted in Mood Disorder, Support for Mood Disorders | No Comments »

What is Bipolar Disorder?

A question that I hear often is what is Bipolar Disorder? I even hear this from people who have been diagnosed with it, which tells me that the Doctors need to explain things better to their patients. But that is a post for another day…

What Is It?

So, what is it? And how is it different/similar to Manic-Depression? Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depression are considered one and the same. Manic Depression is an older name for the same disease. More recently the name had been changed to Bipolar Disorder, but some people still call it Manic-Depression.

Either name helps describe what it actually is. It is a disorder which is characterized by extreme mood swings from one extreme (pole) to another. Generally, these extremes are Mania, and Depression. Bipolar Disorder s diagnosed when these mood extremes interfere with your life to an extent that treatment is necessary.

What is Depression? What is Mania?

Mania is usually characterized as extreme ‘highs’, contrary to popular belief, this does not necessarily mean happiness. Instead it can mean grandiose thoughts, optimism, idealism, invincibility, energy, anxiety and strange thoughts.

The Criteria for a Manic Episode, according to the DSM IV is:

• Abnormally elevated mood, energy and irritability lasting at least one week
• Three or more of the following symptoms during that week: decreased need for sleep, unusually talkative, racing thoughts, unable to concentrate or easily distracted, partaking in activities with no regard to consequences (e.g. shopping sprees, promiscuity). The mood disturbance is severe enough to impair functioning and at time require hospitalization. Psychotic features may also be present.

Depression is the opposite, extreme lows. Again, this need not be ’sadness’. I know quite a few people who suffer from Bipolar disorder, but their lows manifest as irritability, not sadness.  Other signs include sadness, loss of interest in activities, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and possibly thoughts of suicide.

The Criteria for a Depressive Episode, according to the DSM IV is:

• Decrease in mood for a period of at least two weeks
• Five or more of the following symptoms present: depressed mood every day, lack of interest in all pleasurable activities, loss or appetite and significant weight loss, insomnia, fatigue, lack of energy, feeling worthless or guilty, unable to concentrate, indecisive, recurrent thoughts of suicide or death.

This might sound like a strange one, and its hard to wrap your head around, though I experience these regularly, is the Mixed Episode. This is when you are both Manic and Depressed at the same time. It sound impossible, but its not. Mania and Depression are not exclusive of one another. For instance, I get depressed in that I am not interested in doing anything, and am irritable and sad, however at the same time, I have a ton of energy and my mind is racing. That is a Mixed Episode.

The Criteria for a Mixed Episode, according to the DSM IV is:

• In order to classify as a mixed episode, the criteria for both manic episodes and depressive episodes must be present every day over a period of at least one week.

Both Mania and Depression have sub-types. These will have a prefix added to them like hypo, or hyper. The most common one you will hear of is HypoMania, which means a moderate Mania, not a full blown episode.

The Criteria for a Hypomanic Episode, according to the DSM IV is:

• A period of elevated or irritable mood lasting at least four days
• Three or more of the following symptoms: Inflated sense of self-esteem, decreased need for sleep (at least 3 hours), more talkative than usual, racing thoughts, easily distractible, partaking in activities with no regard to consequences (e.g. shopping sprees, promiscuity). What separates it from a manic episode is that hypomanic episodes are usually not severe enough as to impair functioning nor require hospitalization.

What Causes Bipolar Disorder?

Nobody knows exactly what causes Bipolar Disorder, though there are many theories. Generally it is though of as a chemical imbalance in the brain. It is also thought of as being genetic (passed on from parents to child) and relating to environmental factors.

What Are the Symptoms?

Bipolar Disorder generally gets diagnosed to people in their 20’s or 30’s, though childhood Bipolar Disorder is getting diagnosed more and more often. A young adult with Bipolar Disorder will usually experience cycling (bouncing between manic and depressive extreme states) weekly, monthly, even quarterly. Children and teens, however, will cycle daily, or weekly.

Diagnosis

It can be very hard to diagnose Bipolar Disorder. Many people will get diagnosed with Depression first, and then get a Bipolar diagnosis when medications worsen the Mania (this is what happened to me).  There currently are no blood tests, brain scans, or other tests which prove that you have Bipolar Disorder. Generally, you will tell your doctor your symptoms and he or she will determine if you have Bipolar as well as what type of Bipolar.

Types of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar I- Must have one recorded instance of Mania or a Mixed Episode. You do not need to have a Depressed episode at all.

Bipolar II- This is by far the most common diagnosis. You must have had at least one Depressed episode, and one Hypomanic, or Manic.

Cyclothymia-Many Hypomanic episodes with a bit of Depression. This isn’t diagnosed often because it generally isn’t bad enough to require much treatment. Usually this can be treated with psychotherapy alone.

Bipolar NOS- It is determined that the patient is suffering from Bipolar Disorder, however they do not fit into any of the above categories.

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Tags: Bipolar Disorder, Cyclothymia, Depression, dsm iv, extreme mood swings, hospitalization, Hypomania, Hypomanic, Mania, Manic Depression, optimism, psychotic features, shopping sprees
Posted in Bipolar Disorder, Mood Disorder | 1 Comment »

Two Great Sites for Mental Health Support

I just found two great mental health resources for you guys and I felt the need to post them right away.

