I have recently learned that my particular strain of DnA (Depression and Anxiety) has moments of selfishness. For someone who considers themselves a high functioning green individual I often find it very easy and convenient to put DnA in the nearest drawer to deal with at a later date. No problem right.” But what happens when life, work or family accidentally opens the drawer? Your then trying to multitask; putting DnA back in the drawer and trekking on with the day to day. Cause you don’t have time for DnA or any of their mental health relatives getting in your way or taking up all your time there’s more important things to be done. But then after chasing them around a bit you may stop and realize “hey maybe they are worth my time.” There apart of you wether you like or not. Dealing with it means dealing with yourself and your own needs. That’s when you realize being a little selfish isn’t so bad.
Our actions may not always show it but sometimes our mental health can have a funny way of showing us that you need to stop and take care of number 1. When your feeling like you’re on the verge of spiraling. Thats the sign to put yourself and your health at the top of that to do list. Stop, take a moment, self reflect, or step away, be the loneliest number. Your number one and being number one is to be a winner.
World Fair Trade Day is on the second Saturday of May and its purpose is to celebrate the contributions to the fight against poverty, exploitation, and climate change.
With the passing of World and National Fair Trade Day. I was reminded of the popular song by Drake and Travis Scott Fair Trade. Now the song and the holiday have nothing in common besides a name, I can attest that at times day to day living with a mental health disorder can become labor intensive.
“Peace of mind ” A much sought after commodity and in many cases It doesn’t come easy. What action must be taken to obtain peace of mind. medication, lifestyle changes , family, friends. The last can be the hardest who can get better without a support system. Sometime people can be the very thing delaying your journey and in some cases cutting people out of your life no matter how much you care for them. Sometimes this happens intentionally sometimes not. There is potential for fallout for decisions like this, but never feel bad about doing whats best for you for your own health. Just remember putting ones self first for peace and happiness is the better trade off.
-you cant get better in the same place that made you sick. –
Anyone who has suffered from a mental health issue is aware that its a major challenge. Not only that, catching the signs and symptoms can lead you to a different diagnosis. Now I have notice some patterns which I have now been able to follow a sequence of events to the discovery of deeper issues.
We all get those times where we feel sad or hopeless. Sometimes it can be feeling sad over the smallest things. You may be a little more nervous or anxious and easily startled.
The Physical Signs “
Body aches
Head aaches
Stomach pain
Dizziness
Tiredness
These can be harder to pick up as it can be many things. Random muscle aches, muscle tightness, or headaches.
The environmental or societal issue
Decrease work productivity
Uninterested in favorite activities or hobbies.
Changes in mood
What signs have you notice with yourself or others ? Do we repeat the same sequence of emotions when having a depressive episode. OR maybe you only experience one type.
Symptoms they don’t talk about are a lot of times the minor ones that can go unnoticed or even ones that don’t appear to be a symptom at all. There is the nail biting, the foot tapping, or maybe even head scratching, but those are just habits not symptoms of anything. Well with such habits being that minor it can be difficult to even recognize your own symptoms or even recognize the onset of an anxiety attack.
In all of my years dealing with mental illness it was a friend who lives nearly 10,000 miles away to help me recognize my actions as symptoms and that I was having an attack. I wasn’t hyperventilating, or sweating excessively, or nauseated. No, I was up in my mothers apartment at 3 in the morning cooking and cleaning. I don’t mean just your standard tidying up. I was full on sweeping, moping, and scrubbing. I was making food as if preparing for a dinner party. By the time my attack was over I had managed to make tacos, chicken, deviled eggs and apple sauce from scratch. As I reflect on this incident I can feel the budding tension in my chest rise. (So apparently just thinking about attacks brings on attacks too noted. )
So this observation that had been pointed out made me pause and think, this can’t be a panic attack. I just cant sleep so might as well get some tasks done, that will tire me out. Then once I’m tired I’ll have to pass out. But that’s just it. I am so restless that I have decided to do these tasks to force my body and mind to shut down. In a way this is just my mind and body’s way of distracting me and avoiding the real issue of what has me up. In all my distractions I was not able to even fathom there was a problem till it was brought to my attention. Sometimes it takes a person from the outside to put your actions into perspective so you can clearly see the problems you’re not ready to face because you’re up at 3 in the morning preparing for a dinner party. It’s also pretty eye opening on how the mind or body will come up with actions to cope or protect itself or cry for help. I can see why you wouldn’t talk about a symptom if you don’t even know there is one.
And now a toast; not for a new job, new home or new relationship, but to Mental Health.
On most occasions it was something many were drinking to escape from , but to drink too in celebration definitely a new concept.
And to even have the strength to admit to others publicly not easy. Mental Health for so long always came with fear and judgement.
Now with this one moment a forward step for the stigma books. This is proof that we as a people have come a great distance in how mental health is perceived. If this isn’t proof that Mental health narrative isn’t changing I don’t know what is.
The road is still tough but at least the scenery is changing. And that’s something to toast too. Cheers!
A friend is what the heart needs all the time. – Henry Van Dyke
Now that you have been formally introduced to Zac it is fitting to get a bit of his origin story.
During the late 1960’s doctors were working on different treatments for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). One particularly thing that continued to come up was a decrease of Serotonin levels in patients.
Serotonin has many functions and jobs, one being a neurotransmitter (messenger). As we all know messengers in many cases are very important, (please refrain from shooting), Serotonin is that messenger which communicates anything from, mood, eating, sleeping and digestion. Which sounds like a lot of opportunity for things to go left.
