This week on "Snap Out of It!", I talk with, well, me. I share my own story of what it’s like to work with a mental illness. I talk about mental illness stigma in the workplace and finally leaving the workplace because of mental illness. I also talk about some basic statistics about why mental illness in the workplace matters, and I answer your questions.
Depression
Creating a strong support system when you have depression can affect your mental illness recovery in a positive manner. I learned this during my 12-year battle with depression.
Handling grief healthily can be challenging. One of the hardest things people have to deal with during a lifetime is the loss of a loved one. When a traumatic event like this happens those left behind may have a difficult time processing their grief. As a result, they keep their feelings bottled up or in extreme cases turn to drugs or alcohol in an effort to ease the pain. Although all may seem lost and hopeless, there are positive ways to embrace grief. Read these tips for handling grief in a healthy way to learn how.
Avoidance of reality is the easiest, isn’t it? Today, we can access cheap alcohol, endless mind-numbing activities, and credit cards without much trouble. We can drown ourselves in all of it if we want to. But it’s dangerous to avoid reality.
Pilots’ mental health is a hot topic and stigma surrounding pilot's mental health is an important point to highlight. I am an airline pilot and mental health advocate. Let me tell you my experience with aviation, mental health and what I know about flying, stigma and being a pilot with a mental illness.
Last summer on a girls’ beach trip, I decided to talk to my three nieces, young women in their teens and early twenties, about my depression and the collateral damage that can result. They’ve grown up knowing me mostly as fun Aunt Jenny who plans outings and understands fashion emergencies. But they’ve also seen me sitting alone at family gatherings, curtly rejecting company, crying at parties for no apparent reason and, most puzzling to their childhood sensibilities, seeming totally disinterested in them and their feelings. They’ve also seen me very depressed.
As anyone who has had depression can attest, your mood isn’t just created by circumstances. How you feel is the result of neurotransmitters sending information through your neurons by binding to receptors. Each neurotransmitter is made of amino acids that are either obtained through food or created by the body. Deficiency in proper nutrients is one of the key ways a depression can be caused or worsened by your diet. Eating the wrong foods can also worsen your mood. Here are 6 ways to relieve symptoms of depression caused by your diet.
Many years ago, when a friend was a bit down or depressed, I thought, “Suck it up princess,” or “Have a cup of concrete” were appropriate responses from one man to another. After living with depression for the last 14 years, I realize what a jackass I was.
Since the inception of cognitive behavioral therapy, psychologists have known that your behavior is vital in treating depression successfully. And, if you've ever been depressed, you know that a hallmark symptom of depression is having no motivation or desire to do anything--even things you previously enjoyed. You just can't imagine feeling any sense of satisfaction or enjoyment, and the problem is, you're partially correct! Anhedonia (lack of ability to experience pleasure) and amotivation (lack of motivation) are two of the most debilitating symptoms of depression because they keep you from doing the things that would make you feel better.
We live in a feel-good society, a society in which happiness is valued above all else. We have bookstores with whole self-help sections devoted to finding happiness, keeping happiness, being optimistic. Magazines, from fashion to health, have article-after-article about how to be happy; be happy with your sex life, be happy with your body, be happy with you career. Right now, we just concluded the season of merriment and joy. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, God bless us every one, and Joy to the World.