Friday 30 November 2018

I Don’t Know What’s Wrong with Me

I’m not in a constant state of sadness, but I have moments where I feel very sad, sometimes even suicidal. I recently asked my parents if I could get a therapist, but I only mentioned stress because I thought they would be too worried if I mentioned depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. However, I did end up telling my principal two days ago that I think about harming myself about once a week, which means she told my dad that I do. He’s in another country, so he’s not addressing it directly; he has just been writing more emails to me.
I broke up with my boyfriend about 3 months ago (about a month after school started), and ever since then, I feel very awkward when talking to anyone besides the people I have known for two years. I’m always unconsciously thinking about what to say next. I know I have a lot of friends at school, but it just does not feel comfortable talking to any of them (this is my first year going to this school). Before I broke up with my boyfriend, I was just shy in talking to some people, not awkward. I am theorizing that breaking up with him has done something to my conscience, but I’m not entirely sure why.

When I talked to my principal, she told me that I strike off to her as a very confident person. It’s very strange because I have a really bad self-image, and I think I’m one of the most unconfident people in the world. I hate myself, and whenever I talk to myself, it’s very negative.
My mom makes me very angry sometimes, and it can make me suicidal. It can also make me look psychotic. I don’t exactly remember how because I think I cope with things by forgetting everything that happened.

Sometimes, I wanna cry, but I just physically can’t. I can’t cry until something just completely breaks me, usually a caring email from my dad. I only ever have nightmares. The last good or neutral one I remember is from about 5 years ago. I just dreamed today that I was kidnapped. I’ve never been abused or had any sort of trauma, so this is all very confusing.

Anyway, the main thing that made me wanna write here is that I can’t naturally have a conversation with anyone anymore. How do I fix this? How do I stop worrying about what people think? How do I start being myself again when I don’t even know what my personality is or used to be?

I can hear your persistence and bravery and trying to address these uncomfortable feelings in your life. I think you’ve done all the right things. Letting your principal know is a good thing and, even though your dad is away and hasn’t been able to help very much, the important thing is that you’re talking to somebody about your thoughts and feelings.

The kind of things you are talking about are symptoms that professional people have learned a great deal about. If your parents will not let you see a therapist, or are slow to make those arrangements, ask to see your general physician or pediatrician. When you talk to him or her explain these thoughts and he or she will be able to get you the help you need. The important thing is that you keep reaching out and letting people know what’s going on.

You may also want to use our online forums to make a connection with others dealing with similar issues.

Wishing you patience and peace,
Dr. Dan
Proof Positive Blog @ PsychCentral



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8 Healthy Reasons to Drink Coffee

“Once you wake up and smell the coffee, it’s hard to go back to sleep.” – Fran Drescher

I knew I liked coffee for a reason. Actually, not coffee itself, but espresso – and, specifically, the type I prefer from my favorite baristas: a Venti triple shot, coconut milk latte, 180 degree temperature, 2 organic sweeteners, extra foam and extra steamed coconut milk on the side. I know, sounds more like a dessert drink than an eye-opener, yet the truth is that it gets my motor (and my brain running just fine). As it turns out, there’s a growing body of scientific evidence that favors drinking coffee that I must share.

Genetic Variant Linked to Heightened Ability to Taste Bitterness = More Coffee Consumption

Researchers at Northwestern University and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia conducted a study to test the causal relationship between bitter taste and beverage consumption in more than 400,000 men and women in the United Kingdom. What they found in the study published in Scientific Reports was that people who have a heightened ability to taste the bitterness of coffee, rather than avoid it for unpleasant bitterness, drink more of it because they associate “good things with it.” Interestingly, bitterness (the genetic architecture of bitter taste) evolved as the body’s natural warning system to protect it from harmful substances. That’s why you’d expect we’d want to spit it out, not consume more. How alert coffee makes you feel, the psychological associations with good times and experiences are likely some of the good things the study alluded to.

Coffee Can Be Part of Healthy Diet

An umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomized controlled trials determined that coffee was associated with a probable decreased risk of breast, colon, colorectal, and endometrial cancers; type 2 diabetes; Parkinson’s disease, and cardiovascular disease and death. Although some outcomes included a probable increased risk of pregnancy loss and rise in serum lipids and increased blood pressure, researchers concluded that the overall benefits of coffee point to its inclusion in dietary considerations. The study was published in the Annual Review of Nutrition.

Drinking Coffee after Abdominal Surgery Enhances Recovery

Postoperative ileus is a frequent complication following abdominal surgery, despite advances in surgical techniques and aftercare. Researchers sought to validate the recommendation for patients to drink coffee following abdominal surgery, given the ample scientific evidence of coffee’s health benefits in general and those affecting recovery after surgery in the abdomen in particular. For example, coffee induces bowel movements, and stimulates motor activity in the large intestine shortly after consumption. In fact, researchers found that coffee consumption significantly reduced time to first bowel movement, flatulence, audible bowel sounds, and tolerance for solid food. Another plus was the finding that postoperative coffee consumption slightly reduced patients’ hospital stay. Researchers noted that the benefits appear to increase with increased complexity of the surgical procedure performed.

Coffee Safe to Preserve Memory Function

A 2018 meta-analysis in up to 415,530 participants determined that, while there is no evidence to substantiate causal long-term effects of habitual coffee consumption on global cognition or memory in mid- to later life, researchers did conclude that there are no adverse effects of such coffee consumption either. This finding was contrary to some earlier observational studies. They then stated that it appears “safe to consume coffee at least with respect to preserving memory function.”

Coffee Benefits for Liver

With liver cancer the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and third leading cause of cancer death in the world, researchers sought to clarify the reported benefits of coffee consumption on liver health. Researchers analyzed data to evaluate associations between intake of coffee and risk of subsequent liver cancer or chronic liver disease mortality. The 2013 study published in the British Journal of Cancer was a prospective cohort of Finnish smokers (male) that also had data on coffee preparation methods. Their findings: participants who consumed more than 2 cups of coffee daily had nearly a 50 percent reduction in liver cancer risk, relative to those who drank less than 1 cup of coffee per day. For those drinking more than 4 cups of coffee daily, the reduction in mortality from liver cancer was more than 90 percent. Of note is that neither smoking duration nor intensity showed any modification in association with coffee with liver cancer or chronic liver disease, and results were similar in those men who drank low and high amounts of alcoholic beverages.

Honey Plus Coffee Helps Heal Persistent Post-Infectious Cough

Persistent post-infectious cough refers to a cough that remains for weeks or months after a common cold or upper respiratory tract infection. Common treatment methods include steroids or honey plus coffee. Researchers compared the scientific therapeutic benefits of both methods in a study published in Primary Care Respiratory Journal in 2013. Honey, one of the oldest known medicines, can provide some relief from symptoms of cold and cough. Caffeine (in coffee) is a bronchodilator believed to stimulate breathing. It is also hypoalgesic and has some anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, caffeine, the world’s most commonly consumed psychoactive substance that stimulates the central nervous system, improves psychomotor performance and vigilance, decreases self-reported fatigue and sleepiness, and increases self-reported levels of alertness. In this study, results showed that honey plus coffee was preferred treatment method to steroids for persistent post-infectious cough. It is safe and effective while eliminating “unpleasant consequences of illness for both patients and physicians.”

Which is Better for Antioxidant Properties: Hot or Cold-Brew Coffee?

