Mental Health Notes Readers – Tell Me More…
January 5, 2009 by gayla
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Since taking over as the writer here at MHN, I’ve shared about myself and my own life experiences with mental illness. Now it’s your turn.
I’m not asking that you give me your entire life history – but perhaps share enough of yourself that I may know what my new readers are here for. What mental illnesses have set up residence in your life? Does this illness or illnesses belong to you or someone in your family?
I’d also like to learn more from my readers in what I can do to accommodate your needs – at least the needs you may be seeking in an online forum or venue?
I love doing research – I love learning and most of all I love helping people. I guess I was born to be an advocate of some sort. It seems to be the one constant hat I’ve worn from a very early age.
So please, take just a moment – leave a comment on this post and allow me to get to know you.
I look forward to meeting you.
Image credit: stock.xchng
Hello, Gayla,
I am happy that you took the time to share your experience with mental illness and recovery and that you are interested in what your readers’ lives are like or what WE have experienced.
I have a blog about my experience with mental illness (bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic disorder, PTSD and a long history of poly-substance addiction (I am clean and sober 3 years this past Dec 1st!). If you are interested or have time, I go into broader detail about this in my blog (I hope it is OK to post this here…)
http://alternativementalhealthrecovery.blogspot.com/
But, for the sake of time, I can encapsulate my experience as “a life time struggle with self medication (…I started at the age of 12 and continued for almost 23 years…), misdiagnosed and untreated mental illness and the last 3 years of my life sober but STRUGGLING with life with out alcohol and drugs ‘covering up’ my mental illness symptoms and therefore me being in complete and utter terror and pain.” Sounds dramatic, but it is as honest as I can put it.
I have also been prescribed almost every psychotropic medication out there at one point or another in the 20 years since I was first given medications at the age of 17. My doctors and psychiatrists were finally at a loss of what to do for me since NOTHING seemed to work or bring me relief from the hell I was in. I was told numerous times that “I was unresponsive to medication treatment”. That was always scary to hear. What the heck was I going to do? It wasn’t looking good for me at all.
In desperation and in a slightly manic state of mind…I came across a program/mentor on the Internet by a fellow individual living with a mental illness who had a story that was so much like my own that I just needed to find out more about the relief and treatment and recovery options he was speaking about on his website.
Through my interaction with this man and my own research, I came across the Truehope Program out of Canada that treats bipolar disorder, as well as other mental illnesses, with a supplemental, high-powered blend of vitamins and minerals and close support that has COMPLETELY changed my life. I have been taking the EmpowerPlus supplement offered through Truehope since July 15th 2008 and have been completely off of all psychotropic medications since September of 2008. I manage my illness and my recovery with EMP+ and other holistic and natural supplements along with dietary changes, exercise and support groups (…especially the consumer support boards on the website of Truehope…). A year ago today, I could not leave the house. Before that, I was in and out of the psychiatric hospital, I had attempted suicide over ten times and I was ‘drugged up’ on 5-7 different medications that were sucking the life out of me. I could find no solace, no relief.
NOW, I am active in my community, leave my home daily, have re-connected with friends and family, volunteer, write, work with others and I am feeling clear and I have clarity. My emotions and feelings are coming back. I feel ALIVE!
If you knew me, knew my life prior to this experience and connection with Truehope…you would say, to see me now, is nothing less than a miracle. And I am as honest a man as they come. I was at the end of the line, with out any where to turn, desperate and suicidal and basically, had no more answers from the professional community. The holistic path I now practice has not only saved my life but it has made me an advocate for others to realize the potential of natural options to medications. It works…I am not the only one.
Sorry to sound so passionate…but I am just SO HAPPY to have found relief and manageability in my life and a life worth living. It is my life, and thus, my decisions to turn away from medications and pursue natural treatment options…and I make sure I express this to people who may be interested in “how you got to be so much more healthy”. Perhaps it is not for everyone, but it sure is for me. There are alternatives to medications and traditional choices to combat and support recovery from mental illness. I am living proof. That is proof enough for me.
