Blogs
Living with and talking about binge eating disorder can be extremely difficult, not just for the disease itself, but for peoples' expectations of how you are affected by this illness and how you are supposed to discuss it. All too often people who have no idea what we go through want to dictate how eating disorders can be talked about and shared. Sometimes reposting a simple article on Facebook is all that it takes for someone to turn your attempt to disseminate information into a chance for them to inform everyone how people are allowed to talk about eating disorders. But you should feel free to talk about binge eating disorder in your own voice.
Developing hope in PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) recovery is, in a word, difficult. You're struggling with the symptoms of PTSD that include depression, insomnia, nightmares, anxiety and hypervigilance (all of which can lead to despair) and you're supposed to find some way to be optimistic? You might be tempted to say, "No way," but if you want to heal it's going to be important to find a way to say, "Heck, yeah, I can develop hope in PTSD recovery."
It’s quite common for those of us who live, or have lived with, anxiety to bemoan, “These awful effects of anxiety must stop!” I have a serious question for anyone who has ever uttered similar words: what, specifically, do you hate about anxiety? Chances are, it’s the effects of anxiety that are wreaking havoc on you and your life.
One, particular online bipolar assessment quiz (link to it) is creating mental health stigma on the Internet at the moment, particularly going viral on Facebook. I received the quiz on my Facebook feed yesterday, as a friend had posted it, and she commented that she received a zero percent chance that she has bipolar disorder. Having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder 13 years ago, I decided to comment on the quiz in a critical and constructive manner, but I also submitted my answers, and discovered that I, also, have a zero percent chance of having bipolar disorder. I sarcastically responded, “It is a good thing I took this quiz, and I better contact my psychiatrist for a second opinion. Thank you.”
If you have an anxiety disorder and are paranoid, is your anxiety real? Most people with anxiety are intimately familiar with the statement, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you.” It has been said to the people around us to explain that, while we fully acknowledge our anxiety issues, it doesn’t mean that what we are worried about isn’t worthy of anxiety. Anxiety isn’t just a disorder; after all, it serves a purpose. But when you do have an anxiety disorder and are paranoid, how do you decide if your anxiety is real?
The lack of motivation that can be caused by depression and other mental illnesses can be debilitating. There are some things that are so important they must be done as soon as possible. But for those who battle depression, the lack of motivation can be an enemy that seems insurmountable at times (Depression Can Drain You of Your Will to Live). Here's what to do when depression causes a lack of motivation.
Have you ever considered that sometimes what looks like bipolar anger is really bipolar passion? I am a person with bipolar and I am a person who is intense and passionate (Bipolar and Displays of Emotion). In fact, it is my opinion that people with bipolar are frequently passionate people. We feel things more strongly than others so this makes sense. I don’t mean romantically (although, perhaps, there too), I just mean passionate about ideas, creations, art and so on. But, in my experience, this bipolar passion can be interpreted by others as bipolar anger.
Does the news trigger your mental illness symptoms? I guess you could say early on there were signs I was going to be a reporter when I grew up--I read the newspaper as soon as I learned to read. Then, as today, there were some very disturbing things going on. I remember having a nightmare about the Neighborhood of Make-Believe being bombed when Reagan ordered the bombing of Libya. I never outgrew this, either--I am currently coping with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) flashbacks caused by the coverage of a high-profile rape case and a disgusting child abuse case. It made me wonder--what can I do when the news triggers my mental illness symptoms? Here are three ideas.
I recently celebrated some general life and sobriety milestones. These are good things; things I should be--and am--happy about. But even positive milestones in sobriety can be emotionally fraught, and that's a potentially dangerous situation for people in addiction recovery.
Have you ever wondered what not to say to a parent of a child with mental illness? Every day I hear insensitive remarks about my child's mental illness. I don't believe the people making these comments know how hurtful they are to me. It recently occurred to me that most people probably don't know what to say or what not to say to a parent of a child with mental illness. Perhaps that is why they say exactly the wrong thing. So I've put together some guidelines of what not to say to a parent of a child with mental illness.