With the increasing popularity of cold-brew coffee today, researchers looked at the acidity and antioxidant activity of cold-brew versus hot-brew coffee and came away with interesting results. The 2018 study published in Scientific Reports suggested that there is a tendency to extract additional non-deprotonated acids in the hot brew method compared to cold brew method. These acids, researchers noted, may be responsible for the higher antioxidant properties they observed in the samples of hot brew coffee. They also said the hot brew coffee’s chemical composition may be more complex than that of cold brew coffee and called for further research to better understand “possible differences” in health effects of coffee brewing temperature and time.

How Coffee Helps the Heart

In a 2018 study published in the open journal PLOS Biology, researchers found that consuming 4 cups of coffee a day (or the caffeine equivalent) helps the heart by promoting the movement of a regulatory protein into mitochondria, thus enhancing their function and providing protection to cardiovascular cells from damage. They found that coffee improves the cardiovascular system and can even be “protective in states associated with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.” Specifically, scientists looked at coffee’s ability to improve the mitochondria of the old heart and recommended coffee as an important additional protective dietary factor for the elderly population. They also noted that enhancing mitochondrial function may be a potential therapeutic strategy in cardiovascular diseases and also in improving life span.



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I Don’t Know What’s Wrong with Me

I’m not in a constant state of sadness, but I have moments where I feel very sad, sometimes even suicidal. I recently asked my parents if I could get a therapist, but I only mentioned stress because I thought they would be too worried if I mentioned depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. However, I did end up telling my principal two days ago that I think about harming myself about once a week, which means she told my dad that I do. He’s in another country, so he’s not addressing it directly; he has just been writing more emails to me.
I broke up with my boyfriend about 3 months ago (about a month after school started), and ever since then, I feel very awkward when talking to anyone besides the people I have known for two years. I’m always unconsciously thinking about what to say next. I know I have a lot of friends at school, but it just does not feel comfortable talking to any of them (this is my first year going to this school). Before I broke up with my boyfriend, I was just shy in talking to some people, not awkward. I am theorizing that breaking up with him has done something to my conscience, but I’m not entirely sure why.

When I talked to my principal, she told me that I strike off to her as a very confident person. It’s very strange because I have a really bad self-image, and I think I’m one of the most unconfident people in the world. I hate myself, and whenever I talk to myself, it’s very negative.
My mom makes me very angry sometimes, and it can make me suicidal. It can also make me look psychotic. I don’t exactly remember how because I think I cope with things by forgetting everything that happened.

Sometimes, I wanna cry, but I just physically can’t. I can’t cry until something just completely breaks me, usually a caring email from my dad. I only ever have nightmares. The last good or neutral one I remember is from about 5 years ago. I just dreamed today that I was kidnapped. I’ve never been abused or had any sort of trauma, so this is all very confusing.

Anyway, the main thing that made me wanna write here is that I can’t naturally have a conversation with anyone anymore. How do I fix this? How do I stop worrying about what people think? How do I start being myself again when I don’t even know what my personality is or used to be?

I can hear your persistence and bravery and trying to address these uncomfortable feelings in your life. I think you’ve done all the right things. Letting your principal know is a good thing and, even though your dad is away and hasn’t been able to help very much, the important thing is that you’re talking to somebody about your thoughts and feelings.

The kind of things you are talking about are symptoms that professional people have learned a great deal about. If your parents will not let you see a therapist, or are slow to make those arrangements, ask to see your general physician or pediatrician. When you talk to him or her explain these thoughts and he or she will be able to get you the help you need. The important thing is that you keep reaching out and letting people know what’s going on.

You may also want to use our online forums to make a connection with others dealing with similar issues.

Wishing you patience and peace,
Dr. Dan
Proof Positive Blog @ PsychCentral



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The Mental Health Gift Giving Guide from Psych Central

Christmas, the biggest gift-giving holiday of them all, will be here in less than a month — which means that gift buying season is currently in full force.

Unless you are my sister — who is already done shopping and wrapping — you are probably just now starting to think about what gifts you want give your loved ones. Many people have no idea what to give certain people. Even my wildly efficient sister has issues finding the perfect gift for me, her picky big brother.

I’ve been gifted socks and Welshcakes from relatives over the years, and I always hear my mother’s voice in my head when I unwrap each package: “It’s the thought that counts.” And my mom is right, it is the thought that counts. But, why does that thought only have to count once? Why can’t the thought count when you purchase the gift? Wouldn’t this allow you to give each gift twice this holiday season? I say yes!

Below is a list of gift suggestions, all under 25 dollars and all from mental health advocates and charities who can use the support. Purchasing these gifts shows you care about someone’s mental health or mental illness. And, as an added bonus, if the recipient doesn’t like the gift, you still know you made the holidays merrier for someone.

(And don’t forget, we have two official shirts you can order from Psych Central’s store — both support our podcasts.)

Seven Mental Health Gift Suggestions

1. Brave Beads

This first suggestion is from the mental health storytelling non-profit This Is My Brave. They describe them as their version of Greek worry beads, and they are handmade by talented volunteers.

Made of Brazilian Açai beads from the Amazon rain forest, they are adorned with a silver-plated “B” for Brave. I like that the designs and colors vary, because each piece is unique — just like the person you gifting it to. Get yours by visiting the This Is My Brave Store.

2. Limited Edition Depressed Cake Shop™ bracelet

Next up is the Depressed Cake Shop™ bracelet stamped with the phrase “Where there is cake, there is hope…and there is always cake.”

The bracelet is handmade by The Brave Sparrow, who creates beautiful jewelry inspired by women who find the courage to overcome life’s challenges.

The artist explains the symbolism in the Sparrow: All too often we take the sparrow for granted — small though she may be, she is certainly powerful. It is her slightness in size that gives her advantages.

Proceeds from the bracelet go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). To learn more and get yours, visit Depressed Cake Shop.

3. The “Chlorine” Pillbox

People managing mental illness often do so with daily medication. But young people don’t want to carry around “granny’s pill case.” That’s why I love this product from Michelle Hammer, the co-host of A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast.

This pillbox includes Michelle’s original “Chlorine” print design on the front, a mirror inside the lid, and is 2 inches round. It’s perfect for a travel bag, purse, or your pocket.

You can get yours by visiting Schizophrenic.NYC.

4. Aromatherapy Stress Relief Dough

I’m a guy who fidgets constantly. At last count, I have eight fidget toys and I love them all. While five of them are spinners, none of them are aromatherapy dough. So this item has really piqued my interest.

The website reads: “Need a little spark for your creativity as you move into the morning or afternoon? Pull it out and use it to release stress and frustrations. Roll, squish and squash away that stress.”

Anything that distracts my mind and relieves stress sounds great to me and, at $4.00 a can, it’s the lowest priced gift on our list. You can learn more and purchase by visiting Dough For It over on Etsy.

5. Bipolar Emoji Mug

I can’t have a list of cool products supporting mental health / mental illness advocacy without including the original bipolar mug. Full disclosure: that’s my mug and my design, so I’m naturally very proud of it.

Long before I was a Psych Central blogger and podcaster, I was just a guy with a logo. And that logo is now on a mug!

It’s matte black with matte white print and a glossy white interior, perfect for drinking 11 ounces of your favorite liquid. It can also be used as a pen holder on your desk.

Want your very own? Visit the bipolar emoji mug section of my store and order a baker’s dozen.

6. The Blips

Meet the Blips! I never knew emotion/aromatherapy dolls like this existed and I’m super excited about them.

The creator, YarnistryUK, says these are part of the Bothers series, which is “a collection of lovingly handmade, miniature art dolls designed to separate our difficult emotions from our bodies and place them gently in our hands. Each Bother is designed to embody the feelings that often feel too hard to bear alone: worry, grief, guilt, shame, insomnia, doubt.”