Imagine your body and nerves like the pony express. There are various riders at a particular checkpoint to get messages to its final destination, i.e a message to the brain to put you in a good mood. Well what happens if one of your riders or many riders gets lost or stuck ? Your brain won’t be getting the message bye bye good mood.
In the case of patients having a down mood as well as low levels of serotonin what could happen if that level was increased?
This is where Zac comes in. The extra force needed to unblock the dammed river. or be the increase of needed riders to deliver to deliver happy messages to the brain. On the flip side unblocking a dam can cause a major increase of messengers/serotonin flowing in and that has its own set of problems.
“Dam Destroyer” By 1987 a concentrated form of Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI ) [1] would be approved by the USFDA.
Zac hit the market and was quickly seen as a “wonder drug”
Zac was introduced at a time where the pharmaceutical industry was shifting how they market their products. Previously pharmaceuticals usually went to doctors and health providers to market their products in hope of getting more doctors to use their products for prescription and treatment. The 1980s saw a change to Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising. Now potential patients were seeing what products could be made available to them instead of solely relying on their doctor for treatment options. 🚩
The introduction of Prozac into the mass market also opened up opportunity for people to speak publicly on mental illness especially in regards to depression or anxiety. In some respects Zac became “trendy” (he had a book and movie deal talk about a Hollywood star.”) Because Prozac was believed to work so well patients as well as the public put a lot of faith into the drug to easily cure these issues. With such rave reviews pretty hard to imagine any downsides to something so wonderful.
Esherick, Joan. (2007). Prozac: North American Culture and the Wonder Drug. Mason Crest Publishers Inc
Because of you I laugh a little harder, cry a little less and smile a little more. -unknown
Smile more
For many suffering from some form of mental illness it’s not surprising that laughing and smiling more while crying less would be a goal to shoot for.
But how does one go about finding that thing or things that will bring on the smiles and laughter while wiping the tears.
Is it family, friends, exercise, diet?
Well just like you, I too ask myself the same question while seeking out what will best assist me in evading the psychiatric rabbit hole I often find myself in.
With that said I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine Zac. I’m sure you have heard of him, maybe you have even met him or even requested him in order to gain a bit of his magic. Maybe you guys hit if off or maybe despite all his efforts you both weren’t able to stay close despite his efforts.
Now for a little guy ,weighing in about 40 milligrams and sometimes in either green, blue or orange bottoms, he was quite the heavyweight its like depression never stood a chance .
Just a single encounter and boom you have the strength and tools to easily knock down the dam blocking the serotonin river gaining that happiness which you never thought you feel again.
When he first burst onto the seen he was described as being a miracle he was all the craze and everyone wanted a piece.
And rightfully so who wouldn’t want to just have one dose of Zac and instantly be happy again.
Like i said unfortunately I have to be honest with you he means well but he’s not always able to deliver. Not all rivers flow the same and sometimes it takes Zac with some additional reinforcements for the river to flow once more.
And honestly why should he? That’s a lot of pressure on him obviously ,and we all know happiness takes a bit more work.
And this is not to take anything away from Zac just because he’s not perfect doesn’t mean he’s not a good friend. He is very much still there to assist if you should need him. He still provides a lot of the relief, and continues to be that extra assistance people needs. He is still very much popular and still very much a heavy hitter in the mental illness battle. He was responsible for changing the game in the field of psychology as well as how we go about recovery bringing on new laws, requirement and insight to the field of mental health. Because of his presence , he created a path for his associates whom would follow.
People now have much more access to information and many more choices in how they fight this battle or unblock the dam. It then just becomes the mission of finding and selecting the right tools.
Happy Pills
Esherick, Joan. (2007). Prozac: North American Culture and the Wonder Drug. Mason Crest Publishers Inc.
With all the holidays around us, the cold weather as well as the possibility of being flooded with a good dose of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) it seemed to be the perfect time to bring up something important ……drum roll “coping skills.” I admit this is most definitely not something at the forefront of our minds, but certainly stress and anxiety certainly have an opportunity to make its presence known during the holiday season.
I first got on the subject after a conversation with some friends. We were discussing the Disneyland Resort Buena Vista Street expansion (Anaheim, California) . Many people had very strong emotions about being able to at least walk into the resort and many described they had very strong feelings to the point it brought tears to their eyes. This got my friends and I thinking just how much a place like Disneyland , and any other location provided a sense of comfort and an escape for people. I can attest to this as a former pass holder. I always looked forward to Disney outings with my Disney crew and being caught up in the magical pixie dust. (I think it’s sprinkled with a little crack.) I created this place, and the time with my friends as an escape. It was a time to just focus on what was in front me and to keep my mind away from my problems which bring stress and anxiety . This is what countless others do. We are figuring out a way to simply catch our breath and to cope with whatever issues are troubling us. Which brings us to the topic and its importance.
Let’s think about what exactly are coping skills. According to Webster and Merriam the word cope means “to deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties often to maintain a contest or combat usually on even terms or with success.”
And a skill “is the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance” Just looking at these definitions we can see that forming coping skills and positive ones at that is something that can be challenged in the forming and implementing of such skill as well as staying consistent day to day. So when you find yourself getting a bit stressed out, frustrated or anxious here are a few things to do to recenter yourself.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath
Close your eyes; take a deep breath
Count to 10
Look up; study the sky
Say Stop
Learning how to tackle every day stress isn’t going to come easy but it is possible to learn and manage it. With the transition into a New Year there is an opportunity not just for a resolution but to take the challenge of learning this skill……………now who loves a challenge?
As I learn more and more about myself and how I deal with my little green accessory. I learn a little more on what this little disease it. I have discovered that there are several types to the depression problem.
My Green Ribbon 