Mental Illness

sdineen said:

Quite correct. The businesslike, harsh approach, has turned me off to many helpers. Any form of humanity has been rejected as overprotective.

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Hmm...

Do you mind being examined in a ... relatively safe enviornment?

f

i would love to roleplay such an senario

Very interesting.

I'm cogitating.

Licia said:

I want to go back and read what I have missed in the conversation, but what I would like to do right now is offer a link to any who are interested in reading about new research on genetic factors.

A few years ago while I was studying medical transcription, genetic links to depression were a personal interest of mine because so many of us are symptomatic in the family. Cardiovascluar and the lymphatic systems were also areas of interest because we suffer much death from heart disease and cancer.

My grandmother has epilepsy, and she is the queen of mean. For a long time, she was just queen of mean because I had no idea she had epilepsy. It was this (yet another) dark family secret which was kicked out of the closet when she had a grandmal seizure. I was fourteen and alone when it occured. I recognized the event as a seizure and called an ambulance. The dispatcher on the other end of the line was annoying, but I knew the dude was only trying to keep me calm. I was upset, but I was still rational.

She is on medication, but she exercises choice on when and if she takes it on time. I get why she has a love and hate relationship with not only the meds but also reminders given to her. She is an intelligent lady who lived in a culture... yeah, we all know that drill.

I've only recently begun to understand the scientific link with behavior which seems inappropriate and irrational. This is due to self reflection, education, and conscious effort at relization. I write this not to project onto others.

One thing I want to do with my life is exercise my choice in my own behavior, probably in spite of my depression, and not take it out on everyone else. Tis my goal to become a new and enlightened genesis: humanity.

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Oh.

*chuckles*

Thanks for stopping by.

The sexual role play forum is here.

I don't hang out there, and I'm not going to derail Furry's thread.

My apologies for the misunderstanding.

d

I didnt mean to implay anything you seem to understand my interest

sdineen said:

I didnt mean to implay anything you seem to understand my interest

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You mentioned roleplay. That equals sexual in my mind, and I will not inflict that tone in a sensitive thread because it will come out of me.

So, no. I will not roleplay with you.

f

I accept that I only seek to benifit from your interest on the subject

sdineen said:

I accept that I only seek to benifit from your interest on the subject

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What are your own thoughts and opinions on the subject?

FurryFury said:

It's been a while but yes. I remember you! *hugs* Glad to see you come around again!

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graceanne said:

Of course we remember you, silly goose. *hugs*

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It always feels good to be remembered. I had forgotten myself lately but hopefully that is changing.

Licia said:

Have coffee with us!

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Coffee is always good!!

ultramarineblue said:

It always feels good to be remembered. I had forgotten myself lately but hopefully that is changing.



Coffee is always good!!

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....and CHOCOLATE!!!!

Rumor has it that there is chocolate in this thread.

This is completely out of place here. Also you need to learn how to write, including words, sentences and paragraphs if you want to "role play" in that section of the board.

Of course putting your comments here could be considered a form of mental illness I suppose. A "special" trollish form.

sdineen said:

i would love to roleplay such an senario

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FurryFury said:

This is completely out of place here. Also you need to learn how to write, including words, sentences and paragraphs if you want to "role play" in that section of the board.

Of course putting your comments here could be considered a form of mental illness I suppose. A "special" trollish form.

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You left out capitalization.

Mumbling to myself about the possible genetic links. I'm adopted, from the era of closed adoptions. Stuff like this bugs me sometimes. Not to mention worry for my kids, whose paternal family have a variety of illnesses.

FurryFury said:

This is completely out of place here. Also you need to learn how to write, including words, sentences and paragraphs if you want to "role play" in that section of the board.

Of course putting your comments here could be considered a form of mental illness I suppose. A "special" trollish form.

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It's called "thinking with your dick." It's a freaking epidemic, I swear.

As far as some of the other things that have been discussed in this thread, I totally understand people's reluctance to see therapists/psychologists. There are a few good ones among a giant dung pile of terrible ones. And for many illnesses (bipolar, schizophrenia, and, to a certain extent, unipolar depression with a biological basis), it doesn't really help that much. Also, even the good therapists/psychologists will tell you that if you are really ill, it's very possible that you'll need meds to stabilize you in order for therapy to actually do any good.