Blips fit perfectly in your palm and are designed to be a comfort on the go. You can pick the color and scent of your Blip. Meet the blips over on Etsy now!

7. Never Give Up Mental Health Awareness Necklace

Last, but certainly not least, is the Never Give Up Mental Health Awareness Necklace by A Band Of Hope.

Each necklace has the words “Never Never Give Up!” written on a circle charm to remind the person wearing it that it’s never over. The website says that these necklaces are super popular and a subtle way to keep advocating for mental health when out and about! I, for one, believe them.

A simple silver necklace with a powerful message. Get yours from A Band of Hope.

Mental Health Gift Giving Guide ‘Wrap Up’

Didn’t see something that your hard-to-buy-for relative will love? That’s okay, the internet is huge! Search for “mental health awareness gifts” on your favorite search engine and look for independent advocates selling their creations. Even if you don’t make a purchase, drop them a note and tell them you love what they’re doing and that you appreciate their efforts. It’ll mean a lot to the tens of thousands of hardworking people making life better for those of us who live with mental illness and mental health issues every day.

No matter what the “difficult gift receiver” thinks of your present this year, I hope you have a happy holiday season and a joyous new year.



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Best of Our Blogs: November 30, 2018

Have you ever been told you’re overreacting, oversensitive or a hypochondriac? Sometimes it’s because you’re suffering from an illness other people can’t see. Because you look “normal” on the outside, friends and family can’t relate or understand what you’re struggling with.

Whether it’s mental illness or another invisible chronic illness, such as autoimmune disease, you might want to check out Ilana Jacqueline’s Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness: How to Stay Sane and Live One Step Ahead of Your Symptoms. This would also make a great holiday gift for someone struggling with an illness.

Speaking of helping those with chronic illness, this week’s top post shares one strategy that can increase well-being and decrease stress and depression. Want to know what it is? Keep reading.

Build a Life of Meaning with These Everyday Tips
(Character Strengths) – Is your life filled with meaning? If you desire more meaning in your life, this is worth a read.

10 Reasons You Were Fooled by a Narcissist
(Knotted) – It’s what narcissists need and you provide that makes you attractive to each other.

Coach vs Counselor: Is Psychotherapy Viable as a Business in 2019?
(Private Practice Kickstart) – Are you a therapist considering coaching? Read this.

How Fluent Are YOU in the Languages of Love?
(NLP Discoveries) – Understanding these five love languages will help you understand your partner, yourself and your relationship better.

How Does Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Effect the Auditory Sensory System?
(Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) – This post explains why children with sensory sensitivities are easily distracted and gives tools that can help them succeed, cope and manage their specific issues.



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10 Personality Traits Linked To Great Mental Health

These are the healthiest personality traits, as rated by psychologists.

→ Enjoying these psych studies? Support PsyBlog for just $4 per month (includes ad-free experience and more articles).

→ Explore PsyBlog's ebooks, all written by Dr Jeremy Dean:



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Being a Beast Machine: The Somatic Basis of Selfhood

Seth and Tsakiris offer a review in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, with the title of this post, that immediately caught my eye. I'm working on a lecture now that incorporates some of its themes. Here I pass on the abstract, motivated readers can obtain a copy of the full article from me.

Highlights
We conceptualise experiences of embodied selfhood in terms of control-oriented predictive regulation (allostasis) of physiological states.
We account for distinctive phenomenological aspects of embodied selfhood, including its (partly) non-object-like nature and its subjective stability over time.
We explain predictive perception as a generalisation from a fundamental biological imperative to maintain physiological integrity: to stay alive.
We bring together several cognitive science traditions, including predictive processing, perceptual control theory, cybernetics, the free energy principle, and sensorimotor contingency theory.
We show how perception of the world around us, and of ourselves within it, happens with, through, and because of our living bodies.
We draw implications for developmental psychology and identify open questions in psychiatry and artificial intelligence.
Abstract
Modern psychology has long focused on the body as the basis of the self. Recently, predictive processing accounts of interoception (perception of the body ‘from within’) have become influential in accounting for experiences of body ownership and emotion. Here, we describe embodied selfhood in terms of ‘instrumental interoceptive inference’ that emphasises allostatic regulation and physiological integrity. We apply this approach to the distinctive phenomenology of embodied selfhood, accounting for its non-object-like character and subjective stability over time. Our perspective has implications for the development of selfhood and illuminates longstanding debates about relations between life and mind, implying, contrary to Descartes, that experiences of embodied selfhood arise because of, and not in spite of, our nature as ‘beast machines’.


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Breakup Stages

I am wondering what stage of breakup I am in. Breakup occurred three weeks ago, had been five years with him. I’m starting to accept the reality, but I’m wondering if I’m still in denial and have the other four stages of grief to go through. He (former boyfriend) blindsided me with the breakup, it was sudden. I have spent many days being extremely upset and wanting him to contact me and tell me he regrets that decision. While I still hope he eventually regrets it, I feel like I’m starting to accept he is gone and let go. This would mean I skipped the anger, bargaining, and depression stages of grief and I can’t imagine I’d be in acceptance this early. However, I don’t feel like I’m in shock as much, and I am consciously telling myself the relationship is over and I need to move on. Does this mean I’m still in denial? Or does it seem like I am transitioning to a different stage?

Not everyone experiences grief in the same way. I’m sure that you have heard that many times. Thus, I cannot offer any opinion about what “stage” you may be in.

You stated that you were “blindsided” by the breakup. That you were oblivious to his unhappiness is unusual. Perhaps you were ignoring signs that it was ending. I’m wondering if he explained why he decided to leave? No matter the reason, it still hurts.

Breakups are difficult. That’s because usually they are not mutual. Usually, one person doesn’t want the relationship to end and they are the ones who suffer the most. Most people can relate because they too have experienced a similar loss. Psychologically, it’s difficult to endure the pain of a breakup but it will get better with time. It sounds as if you are handling it quite fine. You seem to be moving on, as all of us must after a break up.

Counseling may help to examine your situation. It’s worthwhile to examine the situation in general and specifically why you were blindsided by the breakup. It might also assist you in moving on. The best antidote to a breakup is a new relationship. Good luck and please take care.

Dr. Kristina Randle



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Out of the Closet with OCD

I came out of the closet about my OCD shortly after the release of the film, As Good As It Gets, starring Jack Nicholson in 1997. I figured if a cool (but mean) character played by Nicholson could be afflicted, why not a nice guy like me? I hasten to admit that I don’t usually confess my predicament to just anyone; on the other hand, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s pure hell, of course, but it’s nothing to hide.

I have read that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder often starts between 18 and 25, but my mine predates that period and, as I recall, was particularly exacerbated by Scarlet Fever (when I was seven) and reared its uglier thorns during my protracted bout with puberty.

As OCD goes, my assorted checklist of symptoms isn’t anything to write home about. I would diagnose mine as mild to moderate, with ebbs and flows along the way, as well as occasionally difficult fluctuations. Some of my rituals have changed over the years, only to be replaced by newer ones. It’s an interesting fact that even so-called normal people may flirt with OCD when under stress, such as preparing for an important business flight — packing and repacking a suitcase to be sure the essentials weigh under 50 pounds.

I like to think of my dilemma as a “blockage” between knowledge and emotion. For example, I KNOW that I have turned off the stove, for I have turned the dial to OFF. I also SEE the marker positioned under the word. I can FEEL that the dial cannot be turned any further.

