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Antipsychotic medications for dissociative identity disorder (DID) are sometimes used although DID is not treated with psychiatric medications like other mental illnesses are. However, there are medications that can help alleviate the symptoms that tend to go along with DID. These symptoms include difficulty sleeping, panic, anxiety, depression, and mood instability, among others. Antipsychotic medications are one type of medication commonly prescribed to people with DID, but they carry a huge stigma. Does taking an antipsychotic medication when you have DID mean that you are psychotic?
Learning how to deal with intrusive thoughts can be hard, but not impossible. In my last post, I talked about what intrusive thoughts are and why people with bipolar disorder may experience intrusive thoughts. I also mentioned that intrusive thoughts can become obsessive thoughts and this means they are particularly important to handle head-on. So today, I'd like to talk about dealing with intrusive thoughts in bipolar disorder.
I have been in a weird place recently. I am normally a very social person, and I love meeting new people. But I have found, as part of trying to healthily cope with my mental illness, that meeting new people comes with a lot of anxiety. Why? Because getting to know someone new means opening up, which means talking about my illness, which means the very real chance of rejection. This is not only a romantic rejection, but also platonic and professional.
Meeting new people can be difficult. My schizoaffective disorder makes it hard for me to strike up conversations with strangers, let alone make new friends. But recently on vacation, I met a young woman who I knew could be a good friend if she didn't live so far away. For the sake of her privacy, I'll call her Gina (not her real name).
Anxiety can make going to school or work a challenge that seems insurmountable. Anxiety has a way of ruining your school or work day before it starts. From the moment you awaken--assuming, that is, that anxiety let you sleep--anxiety creates problems. Worries and imagined scenarios usurp all thoughts and can even make you feel physically ill. It makes sense to want to stay in bed rather than face another awful day at school and work, but going where you need to go doesn't have to be a problem with these four strategies.
Many of us with depression struggle in social situations. Simply finding the motivation to leave the house can be difficult enough; then, add to that the pressure we feel to interact with others. Just the thought of it is exhausting and terrifying. For example, I often expect my depression to cause awkward moments in social gatherings, which in turn makes me nervous and thus it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is not how I want to spend my time with friends and family and I imagine you all feel the same. So, what are some undesirable social tendencies our depression may cause and how can we break the cycle of these unwanted interactions and become more comfortable in social situations?
Intrusive thoughts are something I deal with along with bipolar disorder, although I should say that intrusive thoughts are not, specifically, a known symptom of the disorder. That said, intrusive thoughts seem to be something many with bipolar disorder deal with. Here, I discuss what intrusive thoughts are and why people with bipolar disorder may experience intrusive thoughts.
Signs your child is experiencing verbal abuse at school are important to recognize and respond to. School is back in session and so we send our babies, some in kindergarten and some in high school, off to their place of learning for six or so hours a day. It can be nerve-wracking to feel out of control and unsure of what is happening with our children for those hours, but keeping an eye on his or her at home behavior can be a good indicator of how he or she is being treated at school. Continue reading to learn more about possible signs that your child is experiencing verbal abuse in the classroom or on the playground.
Accepting my functional limitations of anxiety is challenging. In a previous post, I challenged readers to participate in a simple exercise: if someone tells you they have anxiety, imagine they’ve lost a leg. I introduced this scenario specifically for the benefit of those without anxiety – if they can frame mental health issues in terms of physical ailments, then perhaps they can learn to become more empathetic to the mentally ill. I want to reintroduce that exercise, but this time direct it towards people with anxiety, as I think it can be useful in dealing with a serious problem: accepting your functional limitations with anxiety.
Parents may be surprised to hear that antipsychotic medications are a common treatment for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They're often prescribed to help children who experience intense mood swings, aggression, destructive behaviors, or self-harm. These medications can be life-changing and life-saving, but the term "antipsychotic" is so stigmatized that parents might be terrified when doctors recommend antipsychotics. Of course, always consider the risks, but also consider the benefits of using antipsychotic medications in childhood.