It's bad to say, but I trust the pill-pushers more than the talkers. *Shrug*

Speaking of pill-pushers, I actually get my meds from my family doctor. She knows more about psychiatric drugs than most general practitioners, and she's enormously cool. So I agree with OSG that a person might have better luck there.

So if someone out there knows he/she needs help, but is either disgusted by the mental health practitioners or afraid of them, then I encourage you to talk to a general practitioner whom you trust. That person might help you, and even if he/she doesn't or can't, you might at least manage to get a recommendation to a good psychiatrist, which is much better than just picking one at random out of the phone book. (You can also get appointments much faster with GPs than with psychologists or psychiatrists.)

Also, I just want to encourage people not to give up. There are tons of legitimate treatments out there: many different types of meds, light therapy for depression, dark therapy for bipolar, ECT for depression (which is usually a last resort, but some people swear by it), and lots more. I'm not saying that you'll find something that makes everything perfect, but there's most likely something out there that can help you.

As far as mentally ill people and their meds go--I have been hard on the non mentally ill in my last few posts, but on this subject, I'll be hard on those of us who do have illnesses.

TAKE YOUR GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING MEDICATION.

You have a responsibility to take care of both yourself and the people around you. You cannot do that unmedicated. Regardless of what your illness is trying to tell you, most of the time, if you were prescribed medication, you need it. You are not some goddamn special snowflake who is just "misunderstood" by everyone around you and being held down by The Man or whatever. Yes, there are cases of people being over-medicated or medicated when they didn't actually need meds, but those cases are the minority, not the majority. Serious (and oftentimes, even moderate) mental illness requires medication. Remember, lack of insight to one's condition and one's need for treatment is a hallmark of many illnesses.

If your meds aren't helping, go back to the doctor. If the side effects are too hard to live with, go back to the doctor. If that doctor won't help you, find another one. There are a ton of meds out there. The odds are in your favor that you will find something where the good outweighs the bad in terms of efficacy vs. side effects.

There's no such thing as a medication with zero side effects. That does not mean that you shouldn't take meds. Learn the difference between intolerable side effects and inconvenient ones. Intolerable side effects are dangerous ones (like an anaphylactic reaction or insulin resistance) or ones that truly interfere with your quality of life (like something that either makes it impossible to sleep or impossible to wake up). Inconvenient side effects are things like acne and mild weight gain.

If your meds give you intolerable side effects, have them changed. If they give you inconvenient ones but otherwise help your quality of life, suck it up and fucking deal with it. Wellbutrin gives me a mild tremor that becomes a major one if I'm hungry, tired, or sick. Lamictal makes me stumble over words when I talk. These things are annoying, but I can live with looking like a stuttering Parkinson's patient if it means I feel better and don't hurt the people around me.

Which do you prefer? The inconvenience of taking meds and their side effects or harming yourself and others? Take responsibility for your own actions; being mentally ill is no excuse for being a selfish cunt.

Also, non mentally ill people, for the love of God, stop encouraging us crazies to stop taking our meds. You are not us. You are not our doctors. You, as an outside lay person, do not have the ability to make that judgment call. I don't give a shit if you are "Master" or "Mistress." You cannot take the place of somebody's meds, and please go fuck yourself if you think you can.

/rant

My girl has two settings, over cautious and throwing caution to the wind. As a parent I have to wonder if I will even out live her. Scary.

Sorry all. There is a fucktard stalking my PM box, and tis a perfect example of how ignoring a problem until it goes away does not always work. I mean, why would anyone even take the time to respond to an idiot, right?

Not all fucktards are benign. Being cordial with someone who thinks you're weak prey is one of my favorite whack-a-bitch playstyles. Again, sorry all. I was forming a plan out loud. If it happens again I'll be sure to seek permission from the OP to throw light on a subject a lot of folks think is a big fucking joke: women are so mean!