And yet, and yet…

It’s a crisis of uncertainty! Would you leave the house if your gas burner were on? Neither would I. It’s not a matter of exaggerated fear. It’s a matter of doubt, of not connecting what you feel… with what you know.  

I KNOW that my gas burner is off; I just turned it OFF. However, I can’t leave the house, as long as I can’t FEEL that fact. So I repeat the action. Grip the dial harder. Stare closer at the OFF marker. Turn and align the knob. Rinse and repeat.

There’s something about needless repetition, as senseless as it seems, that reinforces a sense of conviction. Perhaps it’s a matter of finding closure, of seeking reassurance in the fact that — what was done — was done. For me and for most OCD sufferers, repetition seems to be a major player in this illness. On the other hand, it’s not always about repetition, alone. During other situations, it can be about forging a sense of order. For example, I like to arrange certain objects equidistant from one another. The objects must not touch or be crooked. Nice parallel placements.   

Perhaps it’s a form of emotional superstition. Like a ritualistic rain dance while chanting. If I can establish a semblance of order, perhaps bad things won’t happen. Perhaps the carefully placed objects will be less inclined to fall. Perhaps they’ll be easier to sort through. Perhaps their organized arrangement will produce in me an ordered peace of mind. Harmony and tranquility will reign.

The paradox of such stringent attempts at relief is that often they only lead to more frustration and pathos.  

What is the nature of this nemesis? Exploration into its possible causes persists. Perhaps a “fault line” between Conviction and Uncertainty lies in the anterior cingulate cortex, as well as other brain structures implicated in this disorder.

Here’s a typical “highlight” from earlier today: I woke up and went to my bathroom, took some pills from my medicine cabinet. Returned the pill dispenser to its rightful place on the shelf. Studied its position on the shelf. Straightened out its position in minute detail. Adjusted its position again and again. Finally, closed the medicine cabinet door and sighed. Ah, done with that.

For some reason, drawers and doors pose a special problem for me. When I close something, I need to know that the interior contents are safe. I must leave nothing to fate. Nothing must be disturbed.

Life with OCD can be complicated; perhaps I compromise too often as a result. Unlike a hoarder, I find that the fewer things that are left hanging around the house, the less I have to worry about them. There’s less chance for disarray. I am a minimalist for that reason.

References:

At what age does OCD usually begin? (2014, January 10). Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2TSuWDD

PANDAS-Questions and Answers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2a0qvDx

Bostan, S.N. (2018, January 13). Brain signatures of obsessive-compulsive disorder. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2TVSLKE

What is hoarding disorder? (2017). Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2srgntq



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Thursday 29 November 2018

I Am in Great Distress

From a young man in Sri Lanka: I’m a 20 years old boy. I’m very shy since my childhood and I don’t have many friends. I’m very angry when I’m in my childhood. I have lot of violent thoughts these days. I can’t stop these thoughts. I feel that I’m losing my mind. When I was 13 I had thoughts about God and religion. I had some very bad thoughts. At my 15 I had my first violent thought. I have mental images about stabbing and killing. I felt that I’m going to do very bad things. Now I can’t think about any other things, except harming thoughts.

I had lot of expectations about future but now I can’t think anything like that. I have sleeping problems, hopelessness and very low mood. I’m in a great inability to deal rationally with stress, anxiety and depression.

I have a problem with making friends because I’m an effeminate guy. I can’t make proper eye contact with anyone except my family members. I have very low self esteem and I have a hormone problem. I have low testosterone symptoms like, tall stature, low amounts of body hair, enlarged breasts and feminine distribution of fat. That cause me very much stress and anxiety. I can’t socialize because of my appearance. I’ve read articles about psychopathy and now I have a doubt about my sanity. I don’t have many friends as a psychopath. I’m in a great distress.

It sounds to me like you may be seriously depressed. From what you shared in your letter, you have reason to be. You are not happy with your body. You say you have hormone issues, which could be contributing to the depression. You also shard that you haven’t developed enough self-confidence or social skills to make and keep friends. That would also make anyone feel isolated, lonely, and perhaps angry.

I think you first step is to see a medical doctor to confirm whether there is an endocrine disorder and, if so, how to treat it.

Then it would be helpful to see a mental health counselor to help you manage the depression and to coach you in social skills. If such help isn’t available in your city, do consider communicating with an online therapist. In addition, take a look at the forums here at PsychCentral. People from all over the world provide each other with practical help and emotional support.

Please take care of yourself. You found the energy and motivation to write to us which is an important first step in self-care. Now, please, take the next steps to improve your health and self-worth. You are only 20. With support, you can make the changes you need to make so you can have a happier life.

I wish you well.
Dr. Marie



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Is Cold and Dark Weather a Trigger for Heavy Drinking?

There is a commonly held belief that winter conditions — that are characterized by extreme cold and low sunlight — are connected to heavy drinking.

Whenever we think of countries in Northern Europe we instantly think of sub-zero temperatures, dark clouds and polar landscapes. We also imagine its inhabitants tucked in a bar drinking their sorrows away. What creates this image is the perception that strong spirits and binge drinking are a staple of many Northern countries.

However, scientific and factual evidence shows a more nuanced picture.

Statistical Verdict

The argument that countries with a colder climate experience a larger intake of alcohol is not by any means clear. A study released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014, suggests that this is not necessarily the case.1

While the top four places are occupied by Belarus, Russia, Moldova and Ukraine, we also find the very warm Southern European countries of Andorra and Portugal occupying the number seven and ten spots respectively, ahead of Germany and all Scandinavian countries. In fact, other top ten entrants such as the Czech Republic and Romania experience quite temperate climates.

The cold weather argument fails to explain why Uganda, South Africa and Brazil have some of the highest alcohol intakes in the world, also surpassing that of any Scandinavian country.

Research also suggests that alcohol consumption is no longer culturally predetermined, as drinking patterns seem to converge, throughout Europe at least; binge drinking is becoming more and more common in Southern Europe while the “booze gap” (the difference in consumption levels) between North and South keeps narrowing.2

What is clear is that cold weather isn’t the only determining factor in levels of alcohol consumption. For those countries that receive more sunlight and warmer weather, there will be other factors at play that lead the residents to drink more heavily. Likewise, in colder countries, there may be other elements in their environment that add to or exacerbate heavy drinking patterns.

For example, given the prevalence of East European countries in the top 20, Tom Donaldson, president of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), suggests that these high consumption levels are motivated by these states’ underlying social context. He blames the high rates on the fact that “there are no public health awareness efforts whatsoever about the effects of alcohol consumption.”3 This assertion is certainly credible given that eight of the top offenders lack rigorous information campaigns on the hazards of heavy drinking.

Science Verdict

The popular belief that heavy drinking is a response to cold and miserable weather may actually be rooted in truth. The available statistical and medical evidence doesn’t give us any clear-cut answers here, but the newest study on the subject does suggest there is a link.4

This new study — the first of its kind — paints a bigger picture, and may provide us with more answers. It indicates that there is a direct relationship between the amount of sunlight a country gets and its inhabitants’ intake of alcohol. In colder climates with fewer hours of sunlight, alcohol consumption is increased — and sadly predictably, they also see an increase in levels of alcohol cirrhosis. This new evidence is only one study, so it can’t be conclusive, but it is certainly persuasive.

One thing that may also add to the increase of alcohol intake in these colder, darker regions is a well-known misconception that drinking alcohol keeps you warm.

