Category: mental illness issues

Stop Forcing Platitudes for Mental Illness

I hate platitudes in general, but I especially hate platitudes when they’re applied to mental illness. It’s so condescending when people offer some simple piece of advice and tell you it will fix everything. It’s disgustingly pious when people tell you you’re looking at things or handling things the wrong way because they know of a rhyming couplet. Not only are platitudes unlikely to be helpful in general, I would suggest they are even less so for people with a mental illness (especially serious mental illnesses like bipolar disorder). Here’s why people need to stop offering platitudes to those with mental illness (and maybe everyone else).

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How to Get the Support for Bipolar You Need

Support for bipolar is important, but the support for bipolar that you actually need is even more so. We’re all different, and the support we need is different too. The trouble is, it can be hard to get the support we need when we need it. I would say that obtaining this support is actually a skill. So, if getting the support you need for bipolar disorder is a skill, how do we learn it, and how do we practice it?

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When Bipolar Makes You Useless — Forgiving Yourself

Recently, I’ve had days when I was useless due to bipolar disorder. My brain became a rock. I couldn’t get a thought through it if I tired. And thanks to my brain’s inability to think, I also couldn’t work. Trying to do anything — and I mean anything — brought about nothing but crushing overwhelm. And all of this lack of productivity brought about a lot of self-flagellation. I need to learn to forgive myself when I’m useless because of bipolar, though.

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Can You Blame Everything on Bipolar Disorder?

As a mental health advocate, I’ve observed people attributing everything to bipolar disorder, from feelings and thoughts to actions. While a mood disorder does influence feelings and thoughts, not all emotions and thoughts are a result of bipolar disorder. It’s crucial to take responsibility for actions and not blame them solely on the disorder. Learning to separate actions from thoughts and feelings, investing in therapy, and taking responsibility can help in personal growth and improve relationships.

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Holidays Tips When Living with Bipolar Disorder

Living with bipolar disorder can be challenging, and living with bipolar disorder over the holidays even more so. While there are many great things about holidays, bipolar stability often isn’t one of them. I believe we need to embrace the good parts of the holidays while protecting our mental health for after the holidays, too. Here are holiday tips when dealing with bipolar disorder.

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Do Antidepressants Increase Suicidality? Does The Black Box Warning Help or Hurt People?

Because of the black box warnings (also known as boxed warnings) on antidepressants, many people think that antidepressants cause suicidal thinking, suicidal behavior, and suicide. The black box warning on antidepressants is, after all, the strongest warning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can place on a medication. However, the black box warning on antidepressants was authored almost 20 years ago, and we have learned a lot and have synthesized a lot of data since then. Does this more recent data indicate that antidepressants increase suicidality or cause suicides, and what can we learn from this new information? Should we be scared of the risk of suicidality with antidepressants? (TL;DR here.)

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How Successful Is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in 2023?

As most of you know, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline morphed into the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline last year. This has broadened its scope and who it aims to serve. Millions have accessed the 988 Lifeline through calls, texts, and messages in the last year. This is extremely impressive. But how successful is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at helping people, and would people call 988 again if they were in distress?

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Mental Health Is a Universal Human Right — What Does That Mean?

World Mental Health Day 2023 has been given the theme by the World Health Organization (WHO): mental health is a universal human right. I couldn’t agree more. But what does this mean? What is the impact of that statement? There’s more controversy there than you might think. The idea that mental health is a universal human right means one thing to the WHO, but it means something a little bit more to me.

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I write a three-time Web Health Award winning column for HealthyPlace called Breaking Bipolar.

Also, find my writings on The Huffington Post and my work for BPHope (BP Magazine).

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