The first is a new social networking site created by NAMI for teens and young adults dealing with mental illness. I think this is fantastic! It can be scary admitting you are mentally ill on a social network and then to dig through a network to find others who understand. That will not be an issue with this, as everyone will understand. Thank NAMI!

http://www.strengthofus.org/ I will be joining shortly, once I do, I will edit this post and add my info.

The second link I wanted to add is to a personal site. I will not add links to personal sites too often as I find they can be real triggers. I want this blog to be a place where you can come and find information and advice about your illness without making it worse in the process.

Anyway, I found this post on BlogFerret which is inspiring, true and heartfelt and I wanted to share it. The writer looks at mood disorders in a way I never have before, but now I can see it too.

The Elephant on Your Head-http://midnightferret.com/2010/03/23/the-elephant-on-your-head/

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Tags: blog, elephant, mental health resources, mental illness, nami, personal site, personal sites, social networking site, young adults
Posted in Mood Disorder, Support for Mood Disorders | No Comments »

The Best Anti Depressant To Go On| Treatment For Depression

While touring the internet for information for this blog, I came across this: http://www.medicinewebguide.com/whats-the-bestsafest-anti-depressant-to-go-on/

The user posted this question:

“I’m looking to take something for just a couple months. I have extreme mood swings, and sad or angry 99.9 percent of the time. I don’t want to take prescriptions med, but I feel like my personal relationship is on the rocks due to my mood swings. I want something w/out awful side effects”

What this person really needs to do is talk to a doctor. Medications for mood disorders get such a bad rap and there is really no reason for it. A big reason for this is becuase in the middle of the 20th century all of the mental illness medications were giving bad side effects to the user. Medicine was something to go on only if desperately needed.

Nowadays, people are given medication for depression simply if they are down. I  personally don’t agree with this. Medication is for people who cannot be helped by lifestyle changes. Or, in some cases, to get them through the lifestyle changes until those can be fixed.

If this person is thoroughly uncomfortable with taking meds, than she needs to go see a therapist and work with him/her closely. She is having relationship problems, so she could even have dual sessions with the therapist and her partner.

Although people think it is helpful to ask others what has worked for them, and sometimes it is, people need to understand that what works for person A is not necesarily going to work for person B. If this was so, we’d only ever need one medication for every ailment. Evrybody’s condition is different and everybody’s body is different. You simply need to try out meds until you find one which suits you.

I would not worry too much about awful side effects as most depression medications do not have many. And the ones they have a few and far between. As I said before, you can try one, once you have a problem, stop it and try something else.

I seem to have gone off track a bit, but my points are: although peers can help with some things, when it comes to recommending medicine, your doctor is the best one for that, and don’t always believe what you hear about certain medicines because they work in everybody differently.

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Tags: anti depressant, condition, Depressant, depression medications, extreme mood swings, medication for depression, mental illness, mood, mood disorders
Posted in Mood Disorder, Treatments for Mood Disorders, treatment for depression | No Comments »

Online Support Resources for Mood Disorders|Bipolar Support Group

Image via Wikipedia

Support is something which is essential for those trying to recover from a bout of Depression or Bipolar, you may not know anyone near you who understands, or simply want a wider support net. There are a variety of resources on the ‘net, but it can be hard to find what you want.

I have scoured the internet for support resources for those of us with mood disorders. This list includes many of the ones I was able to find. Please let me know if I left out one that you really like.

Just like any other group of friends, you may need to try more than one before you find one which really fits. Don’t force it, find one where you feel truly comfortable. Even if you need to start your own support group, you will find one which works well for you. Support is essential. Whether you are looking for a Bipolar support group or a Depression support group, you can find them here.

Online Forums and Chat

http://www.mixednuts.net/-Online forum and chat for sufferers of depression.

http://www.findthelight.net/- An online support resource for those with mood disorders, anxiety and other mental illnesses. They have educational resources as well as a forum.

http://forums.healthcentral.com/discussion/depression/forums/a/frm/f/3981011-Online Forum.

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Depression/support-group-Forums and support for depression.

http://exchanges.webmd.com/depression-exchange-Online forum.

http://www.livedepressionsupportgroup.com/-Live chat support groups.

http://www.depressionsupportgroup.com/index.html-Newsgroup for people with mood disorders.

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-depression-About.com depression forum.

http://www.support4hope.com/-Lots of information and advice. Forum too.

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_index.php?idx=community-Mental Health forums.

http://www.undernet.org/servers.php-Links to IRC depression networks.

http://www.transformations.com/boards/-Message boards.

http://www.depressionhaven.org/phpBB2/index.php-Depression forum.

http://www.maledepression.com/-Help for men with mood disorders.

Face to Face Support Groups

http://www.livingroomsupport.org/-Christian based support for mood disorders. These are local face-to-face groups.

http://www.obad.ca/-Support for Canadians with mood disorders.

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/find_support_group-Tons of links for finding groups and resources.

http://www.dbsapaloalto.org/-Palo Alto California face-to-face support group.

http://www.dbsanova.org/-Northern Virginia face-to-face support group.

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Tags: anxiety, Bipolar, community mental health, depression forum, depression support group, educational resources, mental illnesses, support groups, support resource, support resources
Posted in Mood Disorder, Support for Mood Disorders | No Comments »