Medical research points out the opposite; alcohol actually lowers your overall body temperature and can increase the risk of hypothermia. This is because alcohol dilates the blood vessels, increasing the amount of blood that is pumped to the skin, creating a feeling of body warmth on the surface while overall the core body temperature decreases. Summarized by Dr. William Hayes, Director of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Iowa, “Consumption of alcohol undoes many of the human body’s healthy reflexes, one of which is keeping the core body temperature warm in cold weather.”5

In addition, research shows that lower temperatures cause people to consume less fluids overall. As professor Robert Kenefick of the University of New Hampshire US explains: “people just don’t feel as thirsty when the weather is cold”, which in turn leads to less consumption of fluids and a higher risk of dehydration. Kenefick conducted research that showed cold temperature actually reduces the feeling of thirst by suppressing the secretion of fluid-mediating hormones that ignite thirst in case of dehydration.6

The Final Verdict

With many countries with sunnier climates ranking high on alcohol intake there is an argument to made that it is countries without public health policies to address drinking in general that is the biggest factor in high alcohol use per country. However, the nascent evidence provided by the recent study about the positive correlation between longer nights, higher alcohol intake, and rapidly rising cases of liver disease has begun adding external factors (weather, geography, etc.) to the important discussion on how to mitigate alcohol related harm from a public health perspective. What is undoubtedly true is that there is more to be uncovered on the factors that contribute to a countries levels of alcohol intake.

In the end, a truly effective public health campaign will involve a deep understanding of both statistical and scientific evidence to support comprehensive policies and programs for healthier societies.

References:

  1. World Health Organization. (2014). Global status report on alcohol and health 2014. Retrieved from https://ift.tt/1lc7Wpj
  2. Bloomfield, K., Stockwell, T., Gmel, G., & Rehn, N. (2003, December) International comparisons of alcohol consumption. Alcohol Reserach and Health, 27(1):95-109. Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2uLIzqG
  3. Hess, A.E.M., Frohlich, T.C., & Calio, V. (2014, May 15). The heaviest-drinking countries in the world [blog post]. Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2KHrpDT
  4. Ventura-Cots, M., Watts, A., Cruz-Lemini, M., Shah, N.D., Ndugga, N., McCann, P., Sidney Barritt IV, A., Jain, A., Ravi, S., Fernandez-Carrillo, C., Abraldes, J.G., Altamirano, J., & Bataller, R. (2018, October 16). Colder weather and fewer sunlight hours increase alcohol consumption and alcoholic cirrhosis worldwide. Hepatology. https://ift.tt/2BGziqg
  5. Hiskey, D. (2012, October 9). Alcohol does not help prevent hypothermia, it actually makes it more likely [blog post]. Retrieved from https://ift.tt/1kRkowR
  6. Cold weather increases risk of dehydration [press release]. (2006, January 28). Retrieved from https://ift.tt/2BgYAbW


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I Am in Great Distress

From a young man in Sri Lanka: I’m a 20 years old boy. I’m very shy since my childhood and I don’t have many friends. I’m very angry when I’m in my childhood. I have lot of violent thoughts these days. I can’t stop these thoughts. I feel that I’m losing my mind. When I was 13 I had thoughts about God and religion. I had some very bad thoughts. At my 15 I had my first violent thought. I have mental images about stabbing and killing. I felt that I’m going to do very bad things. Now I can’t think about any other things, except harming thoughts.

I had lot of expectations about future but now I can’t think anything like that. I have sleeping problems, hopelessness and very low mood. I’m in a great inability to deal rationally with stress, anxiety and depression.

I have a problem with making friends because I’m an effeminate guy. I can’t make proper eye contact with anyone except my family members. I have very low self esteem and I have a hormone problem. I have low testosterone symptoms like, tall stature, low amounts of body hair, enlarged breasts and feminine distribution of fat. That cause me very much stress and anxiety. I can’t socialize because of my appearance. I’ve read articles about psychopathy and now I have a doubt about my sanity. I don’t have many friends as a psychopath. I’m in a great distress.

It sounds to me like you may be seriously depressed. From what you shared in your letter, you have reason to be. You are not happy with your body. You say you have hormone issues, which could be contributing to the depression. You also shard that you haven’t developed enough self-confidence or social skills to make and keep friends. That would also make anyone feel isolated, lonely, and perhaps angry.

I think you first step is to see a medical doctor to confirm whether there is an endocrine disorder and, if so, how to treat it.

Then it would be helpful to see a mental health counselor to help you manage the depression and to coach you in social skills. If such help isn’t available in your city, do consider communicating with an online therapist. In addition, take a look at the forums here at PsychCentral. People from all over the world provide each other with practical help and emotional support.

Please take care of yourself. You found the energy and motivation to write to us which is an important first step in self-care. Now, please, take the next steps to improve your health and self-worth. You are only 20. With support, you can make the changes you need to make so you can have a happier life.

I wish you well.
Dr. Marie



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Are You Making Your Days More Complicated in These Ways?

Life isn’t easy. But sometimes we make it a lot harder than it has to be. We engage in habits that unwittingly create problems in our lives—or exacerbate them. Sometimes, the complications we create are simple. That is, they’re straightforward, and have a clear-cut solution.

Other times we need to delve deeper, so we can resolve the issue at the root. Below you’ll find examples along with some fixes and solutions.

You’re making to-do lists that you know you won’t get done.

Every day your to-do list inevitably includes 10-too-many tasks, each of which may or may not have multiple steps. And every night inevitably you end up feeling awful that you didn’t complete any of it. Maybe you have unrealistic, sky-high expectations. Maybe you think you should be able to get all that stuff done.

According to Julia Colangelo, LCSW, a solution-focused therapist in New York City, one helpful fix is to divide your to-do list into “must-do” and “would-like-to-do.” Then actually incorporate the must-dos into your schedule, and think of them as meetings, she said.

Sometimes, we make endless to-do lists because we think (perhaps subconsciously) that we need to earn our worth, and we’re not good enough unless we’re performing—and performing a lot.

If you suspect that this might be the case, Colangelo suggested journaling regularly, either in a notebook or on the notes app on your phone. Reflect on your thoughts on work, accomplishments, and relaxation. Have you always felt the need to achieve and execute, maybe even since grade school? Has your self-worth been closely tied to your accomplishments? Do you believe that you deserve to rest only after you’ve done certain tasks?

Consider, too, if you’re running away from something by trying to keep yourself busy and occupied without any space to breathe and think. Reflect on what it would mean to say no, or to do nothing, Colangelo said. She mentioned Jon Kabat-Zinn’s wise quote: “The bravest thing we can do is to do nothing.” What happens when you do nothing? Where does your mind go? What feelings arise?

You’re overscheduling less important areas of your life, which encroach on the more important ones.

Another way we complicate our days is by jam-packing our schedules at the expense of more important areas of our lives (such as caring for our emotional wellness), Colangelo said.

“Overscheduling leads to exhaustion, resentment and anxiety,” said Holly Willard, LCSW, a therapist and owner of Grandview Family Counseling in Bountiful, Utah.

As a solution, Willard suggested identifying what values and relationships are important to you, and then prioritizing your activities based on those values.

“Zen philosophy teaches two steps to simplifying your life,” she said. “Step one: Identify what’s most important to you; step two: Eliminate everything else.”

Author Laura Vanderkam has an excellent tip for not overbooking yourself and judging whether something is worth your time. Ask yourself: “Would I do this tomorrow?” Maybe you’re booked solid tomorrow, but if it’s something you’re interested in or excited about, you’d probably move things around and make the time. So if you’re not interested or excited about it right now, you likely won’t be in a month or two either (and it’s best to decline).

