You Know Your Symptoms the Best!
October 4, 2013 at 5:56 pm | Posted in 2013, Abilify, Abilify Maintena, Anti-anxiety meds, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bipolar, Borderline Personality, BPD, Brain, Bulimia, Compulsive Eating, Compulsive Exercising, DBT, Depression, Eating Disorders, EDNOS, Education, Haldol, Haldol DEC, Haldol Decanoate, Happy, Health, Injections, Kristin Bell, Lithium, long-acting injectables, Mania, Manic, Manic-Depressive, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, negative symptoms, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, ocd, Paranoid Schizophrenia, Prescription Meds, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psychiatry Denial, Psycho, Psychoactive Substances, psychoanalysis, Psychology, Psychosis, schizoaffective disorder, Schizophrenia, self-care, Self-Harm, Self-Injury, stigma, Stress, Support System, symptoms, treatment, Zoloft, Zyprexa | Leave a commentRecently I made a medication change (with the help of my psychiatrist), and as you might know from your own interactions with meds sometimes it can cause issues to develop. I was happily strolling along for a couple of months with a few bad days here and there, and then I started to notice the bad days piling up more often. I was really irritable, sad, became unmotivated, and suicide starting sounding better. I became alarmed, because I knew something was going wrong, but how was I supposed to explain to my psychiatrist that “irritable” is a symptom for me?
The problem with mental illness is that even when we fit into a diagnosed category of disorder, we all have our own unique symptoms that we need to pay attention to. I have schizophrenia, but for years I didn’t appear “sick enough” to most doctors, because they expected me to be talking to the walls and completely disheveled. There were times when I was talking to the walls and completely disheveled, but the doctors rarely saw me during those times, so they figured I wasn’t that bad off. Because I could communicate relatively well most doctors dismissed schizophrenia as a diagnosis.
Over the years I have come to realize what my symptoms are (for the most part), and now that I am doing better I can advocate for myself more effectively. However, it still isn’t easy to call up my psychiatrist and say “wow, I’m extremely irritable, this isn’t normal for me, and I need to increase my meds.” Most psychiatrists won’t believe that “irritable” is in any way related to schizophrenia, but for me (and many others) it is. I don’t become psychotic over night, and I don’t believe that I should have to be talking to walls in order to get the help I need. I also don’t believe that people should have to try to kill themselves before mental health professionals take people seriously.
Unfortunately, a lot of mental health professionals won’t take a person seriously unless they are debilitated to the point of needing to be hospitalized. So, as people living with mental illness or people who love people with mental illness, we have to be very proactive about getting the help we need before it turns into a crisis. Think about the good days and what you are like on those days, and compare them to the bad days. What are YOUR symptoms? How do things manifest in your day to day life? You might want to write down what you know your symptoms to be, and take that list with you when you talk to your doctor. It isn’t easy or fun, but we have to advocate for ourselves even when we are not doing our best.
In the end, you know your symptoms the best. Remember that you aren’t “crazy” for wanting to feel better and you aren’t making up excuses. Be pragmatic and straightforward, and get the help you need.
I Feel For Ya, Britney!
January 31, 2008 at 9:43 am | Posted in Anti-anxiety meds, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Britney Spears, Bulimia, Buspar, Drama, Kristin Bell, Lithium, Mania, Manic, Manic-Depressive, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Prescription Meds, Problems, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psychiatry Denial, Psycho, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Support System, Surviving, Therapist | 6 Comments
Okay, I rarely write about celebrity gossip, but overnight Britney Spears was taken into the hospital for psychiatric evaluation and I guess I feel the need to comment. From what I’ve heard on the news, she hasn’t slept since Saturday and she’s now on a 72-hour hold. I have also been Continue Reading I Feel For Ya, Britney!…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #11
November 18, 2007 at 8:45 am | Posted in Alcohol, Amblify, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Anxiety, Buspar, Depakote, Depression, Drama, Family, Friends, Haldol DEC, Health, Holidays, Kristin Bell, Lithium, Lunatic, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Panic Attacks, Paxil, Prozac, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psychiatry Denial, Psycho, Psychosis, Relaxation, Risperdal, Schizophrenia, Seroquel, Sleep Disorders, Support System, Surviving, Tips & Tricks, Wellbutrin, Xanex, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 1 CommentWhew! It has been awhile since I have written a tip/trick. The last few months have been crazy, but not really in a good way. Oh well. The tip I’m writing about today has to do with this special time of year for people. This may be rather specific to people who are in the US and/or to people who celebrate certain holidays. Anyway, in the US most people have some holiday that they celebrate or they go on vacation or just have some time off. The major holidays are Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Kwanza, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Again, I know there are more holidays that I’m sure I’m missing, but these are the big ones. So, here is my tip: Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #11…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #10
October 17, 2007 at 6:38 am | Posted in Acceptance, Amblify, Anti-anxiety meds, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Ativan, benadryl, Bipolar, Body, Buspar, Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, Depakote, Depression, Effexor, Geodon, Haldol, Kristin Bell, Lithium, Maintenance, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, melatonin, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Panic Attacks, Paxil, Pot, Prescription Meds, Problems, Prozac, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psychiatry Denial, Psycho, Psychosis, Relaxation, Risperdal, Schizophrenia, Seroquel, Sleep, Sleep Disorders, Surviving, Tips & Tricks, Trazadone, Trilifon, Wellbutrin, Xanex, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 1 Comment<Sleeping graphic from HowStuffWorks.com>
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this tip before. Probably because I haven’t mastered this and should really follow my own advice about it. Plus my dad likes to harp on me about my problem with this a lot…which just irritates me. On with tip 10. Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #10…