And I would say that most women understand the problem with these types. We don't sit around and circle jerk about problems which we've created in our own minds. We will laugh about incidents because fucktards like this are a cultural menace and an unsexy pain in the ass.

This *points at the above* is the culture that has taught me that I have no other choice but to fight for my right to exist the way I see fit. Fucktards see fit to harrass, abuse, rape and snatch at a woman who is free just to be by what? Default? Definition? *sardonic chuckle*

If you've ever wondered why women go to the bathroom in packs, now you know.

Bunny, I fucking loved your last post. You get coffee any way you want it, girlfriend. I have not seen anyone encouraging people to stop taking their meds. Did I miss something?

Oh, and as an aside...

Fucktards of the world: you will never fucking break me. Your too fucking stupid, inept and ill equipped.

Real men, I still fucking love you.

I hear ya, Furry.

Teaching my daughters how to be safe in this world sometimes pisses me off.

"You must wear a bra in public eleven-year-old. Not every single adult is a nice person. Some of them will hurt you if they can. Stay in the yard, the radio says there is some sick dude stalking children three miles away. Stay away from the road, you hear me? If I catch you out of the backyard, you're grounded for the rest of the day."

She sighs and nods, "Okay, mommy."

And we live in BFE. No problems here, we're a sleepy little town.

Homicide is not a recent introduction, but at least it's starting to get coverage.

Ever seen Sons of Anarchy? That's how this place rolls.

I ginormously you right now.

BiBunny said:

As far as mentally ill people and their meds go--I have been hard on the non mentally ill in my last few posts, but on this subject, I'll be hard on those of us who do have illnesses.

TAKE YOUR GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING MEDICATION.

You have a responsibility to take care of both yourself and the people around you. You cannot do that unmedicated. Regardless of what your illness is trying to tell you, most of the time, if you were prescribed medication, you need it. You are not some goddamn special snowflake who is just "misunderstood" by everyone around you and being held down by The Man or whatever. Yes, there are cases of people being over-medicated or medicated when they didn't actually need meds, but those cases are the minority, not the majority. Serious (and oftentimes, even moderate) mental illness requires medication. Remember, lack of insight to one's condition and one's need for treatment is a hallmark of many illnesses.

If your meds aren't helping, go back to the doctor. If the side effects are too hard to live with, go back to the doctor. If that doctor won't help you, find another one. There are a ton of meds out there. The odds are in your favor that you will find something where the good outweighs the bad in terms of efficacy vs. side effects.

There's no such thing as a medication with zero side effects. That does not mean that you shouldn't take meds. Learn the difference between intolerable side effects and inconvenient ones. Intolerable side effects are dangerous ones (like an anaphylactic reaction or insulin resistance) or ones that truly interfere with your quality of life (like something that either makes it impossible to sleep or impossible to wake up). Inconvenient side effects are things like acne and mild weight gain.

If your meds give you intolerable side effects, have them changed. If they give you inconvenient ones but otherwise help your quality of life, suck it up and fucking deal with it. Wellbutrin gives me a mild tremor that becomes a major one if I'm hungry, tired, or sick. Lamictal makes me stumble over words when I talk. These things are annoying, but I can live with looking like a stuttering Parkinson's patient if it means I feel better and don't hurt the people around me.

Which do you prefer? The inconvenience of taking meds and their side effects or harming yourself and others? Take responsibility for your own actions; being mentally ill is no excuse for being a selfish cunt.

Also, non mentally ill people, for the love of God, stop encouraging us crazies to stop taking our meds. You are not us. You are not our doctors. You, as an outside lay person, do not have the ability to make that judgment call. I don't give a shit if you are "Master" or "Mistress." You cannot take the place of somebody's meds, and please go fuck yourself if you think you can.

/rant

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Amen to take your motherfucking meds, amended ever so slightly.

Sometimes you have to figure out what's actually working and what's not.

Around here, we are made sleepy, more depressed and less functional by antidepressants of all five life saver varieties (seriously WAY more ledge talks when on them) but life without adderall would be incomprehensible.

Figuring out time on this problem? About a year. BAAAAAAD scene.