When it comes to caring for yourself, Michele Kerulis, a professor at Counseling@Northwestern, the Online Master of Arts in Counseling program from The Family Institute at Northwestern University, has an important reminder: “We know that we must show up for ourselves before we can show up for the world as our best selves.”

She suggested scheduling time “for self-care every day to help reduce physical and psychological stress and to help increase focus and attention.” Colangelo suggested making several windows of time each day to devote to self-care. This could be anything from practicing yoga for a few minutes to focusing on your breath to sitting on a park bench for lunch to listening to a favorite song.

You’re constantly comparing yourself to everyone.

These comparisons might be subtle. As Willard said, you find yourself scrolling through social media when you’re having a tough time, and “it feels like all of your friends are in a tropical paradise.”

You might compare yourself to everyone about everything, from houses to hair, from clothing to careers, from bodies to talents.

While we can’t completely eliminate comparison making, we can shift our perspective.

According to Willard, “Comparison is based on a scarcity mentality: the belief that there are limited resources and someone else’s success takes away from ours.” She recommended a tip from researcher Brené Brown: When we find ourselves starting to compare, practice gratitude. (These 50 prompts might help.)

Also, the comparisons we make may be clues into our dreams and desires. Ask yourself if you really want what you see. And whether you do or don’t, consider why? Try to pinpoint the need that underlies the comparison. For instance, do you really want to go on that same vacation, or are you yearning to have fun and reconnect with your family anywhere?

You don’t make a definitive plan for your days.   

Planning adds ease to our days, Kerulis said. She commended taking at least 10 minutes every day to plan out the next day. This could include small things, like what you’re eating for breakfast and wearing to work, and big things like what projects you’re starting.

Vanderkam plans out her week on Friday afternoons. She makes a short priority list with three categories: work, relationships, self. Then she chooses two to three things she’d like to do in each category, and schedules them in her calendar.

It’s also important to have backup plans when things don’t go as you planned. For instance, Kerulis suggested taking the time to think about how you’ll navigate your commute in bad weather. As she said, “we can’t control mother nature but we can at least try to plan around her seasons.” You might create backup plans for days your child is sick and can’t attend daycare. 

You’re complicating your days in another way.

Think about daily behaviors or habits that seem problematic. You’re staying up too late, and running late to work because your hand is permanently planted on the snooze button. You keep procrastinating on cleaning out the garage. You keep making small mistakes on your work projects.

Instead of looking at external fixes, go within, according to Panthea Saidipour, LCSW, a Manhattan psychotherapist who works with professionals in their 20s and 30s who want to gain a deeper understanding of themselves.

Take the first example: Staying up late is causing you to be late for work three days in a row. You think “It’s really dumb,” and all you want to do is get to sleep on time, she said.

If you simply focus on your sleep, you might miss a “deeper conversation about what’s going on for [you] internally.” In other words, Saidipour wants to know what’s happening during the day, internally and externally. She wants to know what you’re doing when you’re staying up late. For instance, if you’re scrolling Instagram mindlessly, what specific people are you looking at? Is there a theme to the content you’re choosing to pay attention to?

“Exploring all of this will give us clues about what the external behavior is doing for [you]. Is it an attempt to manage a difficult feeling, or a way to feel something [you’re] not getting enough of during the day? What’s going on in other parts of [your] life that this could be an attempt to cope with?”

Maybe your work has been especially grueling. As Saidipour noted, maybe staying up late has been your only way of feeling a sense of freedom over your own schedule. Maybe waking up late isn’t just a response to sleep deprivation—it’s “an unconscious protest against work.”

Having this deeper understanding of what’s going on might empower you to adjust your “work-life boundaries, to speak up and tell your boss that your workload isn’t working for you, or even to pursue other jobs that could be a better fit for you—all very useful, healthy protests!”

Saidipour stressed the importance of “developing a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the ‘problem.’” That’s because this is “where we find access to more of our own choices and deeper fulfillment.”



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Podcast: Defying Bipolar Disorder

Charita Cole Brown was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 21. After reaching recovery, she became very active in her local NAMI affiliate for many years. Recently, her book – Defying Bipolar: My Bipolar Life – was published. Her goal with the book is to show that people can live well with bipolar disorder, despite how the disease is often portrayed in the media. In this episode, she talks about her story and also shares her views on the ways mental illness is viewed in different cultures.

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About Our Guest

Charita Cole Brown earned a BA in English from Wesleyan University and an MAT in Early Childhood Education from Towson University in Maryland. Now retired, she lives in Baltimore with her two daughters.

Find her online at www.charitacolebrown.com.

Defying the Verdict: My Bipolar Life

 

 

DEFYING BIPOLAR SHOW TRANSCRIPT (Computer-Generated)

Narrator 1: [00:00:02] Welcome to the Psych Central show where each episode presents an in-depth look at issues from the field of psychology and mental health with host Gabe Howard and co-host Vincent M. whales.

Gabe Howard: [00:00:14] Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s episode of the Psych Central Show podcast. My name is Gabe Howard and with me as always is Vincent M. Wales. Today Vince and I will be talking to Charita Cole Brown, author of Defying the Verdict – My Bipolar Life. And personally, I love it when another person with bipolar disorder comes and hangs out on the show. We outnumber Vince! Charita, welcome to the show.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:00:37] Hi. How are you Gabe and Vince?

Vincent M. Wales: [00:00:39] We’re good.

Gabe Howard: [00:00:40] Oh, we are doing quite well. We are happy to have you. So the first question that we want to ask right out of the gate is: what made you want to write this book? I mean of all the things that you can do with your time, why write a book?

Charita Cole Brown: [00:00:53] The reason I wanted to write the book… First off, there are a lot of people who live well with a mental illness, but people don’t know that, because what comes out in, you know, in society is the people who live poorly. So, in general, people expect you, if you have bipolar disorder, to be swinging from a chandelier. It doesn’t mean I’ve never swung from a chandelier. But you can live a good life with this illness.  So the reason I decided to write the book was to start being what Dr. Kay Jamison called the “silently successful,” because there are a lot of people who are living well with bipolar disorder, but nobody knows it because of the expectation in the media, etc.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:01:55] That is very true, although I think that that’s beginning to change, don’t you think? I mean we are seeing more and more people who are being open about their mental illnesses and I guess more and more people being surprised by that.

Gabe Howard: [00:02:07] I mean hey we exist. You know the Psych Central show – that was kind of our thing when we started, so we couldn’t agree with you more Charita. Thank you for being vocal. To Vin’s question, do you think that it’s changing? Are we getting braver?

Charita Cole Brown: [00:02:23] I think that it is changing, but I think because of the stigma… I’ve been in bipolar recovery for more than 25 years and for a long time, people that didn’t know that I was bipolar, that I had bipolar, that the illness that I have bipolar – you didn’t know. And I didn’t share because of the stigma associated with the illness. So one of the things that I am attempting to do with my book as a vehicle is to help change stigma and diffuse stigma. And as I like to call it, as NAMI calls it, to choose stigma – you don’t think of it like an illness. And you know although we don’t have a cure for bipolar disorder, stigma is 100 percent curable.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:03:20] Very good point, very good point.

Gabe Howard: [00:03:21] Couldn’t agree with you more.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:03:23] So tell us a bit about your personal experience with bipolar disorder – when were you diagnosed and how did that come to pass and all those fun things?

