Mental Health Support Thread (NOT for giving medical advice, or debating)

Umm... hang in there? It's... going to be okay? I'm not sure that's healthy.

 

Well first, let me start with this: high school doesn't mean shit. Seriously. Everyone only goes on and on about how important it is to have good grades, the best grades, the highest grades you can get. And I'm here to tell you, unless you're planning on going to an Ivy League college, grades don't mean shit. And don't you dare let anyone tell you otherwise. It doesn't mean you aren't smart or successful. As long as you graduate, or even get a GED, that's all that matters. My husband was held back two years. Three years older than me and graduated one year before me. Wanna know how much it's held him back? None. Not even a bit. He's currently a manager in retail, one step away from being store manager. And while some may not think of that as "successful," I do. And so does he! No one is going to look at your GPA except for colleges.

Second, why are you worried about being a failure? Whose yardstick are you measuring by? Yours? Or the rich CEO who got a small $1million loan from his parents and has been building businesses since he was 17? Because everyone has a different view of success. And everyone is going to look down on someone else because they aren't as "successful" as them. The CEO will look down on the lower managers. The managers will look down on the employees. The employees will look down on the janitors. The janitors may even look down on the CEO because they think there's more to life than money.

Measure by your own yardstick. What would make you the happiest? What would make you feel successful? Don't worry about what other people think. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters.

Also, get a new therapist. They aren't supposed to lecture you about your life. They're supposed to coach you through your feelings and help you deal with them. They aren't your parent. They are there to guide you. And if she isn't guiding you and making you feel comfortable enough to talk, why are you paying her?

 

There's nothing wrong with being greedy and self centered. Everyone is a little. Some people are a lot. I'm really selfish. I'm alright with admitting that. I spent my entire life living for everyone else and not for me, and I suffered for it. I even used to think the same as you. I always saw myself alone when I thought about my future. Always. I lived in some small cottage in Montana, growing my own vegetables, and only going into town to buy meat.

But then I started being selfish. I started doing what I wanted, when I wanted, because I realized... If I don't care about me, how can I expect anyone else to care about me? Now I'm married. And I'm still selfish. Less now of course than before. But I'm still selfish, and so is he. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's your life. Live it for you.

That's not nice. If you have nothing helpful to add, don't say anything at all.

 

I apologize for any offense.
But, all I suggested was that my impression, keyword impression, was not of something good. But I never claimed to understand, the description was very short, and I indeed expressed I was confused. You talk about mean but your response is pointed to a non-pointed comment that was mostly about confusion. If that is all it takes to make you feel defensive then it is my opinion you need to develop a thicker skin. And to be honest I still don't understand. How does "selfish" actually apply? That's a pretty nebulous description of any actual practice.

 

I took no offense. It was a bad moment for me. I should really stay clear of internet access when that happens.

 

It's a lesson I find myself learning again and again. You're not alone in that.

 

Yeah. I third this. Don't press the post button until your calm. And go over your post before you say it. Particularly if it's about something sensitive and serious.

 

Someone posted this website here and it pisses me off more than anything.

http://antipsychiatry.org/

 

People actually...I don`t even. Psychiatry isn`t perfect, psychology is a always shifting field and medicine itself is always shifting hell we once used leeches. Overmedication and misprescribing is a problem in both pyshtarty and any field where medicine can be prescribed look at the opioid problem that stemmed from painkillers. All that being said however, to deem the entire practice that has helped people as evil, harmful, and anti-democratic (what?) is absurd. Just reading off the list I see things about schizophrenia, depression, and suicide as a civil right. I have family and friends who have the first two and they are very much real problems. I`ve even had problems with depression. To write them off as nonexistent diseases is a disserve to the people who have them. As for suicide....loss of life is rarely ever an acceptable thing if there is another way. To imply that there is a civil right....it grates me so. I`ve seen what happens to the people left behind after suicide, I`ve seen what a botched suicide attempts look like, hell I've even thought about and where I am now I'm glad I didn`t. We should be dealing with the reasons that drive people to that extreme rather than declaring it`s there right.

