Category: treatment issues

Save Mental Health Care for West Virginia – Speak Out Today

Two mental health facilities that provide acute, inpatient, psychiatric care are slated to close their doors in Wheeling, West Virginia. My name is Katrina Bell, and I have worked for the last 14 years at Ohio Valley Medical Center’s psychiatric facilities. These are the Robert C. Byrd Child and Adolescent Center as well as the Hillcrest Behavioral Center. These facilities are the only inpatient, acute, psychiatric centers in the Northern Panhandle of the state. 

We were recently informed that our hospital will be closing within 60-90 days and no later than October 7th of this year. We were devastated by this news, not only for us but for the vulnerable population we serve. We want your help to save these life-saving facilities.

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Weight Gain on Psych Meds: Why Don’t Psychiatrists Talk About, Track It?

Talking about and tracking weight gain with regards to psychiatric medication isn’t fun. My guess is that talking about and tracking weight gain isn’t fun even for psychiatrists. Nevertheless, it seems to me like it’s part of their job. There are lots of “not fun” parts of their job that they seem to manage just fine, but this isn’t one of them. So why is it that psychiatrists don’t talk about or even track weight gain on psych meds?

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Bipolar, Depression and Diet — The Evidence

Can your diet actually impact your depression or bipolar disorder? This is the question. While people claim that certain diets do help with mental illnesses like depression and bipolar disorder, the evidence just hasn’t been there. About the only thing the research can say is that eating an unhealthy, processed diet can lead to nutrient deficiencies and this can make mental illness outcomes worse. That’s it. And that makes perfect sense. But can your diet actually improve your bipolar disorder, depression or other mental health issue? Here’s what we know today.

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There Is No Right Way to Deal with Bipolar Disorder — I Hate It

One of the things that drives me crazy is that there is no “right way” to deal with bipolar disorder. There is no “right” treatment, there is no “right” therapy, there no “right” anything when it comes to bipolar disorder. When I look at the roadmap of my past treatment, it is so winding that this is clear. And the thing that really gets me is when I look at my future treatment roadmap, I see that uncertainty too. It makes it so hard to make a decision when there is no right way to deal with bipolar disorder.

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Why Are People with Bipolar So Angry?

Bipolar and anger may or may not be linked. It appears they are and many people would assert they are, but as anger is not, technically, a symptom of bipolar disorder as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, it’s hard to say anything definitive about it. Nevertheless, anger and bipolar disorder have been on my mind lately because I do feel very angry. So why are so many people with bipolar disorder so angry?

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You’ve Been Cured of Bipolar Disorder? I Don’t Think So

There are people who claim to have been cured of bipolar disorder. This is a thing that happens, especially online. People have written to me claiming of a bipolar cure. Companies also claim to cure (or magically treat) bipolar disorder. (One, in fact, threatened to sue me for talking about my experience with their product.)

My opinion is the people who claim to have been cured of bipolar disorder are dangerous.

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Severe Agitation – Bipolar Symptom or Medication Side Effect?

I am suffering from severe bipolar-related agitation. Or is it severe medication-related agitation? This is the question. Technically, it’s mostly a question for your doctor, but it’s one I struggle with, too. On one level, it doesn’t much matter what’s causing the agitation as it’s happening and that’s that; and on the other hand, I think it’s important to know what’s driving the agitation – a bipolar symptom or a medication side effect?

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