Charita Cole Brown: [00:03:33] OK. I was diagnosed initially in 1980. I was a student at Wesleyan University. I had just turned 21 and it was interesting because 21 used to be the median age of diagnosis. So I was right in – if we could call it a sweet spot – it’s not a sweet spot – but I was right there. So I was 21 years old as a student at Wesleyan University when I was originally diagnosed. For me, I saw that as an anomaly and I took a semester off from school to get myself together. I had a little bit of therapy. I came back to school and then in 1982, two months before graduation, I had a psychotic break.  And in 1980, I was committed to a hospital because two doctors said I was a danger to myself and others. And then in 1982, I had a wonderful psychologist at Wesleyan and she sent me home because she did not want the same thing to happen to me. So my parents took me to a therapist and said, you know given the severity and frequency of my episodes, I had my first depression and 16, given the severity and frequency, as you guys probably know, every time you have an up and down, it affects your brain. So the therapist told my parents that what they were probably looking at was this brilliant young woman who will probably eventually end up in custodial care.

Gabe Howard: [00:05:21] And that’s a very hopeless thing to hear. How did you and your family take this?

Charita Cole Brown: [00:05:27] The thing was my mom was kind of numb to it because my mother was raised by an actively bipolar mother. So you know I have a genetic illness. My grandmother had bipolar type one disorder. I have a great uncle with Bipolar Type one disorder. So for my mother, she… it was too much. And I will interject that I have a girlfriend who is a psychologist and you have to understand that that was 1982; we’re in 2018. She said that no therapist worth their salt nowadays would speak that to a family or to a client because it is the death knell. And that was the way I received it – as the death knell.

 

Gabe Howard: [00:06:20] You are very right; we’ve come a long way in the way that we talk about these illnesses and more importantly the amount of hope that patients are given. I was diagnosed in 2003 with bipolar disorder and as soon as I heard the diagnosis, I myself believed that I was going to end up in custodial care, join a group home, and and my life was over. But over the next couple of days that I was in the psychiatric hospital, they they quickly explained to me that no no no no no, with management, I can be well. So just between the amount of time from your diagnosis to my diagnosis, we’ve seen some major differences in how they talk to patients and families, so I think that’s right. Your advocacy is working!

Charita Cole Brown: [00:07:04] And people have to understand, when you were so bravely, Gabe, talking about your illness, it’s a 20-year span.

Gabe Howard: [00:07:14] Right. It’s very true.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:07:16] So in a 20-year span people have grown in what they see and what they say. So for me – and I have I have adult daughters – and one of the things I always say with my daughters was that you have to be careful how you speak over your children – what they hear, what you speak into their spirit. So that was what was spoken over me.  And it just wasn’t good. And it was like and it just put me in a fight. I was immediately in a fight.

Gabe Howard: [00:07:52] Thank you so much for that answer Charita. We’ll be back in a moment after we hear from our sponsor.

Narrator 2: [00:07:57] This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.com, secure, convenient and affordable online counselling. All counsellors are licensed accredited professionals. Anything you share is confidential. Schedule secure video or phone sessions, plus chat and text with your therapist whenever you feel it’s needed. A month of online therapy often costs less than a single traditional face to face session. Go to BetterHelp.com/PsychCentral and experience seven days of free therapy to see if online counselling is right for you. BetterHelp.com/PsychCentral.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:08:28] Welcome back everyone. We’re here with Charita Cole Brown talking about her bipolar life.

Gabe Howard: [00:08:33] One of the things that you talked about in your press packet was that some of the differences between being bipolar in the African-American community, Now I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a white guy; I’m a white middle class man, straight… This is the only version of bipolar disorder that I know but I’m not foolish enough to believe that just because we have the same illness that it has played out the same way in our lives. Can you speak to that a little bit?

Charita Cole Brown: [00:08:57] What a great question and what the question speaks to is culture, and culture is not just color. Culture is how we do things around here. So, for me, being an African-American woman… African-American women, if you think back to many years ago (but not so many) to what Mammy was considered to be. Mammy could take care of your children and her children, all kinds of things, take care of the health. Do everything with the smile. She was strong. She never got tired and unfortunately some of that has seeped into African-American women and our expectation of ourselves. We oftentimes unfortunately expect ourselves to be all things to all people. That’s not, I’ve learned, a good way for me to be. And also, since writing the book and while writing the book, I looked at other communities of color – in Farsi, which is Persian. There’s no word for mental illness. Asian women, no… are not expected. They’re expected to be like the Tiger Wife and super smart and never have mental illness. Hispanic women. No no no. It’s not seen as something that would affect us. And one of the good things about writing Defying the Verdict – My Bipolar Life is that I am an African-American woman and I have a generational illness and I did the things that I needed to do so that I could get well. Now fortunately for me, in the book I talk about my aunt, my Aunt Nellie, who was my grandmother’s sister who had seen all of this in the family and she was the person that helped me make it through and appreciate the fact that there were there was now a medication and that there were things that I could do to be well. And because she didn’t attach guilt or shame to the illness… I still had shame to it, but because she didn’t, it helped me to make it through it.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:11:41] Thank you for bringing up the different cultural differences regarding how mental illness is viewed. It’s been a concern of mine for quite some time. What do you think can be done, if anything at this point, to break down that wall and allow people of these cultures to more readily accept what mental illness really is?

Charita Cole Brown: [00:12:05] I believe one of the things that has to happen is that people have to see that there are people of color who do experience mental illness and go on to live successfully. There are books by people of color. There’s a book by a woman Nana-Ama Danquah and her book is Willow Weep for Me. She’s an African woman that grew up in the United States. She actually was one of the people who blurbed my book, and she was the first African-American woman to write about depression. And there is Melody Moezzi, who is a Persian woman. And when I read her book, that’s how I found out that when she got sick, they didn’t even have a word for it. So by people coming forth and sharing their story… sometimes it just takes one person to come forth to empower other people to go, oh OK, this seems similar to my story. If they can come forward, I can come forward, too. And that is another reason why I thought that I needed to write a book. It was scary because a book is in print and people can read it, Because I had talked to people about my illness, but never written it down. But the important thing is that somebody can read this and they can look and say, oh my goodness, this woman… I start my book with hospital records. This woman was completely out of control. And by the end, look at that, she is whatever quote normal is. No, I mean she thought, OK she’s able to hold things together better than she was. And that’s what people need to see. Sometimes people really need to see examples and I don’t know if you have seen the same thing in your life by people seeing you do well. It’s encouraged other people to do well.

Gabe Howard: [00:14:14] It absolutely has. You are you are completely right about that. Many people in the years that I have been doing this have come up to me and said, You know I didn’t believe that I could… fill in the blank… from as simple as work part time or go back to school all the way up to work full time, start a company, buy a house, get married, be a parent, and then they said, you know I saw you do it. And one of the messages that I always say (and Vin laughs every time I say it) is I’m nobody special. I’m not extra smart. I’m not extra rich. I’m not extra famous. I’m not… I’m just a regular guy that grew up in Ohio and I was able to do this because I had the right help, so if I can do it, anybody who can access treatment can do it. That’s why I fight for treatment and it’s why I try to be so positive.  The question that I want to pose for you now is… there’s always this big conversation in America, which is how are the cultures different? How are the cultures different? And you’ve done a lot of research, but the question that I want to ask is how are people with mental illness all the same? I mean, how are we the same as, you know, male and female in different cultures, what do we have in common? And it sounds like you’ve done a lot of research on this and talked to a lot of people.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:15:27] The commonality I think for most of us that I’ve talked to is the feeling of shame.