I did see something about a stigma following you. I don`t dare click on the article because I`m annoyed at this site enough but there is a stigma that much is true, that's why many mental illnesses cases aren`t caught because there`s this stigma agsnit mental health and there not as easy to catch as people assume. For people diagnosed with mental illnesses yes there is a stigma and that does need to be dealt with but getting rid of psychiatry is not the way to do it. We need to get society to understand and acept what mentel illness and mentel health are and that they are nothing to be ashamed of. We need to get people to relise how complex mentel illness realy are and they aren`t just the twicthy guy who talks to himself as he walks down the street.

This just....gah......

 

I've been reading some case studies of autistic patients, including Leo Kanner's original Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact. Both he and Hans Asperger noticed some rote memory talents, despite their patients' wide-reaching dysfunction. A later paper by Lorna Wing corroborates this.

We have known of savant skills for years, though they are rare, but I wonder if — possibly — this other talent could extend beyond the rough ten percent with those abilities. If so, my feelings are mixed; it would be an enhancement, but to a form of learning that begins thin and robotic, with limited comprehension of the knowledge absorbed. Among other things, it could explain why many people with the old Asperger's diagnosis appeared intelligent and well-read, without the need for any leap in IQ score. There is a desire among many to claim autism as an equal alternative to normal functioning, but this one attribute would not justify that position, except in the mildest of cases.

It would also stretch the disorder's hold even wider, though less hostile, and perhaps that would be preferable. It touches nearly every area of human functioning, with symptoms so broad as to defy the idea of a single opponent, one obstacle to overcome. It would be better to find some value than to spend your entire life fighting for an inevitably partial victory. My health improves when I embrace it on some level, but I cannot do so honestly if no benefit can be connected.

 

Had a minor breakdown today. Thought about cutting for the first time in 10 years, which just made me feel even worse. I thought I was making such great progress. I haven't had any suicidal thoughts in a year. I'm feeling much more attractive and confident. Then today, at the first sign of disappointment, all of that went out the window.

Not like I could control the thoughts. They just popped in there before I even realized I was thinking them. I guess it's just become a learned behavior. A habit. Someone made you feel shitty? Better cut. It'll make you feel better. Fortunately, the thought was as far as I went.

I'm not as embarrassed about this as I used to be, so I'll bring it up in therapy next week. I just hope she can provide some insight into why it's happening or how to stop me from crumbling after one slight.

 

I can't explain it, maybe anyone here can. I get irritated easily. It's not due to anxiety or depression or anything, I think. I always tend to say when you're angry or bitter for this long there's always a a cause, but I can't find it or find a solution that applies to why I'm suddenly irked. Simple things like these below almost always irritate me:

• When my earphones are suddenly yanked out
• Getting pricked by pointy objects (thumbtacks, pencils, nails, sowing needles, etc.)
• Being itchy a lot
• Being hot and constricted
  
• Having to repeat myself a lot
• People who are slow/hesitant to do or say things
• People who are unsure a lot (saying "I don't know" or "I don't care" when asked a yes or no question)
• Messing up too much on a task/activity
• When things don't go my way often
  
• Dropping things frequently
• Bumping into things a lot
• Being shoved
• Someone slamming the breaks when I'm in a car

It then spirals out of control. I thought it was stress related, but then I realized that I can have a completely good day and be in a good mood and then I'm stuck ruminating on things that piss me off if one or more of the things listed above occur to me. I have absolutely no clue what this is called. I notice that it doesn't happen to others as often or that it takes longer for it to happen in other people. With me it's almost instantaneous irritation, like I have low patience (which I do). What's worse is my dad goes through this too, but more severely, i.e he takes his irritation out on me at times, I hold mine in. Not abusive (yelling, physical altercations, etc.) in anyway, but rude remarks, sudden and unwarranted bouts of honesty or just complaining/bitching.

 

Well Im at a lost here. Everyone in this link have their minds made up about anti-psychology and anti-medication.

http://forums.school-survival.net/showthread.php?tid=36467

 

You can't argue with those people. They're no different than anti-vaxxers, finding a few junk science stories and claiming them as fact. Save yourself the headache and give up.