As the non-med partner person, I've learned to take a deep breath and give it a month if someone decides to flush everything, as long as they're willing to add things back to the mix.

on taking your meds...here's the thing, they don't always work. and i'm not talking about "i feel better but they make me sleepy and nauseous" not working, i'm talking about every single day you still fantasize about and elaborately plan your suicide not working. no drug cocktail has ever silenced that voice for me, or even quieted the demons down enough so that i can get through 24 hours without crying. yes, a precious few have given me the ability to superficially function in the outside world for short spurts (and then once home alone cry or scream or SI), but then Daddy can do that, and with him i get hugs at the end.

i would love to have found meds that worked for me. but i no longer have the strength or energy to maintain hope and avoid crushing despair (when yet another drug or drug combo doesn't work) while experimenting.

I get that. Glad to hear he gives you hugs. Here are some more from me. *HUGS*

ownedsubgal said:

on taking your meds...here's the thing, they don't always work. and i'm not talking about "i feel better but they make me sleepy and nauseous" not working, i'm talking about every single day you still fantasize about and elaborately plan your suicide not working. no drug cocktail has ever silenced that voice for me, or even quieted the demons down enough so that i can get through 24 hours without crying. yes, a precious few have given me the ability to superficially function in the outside world for short spurts (and then once home alone cry or scream or SI), but then Daddy can do that, and with him i get hugs at the end.

i would love to have found meds that worked for me. but i no longer have the strength or energy to maintain hope and avoid crushing despair (when yet another drug or drug combo doesn't work) while experimenting.

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Licia said:

Bunny, I fucking loved your last post. You get coffee any way you want it, girlfriend. I have not seen anyone encouraging people to stop taking their meds. Did I miss something?

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Oh, no, I haven't seen it recently. But I've seen that kind of thing in the past, and I'm just like, "Die, you retard." Happens more often on Fetlife, though.

CutieMouse said:

I ginormously you right now.

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I you, too.

Netzach said:

Amen to take your motherfucking meds, amended ever so slightly.

Sometimes you have to figure out what's actually working and what's not.

Around here, we are made sleepy, more depressed and less functional by antidepressants of all five life saver varieties (seriously WAY more ledge talks when on them) but life without adderall would be incomprehensible.

Figuring out time on this problem? About a year. BAAAAAAD scene.

As the non-med partner person, I've learned to take a deep breath and give it a month if someone decides to flush everything, as long as they're willing to add things back to the mix.

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See, I'm ok with this, too. I was thinking more along the lines of this one guy I dated while in college (and many others I have known since then). "Oh, I don't NEED my meds. I function better without them." No. No, you don't. On meds, you're mildly annoying. Off of them, I seriously contemplate killing you on a daily basis.

ownedsubgal said:

on taking your meds...here's the thing, they don't always work. and i'm not talking about "i feel better but they make me sleepy and nauseous" not working, i'm talking about every single day you still fantasize about and elaborately plan your suicide not working. no drug cocktail has ever silenced that voice for me, or even quieted the demons down enough so that i can get through 24 hours without crying. yes, a precious few have given me the ability to superficially function in the outside world for short spurts (and then once home alone cry or scream or SI), but then Daddy can do that, and with him i get hugs at the end.

i would love to have found meds that worked for me. but i no longer have the strength or energy to maintain hope and avoid crushing despair (when yet another drug or drug combo doesn't work) while experimenting.

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Sounds like you've just had a bad go of it all the way around.

I understand that there are some people, like you, who haven't found anything that will work for them. And I understand the sort of leaden paralysis you get when you're so depressed that you do good to get out of bed every morning. When you feel that way, you don't feel up to playing human guinea pig for yet another treatment.

But folks like you weren't really the ones I was talking about in my previous post. I feel certain that at no point did you say to yourself, "You know what? I don't NEED meds. I'm fine without them!" while steadily making a mess of your own life and the lives of others.