Gabe Howard: [00:15:38] I can certainly understand that. Is there more? I mean, it’s just it’s so sad. I mean I know that this is not a positive thing to discuss and you can kind of probably hear in my voice that I just… I want to reach for there has to be some way that we’re just all the same and it is sad that we’re all ashamed of our illness and we’re all afraid of what people will think. But you’re right, that is a binding agent and in that way we need each other.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:16:07] And we’ll when it comes to shame, I feel like when the shame and the fear is what we need, those of us who are doing better, is to help distill hope. And I think that’s important. I think for all of us, what we have in common no matter what race, age, gender, whatever – and this might sound a little schmaltzy, but I believe it – all of us are part of humanity. And I think that is the common, the least common denominator of everybody. You know we are all people; we are all human on the planet. I’m a Christian person. I believe that everybody deserves compassion. So I think that’s a common denominator, that no matter who we are, we are all human beings here together. All of us are like a blind man trying to cross the street. And when you think about it like that, it makes us more willing to help each other. If you think I’m a blind man trying to cross the street… that guy over there, that woman over there, no matter what color, age, you know, gender, if you think about it like that, that we’re all just trying to make it through, we’re all just trying to cross the street. We don’t have a plan, here, but if we help each other, it makes it easier.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:17:52] Very well put. I totally agree that compassion is something that we need to have more of in this world.

Gabe Howard: [00:18:02] And compassion is free.  We should spread that everywhere.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:18:04] Yeah.

Gabe Howard: [00:18:05] It doesn’t cost a dime. Now’s the time to be considerate to people. I can’t agree more. I’m sorry, Vin, I cut you off. Please ask your question. I got excited.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:18:14] It’s quite all right. I’ll be considerate. [laughter] So tell us more about how you are are spreading hope for others out there.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:18:27] Yes before I wrote the book I talked to people about my process. I’m also very active in the National Alliance on Mental Illness. My local NAMI is NAMI Maryland. I’m active in NAMI Baltimore City. I’m in metropolitan Baltimore, which covers Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and I am an In Our Own Voice presenter, which means that I go different places and talk to people about mental illness. I’ve taken a peer to peer course. I recently was trained to become a trainer for primary care physicians. We have a new program because a lot of times when people have mental health challenges, the first person they go to is their primary care physician. So I’m part of a pilot program teaching doctors affiliated with two hospitals here in Baltimore – St. Agnes and Harbor Hospital – how what to look for and how to engage with people so they find it okay to reach out and get the help that they need.

Gabe Howard: [00:19:43] That is wonderful. I have been a long-term member and fan of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, for a long time. I was a peer to peer teacher. I was a connection facilitator. I ran three of their walks here in Columbus, Ohio as their walk manager. I love speaking to NAMI chapters. I get to travel all over the country and do it. I love it when they call and hire me. I tell the story of my bipolar life. It’s called This Bipolar Life and you’re right, you can reach a lot of people quickly when you’re part of a bigger organization and I really like your answer there because we get a lot of e-mail, you know, how can we become advocates, how can we reach more people, and one of the things that we always recommend is that they join their local mental health agency. You know we don’t give any particular one it can be NAMI of course, it can be Mental Health America, it can be Depression Bipolar Support Alliance or you know, there’s all kinds of independents all over there, but so many people try to start their own agency and put it all on their back when they can join supported infrastructure and learn and reach many many people, so I’m glad that you’re so heavily involved. Those are good programs that you named.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:20:53] The other thing is, when you talked about DBSA, I have some connection to Johns Hopkins –  when I did my book launch, one of the doctors at Johns Hopkins came into a Q and A with me.  Her name is Dr. Karen Schwartz and she created the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program through Johns Hopkins mood disorder center. So one of the things that was very gratifying for me was that not only did they post pictures of my launch on the Ask Hopkins Psychiatry Facebook page and Instagram page – people can see those – but they also asked me, can we extract quotes and put them on? Of course you can. So they also extracted quotes from my launch about how I maintain my wellness and posted those at Ask Hopkins Psychiatry. And I was really honored to have that as a part of what went on with me.

 

Gabe Howard: [00:21:57] That is wonderful. I love hearing that the patient voice is in front of the medical community because it’s so important for all of us to work together and remember that the goal here is for people with mental illness to be well, it’s what we all want.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:22:10] Definitely yes.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:22:11] Yes. And the example that I often use, I’ll say, well OK, if I put on my helmet and get on my skateboard and become a skater girl, and they go, ha ha, you? And let’s say I fall off my skateboard and I break my arm in three places, my shoulder, my elbow, my wrist… you know is anybody gonna tell me, Charita, just be tough. Charita, just pray about it. Charita, leave it alone. It’ll be okay. We don’t want to talk about that. No! Somebody is gonna get me to a hospital, somewhere where somebody can deal with the broken bones and we might say, you know it was very foolish of you at your age to be on a skateboard.  But they’re going to take care of the injury and one of the things that I often say is that it is important for people to understand that mental illness is physical illness. My brain is part of my body, so the same way you would be concerned about my broken arm, we need to be concerned about brain health and mental wellness.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:23:37] Absolutely. These are things that we’ve been saying all along. In fact… you sounded like Gabe there for a minute.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:23:46] Did I? Yay!

Gabe Howard: [00:23:47] Great minds always think alike. Great minds think alike.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:23:52] That’s right Gabe. They do. They do.

Vincent M. Wales: [00:23:55] Well unfortunately Charita, we are approaching the end of our show so let’s take a minute here to talk a little bit more about your book, where people can find it, where they can find you online and all of that fun stuff.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:24:08] My book is Defying the Verdict – My Bipolar Life. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble. My website is https://ift.tt/2QnQGIG and you can see where I have spoken, podcasts that have covered me, different things that relate to the book, and how things have gone for me. I would like to say that my book was blurbed by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, the author of An Unquiet Mind, and she said that she highly recommends this book and she called my writing powerful and eloquent, so I would hope I am not tooting my own horn.

Gabe Howard: [00:25:00] You’ve done a great thing and you deserve it. And we know that you’ve been on a great podcast, because you were on this one.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:25:07] Absolutely absolutely. And thank you so much for including me.

Gabe Howard: [00:25:13] Oh, you’re very very welcome.

Charita Cole Brown: [00:25:14] It’s really wonderful to be a part of your community.

Gabe Howard: [00:25:19] Wonderful thank you so much for being here and thank you everyone else for tuning in. Remember, you can get one week of free convenient affordable private online counselling anytime anywhere. All you have to do is go to BetterHelp.com/PsychCentral. Give it a try. Thank you so much and we will see you next week.

Narrator 1: [00:25:42] Thank you for listening to the Psych Central Show. Please rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes or wherever you found this podcast. We encourage you to share our show on social media and with friends and family. Previous episodes can be found at PsychCentral.com/show. PsychCentral.com is the internet’s oldest and largest independent mental health website. Psych Central is overseen by Dr. John Grohol, a mental health expert and one of the pioneering leaders in online mental health. Our host Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who travels nationally. You can find more information on Gabe at GabeHoward.com. Our co-host Vincent M. Wales is a trained suicide prevention crisis counselor and author of several award-winning speculative fiction novels. You can learn more about Vincent at VincentMWales.dot com. If you have feedback about the show, please email talkback@psychcentral.com.

About The Psych Central Show Podcast Hosts

Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar and anxiety disorders. He is also one of the co-hosts of the popular show, A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast. As a speaker, he travels nationally and is available to make your event stand out. To work with Gabe, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

 

 

Vincent M. Wales is a former suicide prevention counselor who lives with persistent depressive disorder. He is also the author of several award-winning novels and creator of the costumed hero, Dynamistress. Visit his websites at www.vincentmwales.com and www.dynamistress.com.

 

 

 



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