So, I guess I would enjoy to read about some alternative treatments to mental illness and recovery. The research on this is not only incredibly challenging and exciting, but it is also very fun! I feel as if I am involved in a ‘cutting edge’ program of mental health that will be looked back on in 10 years as a true and incredibly powerful means of treating and recovering from mental illness. I am more grateful then I can ever put into words.
Thank you for your time. I enjoy your articles and contributions very much. Take care and I will keep reading!
Sincerely,
Jon Young
Hi Gayla, I have had depression since I was very young, but it went undiagnosed for 40 years. Soon after that I had acomplete breakdown and attempted suicide and began cutting. I have diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety disorder with panic attacks and agoraphobia and on top of that I have numerous medical disorders that cause me to be disabled. What I have noticed is that there are very few psych wards that are conducive to people with physical disabilities and medical requirements. It has been a very difficult struggle until I took a WRAP class written by Mary Ellen Copeland. This gave me hope for the first time in many years and I am doing better than ever withmy mental illness.
Hi, Gayla – I’m a trauma survivor and recovered PTSD experiencer. It took 25 years of chronic-extreme PTSD to get a diagnosis — and then 3 years to heal it through a dedicated course of self-recovery without medication.
Now, I write a blog about living and coping with, treating and healing PTSD (http://parasitesofthemind.blogspot.com), AND: I advocate for PTSD awareness, education, treatment and healing.
Anything you can do to spread the word that PTSD is, in fact, treatable and curable would be a great help!
@ Jon – I can truly understand your being passionate about finding your “miracle cure” or “treatment” for the disorders you had. My husband is currently exploring his options on alternative treatments because the exisiting medications don’t seem to be working as well anymore. I’ll be reading your blog and tipping him off as well to learn from your experiences.
While my eyes can’t be everywhere, I’d like to invite you to tip me off to articles you find on alternative treatments that need a little extra exposure.
Anything that you feel is important from your perspective, I’m more than happy to share with MHN readers. You can email me directly at gayla@b5media.com
@ Lisa – Thank you so much for introducing yourself and for sharing your own profile. It sounds like you’ve had quite a life experience and I’m honored you’ve decided to share that with me. The same as I stated with Jon – if you ever stumble on anything that you feel is of value to those suffering from mental illness or their families, please do share that information with me. I don’t think we can ever get too many people advocating eduction, support and awareness.
@ Michele – I feel a bit embarrassed that I never realized PTSD could be linked to children or adolescents. I guess the media coverage with PSTD being associated with soldiers sort of draws that attention away from the broader spectrum. I’ll be reading your blog and learning more. My offer extends to you as well. In as much as it takes a village to raise a child – it takes an army to advocate the cause of mental illness. There’s still so much I’ve yet to learn and look forward to learning from you. I will do what I can to help support your advocacy for PTSD. Just let me know when and where and I’ll be happy to help spread the word.
Again, my direct email is gayla@b5media.com if any of you have anything you’d like to send me that needs a little extra attention.
Thanks, Gayla! i will be happy and honored to provide any new ideas, treatments and recovery ‘tips’ that I can find. Thanks for your time!
Jon Young
My younger sister is 28, recently married, and still lives at home with my parents. My sister and mother have a very odd co-dependent relationship. My sister doesn’t want to move out and my mom hopes she never will. She also doesn’t have a job or plans to get one, and my mom thinks that’s ok.
My sister has a strange OCD that involves asking every imaginable question about what you did that day. It goes on and on, but she has a need to know. I know it drives her husband crazy. If she’s separated from my mom, she calls her very frequently.
Plus, my sister has no idea that my mom has told me about all her mental health issues, so I can’t really speak to her about them. Complicated.
The only way my sister will get healthy is to move out of the same town as my mom, but it seems that will never happen.
Hello Gayla
I think its great you are trying to help people and make people aware of mental health problems. My daughter was only 13 when she killed herself by hanging and its so sad nobody was aware that she felt so terrible. My family and I have to live with this and not a day goes by when I dont miss seeing her and think about what should have been doing with her life. I think its great you are so understanding and want to help other people.