If you're able to manage the way you're handling it now, I'm happy for you. (Seriously. There's no way to word that that doesn't sound like sarcasm, but I meant it for real.) I'm sure that your Daddy is the one who is in control of any treatment you may get, but if you or he are ever interested, there are some things out there that might help that aren't meds. (Don't know if you've ever tried them or not, just throwing that out there for you.)

ownedsubgal said:

on taking your meds...here's the thing, they don't always work. and i'm not talking about "i feel better but they make me sleepy and nauseous" not working, i'm talking about every single day you still fantasize about and elaborately plan your suicide not working. no drug cocktail has ever silenced that voice for me, or even quieted the demons down enough so that i can get through 24 hours without crying. yes, a precious few have given me the ability to superficially function in the outside world for short spurts (and then once home alone cry or scream or SI), but then Daddy can do that, and with him i get hugs at the end.

i would love to have found meds that worked for me. but i no longer have the strength or energy to maintain hope and avoid crushing despair (when yet another drug or drug combo doesn't work) while experimenting.

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*hugs*

Sadly enough, meds aren't a miracle that takes care of all ills and in fact they don't work at all for a large majority of the population. The human body is a weird thing and what works for one person doesn't for another and is poisonous for yet another (penicillin comes to mind). And even when they help, they aren't the be all and end all. And sometimes, nothing is ever going to make it better - the human psyche can only undergo so much trauma before it's not fixable anymore.

What a good discussion. I agree with a lot that has already been said; especially the comments about over diagnosis and living a sedentary lifestyle. I also think that doctors are quick to prescribe medications without trying other alternatives first. Some mental illness is manageable without medication, but of course not all.

I've been coping with depression for as long as I can remember. As a kid my mother just said I was "moody and shy" but in my teens I was diagnosed with depression and promptly put on Prozac without trying any other approach to deal with the illness. This was okay for a while then I started to feel numb, apathetic and not myself. I wasn't sad, I wasn't happy, I just was. Throughout my teens and early 20s I was on and off whatever anti-depressant was popular at the time. I would take them for a few months and be over-the-top happy then I would start to flatline again, at that point I would discontinue the meds.

During my early 20s I started to get introspective, asking myself why I was making the decisions that I was making. Why are you so negative? Why so judgemental? Why so bitchy and unpleasant? And most importantly what is this doing for you? I was making myself miserable and compounding it day after day with the thoughts that I chose to embrace and the actions that I chose day in and day out. From that day forward (as I was walking across my college campus, observing what I perceived to be as happy people) I decided that for the most part I color my own world, and I wasnt going to let my depression bury me. I can claw my way out. It was about this time that I evaluated my diet and the chemical filled shit that I was putting into my body--I drank almost 2 liters of pop a day and most of the food I consumed was artificial fast food, single serving quick food with no real nutrition. You know what they say, you are what you eat...and I felt like shit, and acted like an asshole.

Long story short I gave my life an overhaul. From the physical to the mental.

...so cut to today, without monitoring what I eat, without yoga (this is my mental release), without weight lifting and checking in with myself on the regular I would be a completely different person--or I might not even be here. And also without my daily affirmations (yes...I sound like Stuart Smalley) I could easily let that negativity dictate my choices. I control what I can and try to make good decisions.

That being said I am not perfect, everyone has their bad days and you cannot control your thoughts; so yes, judgement creeps in. But instead of going along with it I ask myself what is the motivation for those thoughts/feelings, can I turn it around? I know if i'm starting toward a downward spiral and I evaluate what could potentially be taking me there (did you eat too much ice cream? did you miss a workout/yoga class? have you seen your friends/family recently?) and try to fix it. Of course there isnt always an answer, and sometimes it just is; and a good healthy cry can help, or talking it out with a loved one.

To answer the original question...how do I feel about mental illness? I think it is slowly being more and more recognized in today's society, and some stigma is lifted as it becomes more prevalent. However, because you can't outright measure it like a physical illness there will always be some skepticism from those that have no experience. I feel that when you get to know yourself you can begin to cope with what your dealing with. With meds or without.

How do I feel about those that refuse meds? I can relate. I would refuse to take mine at times because I would have rather felt sad/angry than feel nothing at all. But this is just from a mild depression standpoint. If you are a danger to yourself or others in society and you *know* this, but you decide not to take your medication---or seek other ways to deal with mental illness--then this is just irresponsible and unacceptable.