 

Whatever this is, i have it too.

My theory is that i'm too engrossed in my minds world, and not the one around me. It accounts for the lack of attention on what i'm doing (dropping things i didn't even pick up) and that any situation that either doesn't add to or distracts from the 'plot' of my life seems like bad writing. I always find myself trying to skip past it to the next page in life events. (heads up, you can't really do that in real life)

 

@Miller0700 I'm another one. Pretty much everything on your list annoys me, and I can add a whole bunch. It's not even a moment of annoyance like anybody might feel: it's vicious. One of my biggest bugbears is gormless people standing in the middle of the street or a shop aisle or whatever, completely oblivious (or uncaring) that they're blocking other people. I sometimes get so irritated I shout at them--complete strangers who might get violent for all I know.

I have no explanation.

 

I hate that, or people who stand in groups and block an entire large hallway. I want to do that, but I never do.

Also I sorta have a confession for the Writing Forums. I have Antisocial Personality disorder. I've learned to live with it for the most part. I went to therapy and it sort of gave me a sense of empathy. When I was younger I was not empathetic at all, but now I stop to consider how something would make someone else feel. So I'm not like dangerous or anything. Contrary to popular belief I do have emotions, but they're generally more muted than most people's.
One of the worst parts is that little tug in the back my mind that makes me want to do something destructive. It's usually easily ignored, especially once I learned to deal with it through CBT, but it's always there. Sadly there's no real treatment or stuff to make these things go away like there is for more traditional mental illnesses so managing it is really my only course of action.

 

Wish me luck, I'm about to start another course of meds after being pulled off the last due to unacceptable side effects. Since getting rid, I've been up and down like a yoyo, have difficulty getting out and about and my sense of self esteem is either ridiculously high, or down in the gutter. What I'd give for balance right now.

 

What's medicines are you taking if you don't mind me asking? Bipolar disorder is in my family and I have knowledge with some of the common ones and their effects so I might be able to help.

 

The funnest thing to do with those folks is just to bulldoze through the middle of the group. Bonus points if you mess up the conversation they're having.

I feel lost, honestly. I know where I want to go, need to go, but I don't know how I'll get there. I still haven't locked down a job, which sucks, and I've dropped college (since I couldn't afford textbooks and I was sick of school). I feel almost... disoriented? Like someone spun the room around, and now I'm too dizzy to find the door. My only plan is to write a book, and take off running from there.

But on the other hand, I'm a month distanced from darkest mental pit I've had in my life. It lasted two months, and plunged me into a low spot I don't ever want to return to. I still don't quite know how I clawed myself out of it.

 

I'm still jobless too, so I know that feeling. I just finished my associates degree, I'd like to go to a regular college, but screw student loans.
Also, did you go to a therapist or a psychiatrist? I know what it feels like to experience the emotional emptiness and detachment from people and a therapist really helped me. Something to consider should you ever find yourself in that spot again.

 

@Nicole-tan

Seroquel for the better part of a year although, in the past, I've been on all sorts of combinations of mood stabilisers and anti-convulsants. I'd been faring ok on the Seroquel until the cumulative effect caused agonising leg cramps which utterly messed up my sleep pattern. My pdoc had mentioned two fairly new drugs but I had to settle for Abilify as the other isn't cleared yet to be prescribed unless the patient is presenting as delusional which I'm currently not. Like the rest, it'll simply be a matter of weighing up pros and cons. Fingers crossed.

 

Ah. Well if it gets to severe you might try lithium. If they allow that in the UK anyway. The biggest side-effects with lithium are twitching and constant thirst. Atleast that's what I've seen. I've never taken any psych meds personally.

 

Very nice, an associate's isn't something to turn one's nose down at. And yeah, student loans can go take a flying leap.

A therapist is worth a shot I guess. Hopefully I'll never need to do so, since they cost money. I've always managed to fight through depression on my own, even if I come out a bit wounded on the other side.

 

They were notorious for doing that in high school and my school was a charter school so it was way smaller and congested. People yelled and cursed each other out frequently because of it.