Common Fallacies of Psychiatry Deniers
September 20, 2007 at 8:53 pm | Posted in Acceptance, Amblify, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Buspar, Denial, Depakote, Depression, drugs, Education, Geodon, Haldol, Haldol DEC, Health, Kristin Bell, Lithium, Lunatic, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Paxil, Prescription Meds, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psychiatry Denial, Psycho, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Scientology, Seroquel, Shame, Support System, Surviving, Trazadone, Trilifon, Video, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 12 CommentsThe following videos are by Rob aka deidzoeb, a person from YouTube. His wife, Melinda, aka melsbasketcase, is also a YouTuber and Melinda has schizophrenia. She does well when she is properly medicated, but a lot of people go on her channel and try to convince her that her drugs are poison and that she should stop taking them. I hope you will watch all three of Rob’s great videos about Psychiatry Denial. He does a great job of showing how psychiatry deniers are simply wrong and how they try to take choice away from people with serious mental illnesses. I have included all three videos here. Please click to find them. Continue Reading Common Fallacies of Psychiatry Deniers…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #9
September 5, 2007 at 1:20 am | Posted in Acceptance, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Books, Depression, Eating Disorders, Education, Haldol, Health, Kristin Bell, Lithium, Lunatic, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Prescription Meds, Problems, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psycho, Psychosis, Reading, Schizophrenia, Scientology, Surviving, Therapist, Tips & Tricks, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 1 CommentWell, I think I have covered most of the basics regarding mental illness, or at least the ideas I had right off the top of my head. But, I haven’t covered this next topic yet, so here we go with number nine: Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #9…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #7
August 17, 2007 at 2:09 am | Posted in Acceptance, Amblify, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Buspar, Counselor, Denial, Depakote, Depression, Discrimination, drugs, Effexor, Geodon, Haldol, Health, Kristin Bell, Lithium, Lunatic, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Navane, Paxil, Prescription Meds, Problems, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psycho, Psychosis, Risperdal, Schizophrenia, Scientology, Seroquel, Surviving, Thrive, Tips & Tricks, Trazadone, Trilifon, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 9 CommentsI don’t know if I am just stating the obvious with all of these Tips & Tricks, but sometimes it is the most obvious things that we forget when illness hits. This next tip is something that I have personally struggled with for years and sometimes a glimmer of it still pops up every now and then. Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #7…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #6
August 11, 2007 at 2:42 am | Posted in AA, Acid, Alcohol, Alcoholics, Amblify, Anonymous, Anorexia, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Bisexual, Booze, Boys/Men, Cocaine, Dead, Depression, Downers, drugs, Dyke, Ecstacy, Fag, Family, Friends, Grrls/Women, Health, Heroin, Hiding, Homophobia, Homosexual, Kristin Bell, Life, Lithium, LSD, Lunatic, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, NA, Narcotics, Problems, Prozac, Psych Meds, Queer, Schizophrenia, Surviving, Tips & Tricks, Trannie | 2 CommentsI know that this next tip will wash over some of you just like water and you won’t be able to take it in. You’ll laugh or cry and think to yourself that I don’t understand or that you don’t have the strength that is needed. But, these are, afterall, tips and tricks for SURVIVING. So you know what is next. For many of us with mind-numbing depression and hopelessness it often seems like suicide is the only and best way to relieve the pain involved with living. So tip number six is: Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #6…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #3
July 26, 2007 at 7:37 pm | Posted in Amblify, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Buspar, Depakote, Depression, Effexor, Geodon, Haldol, Haldol DEC, Haldol Decanoate, Health, Injections, Kristin Bell, Life, Lithium, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Navane, Obsessions, Paxil, Problems, Prozac, Psych Meds, Psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Psycho, Psychosis, Relaxation, Risperdal, Schizophrenia, Seroquel, Stress, Surviving, Tips & Tricks, Trazadone, Trilifon, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 1 CommentOh, just so you know, these tips aren’t in any particular order, except I did mean to put the first one first. Other than that they are sort of random. On with tip number three: Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #3…
Tips and Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #2
July 26, 2007 at 5:58 am | Posted in Amblify, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Buspar, Depakote, Depression, Effexor, Geodon, Haldol, Haldol DEC, Haldol Decanoate, Health, Injections, Kristin Bell, Lithium, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Navane, Paxil, Problems, Prozac, Psych Meds, Psychiatry, Psycho, Psychosis, Risperdal, Schizophrenia, Seroquel, Surviving, Tips & Tricks, Trazadone, Trilifon, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 3 CommentsOkay, I know these tips and tricks might not be the most popular tips and tricks with everyone, but they are MY tips and tricks and how I have survived having a mental illness so far. Things could change at any minute. On with number two. Continue Reading Tips and Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #2…
Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #1
July 25, 2007 at 1:24 am | Posted in Amblify, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Bipolar, Buspar, Depakote, Depression, Effexor, Geodon, Haldol, Haldol DEC, Haldol Decanoate, Health, Injections, Kristin Bell, Lithium, MAO Inhibitors, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mood Stabilizers, Navane, Paxil, Problems, Prozac, Psych Meds, Psychiatry, Psycho, Psychosis, Risperdal, Schizophrenia, Seroquel, Shame, Surviving, Tips & Tricks, Trazadone, Trilifon, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zyprexa | 9 CommentsWell, I think I know a thing or two about having a mental illness, since I’ve been dealing with this damn stuff since I was 15-years-old. So, why not share a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way? I guess I’ll just put up these when I have time. Here is the number one thing I’ve learned: Continue Reading Tips And Tricks For Surviving A Mental Illness #1…
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.