Year: 2012

Have You Had ECT? Help Others and Tell Me Where

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 23, 2012

As many of you know I’m writing a book on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This book will hopefully answer all the questions a person might have before undergoing ECT treatment as well as share with them my personal experience and the experience of others.

And I’ve decided to include, at the back of the book a list of hospitals that offer ECT to help people who want the treatment with a starting point on how to get it.

There’s just one problem – there’s no central repository on who offers ECT treatment.

Please Help Me with the List of Hospitals that Offer ECT

So I’m asking for your help. If you know of a facility that offers ECT, please let me know in the comments below and I’ll add it to the list. You’ll be helping me and helping others as well. Please include hospitals in Canada and the US.

And, of course, if you have any questions about ECT, also feel free to comment on those and I’ll make sure the answers are here and in the book.

Thanks.

Emotional Overreactions and Depression

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 19, 2012

Yesterday I was having a good day. This doesn’t happen to me all that often but I was being all productive and downright cheery. Miracles. Every day.

But then something happened. It wasn’t an earth-shattering thing, it was just a thing. A life thing. A thing that your average person would feel bad about but not the end of the world.

Just the end of my world.

Depression

Depression is a funny thing. Not so much funny ha ha but more funny want to slit your throat. Depression makes you believe things that aren’t true. Depression makes you believe that you are lowly, that you are nothing, that you are unlovable, that you are unlikeable, and a host of other things all seemingly designed to tear you to the floor.

And it’s really unfortunate when life events work to confirm, or seemingly confirm, these false beliefs.

Best of Bipolar Bites and Breaking Bipolar Blogs

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 16, 2012

Hi all. A lot happens around these parts in six weeks. As most of you know this month I launched a new blog on Healthline.com called Bipolar Bites and, of course, I still have my blog on HealthyPlace.com called Breaking Bipolar.

Bipolar Bites and Breaking Bipolar Articles

In case you haven’t kept up with your reading, here’s the best of what you might have missed in the last couple of months from both blogs:

A discussion on the unique mental illness therapy deep brain stimulation and bipolar disorder in two parts: New Treatment for Bipolar – What is Deep Brain Stimulation? and Does Deep Brain Stimulation Work for Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder and Fixing Your Circadian Rhythm – The start of several article on light, darkness and your circadian rhythm in bipolar disorder.
Can Treatment Noncompliance be Good? – An idea that is hard to bring up without seeming to endorse treatment noncompliance. Is treatment noncompliance sometimes the right thing?
Lack of Understanding of Mental Illness and sometimes even Hatred Towards the Bipolar Community – it’s difficult for someone without a mental illness to understand what someone with a mental illness goes through every day. Here is some of what I go through that I don’t think people understand.
Is Bipolar a Personality Disorder? – a question that gets asked frequently along with questions about bipolar disorder and identity.
Mental Illness as a Disability – can we handle the idea that mental illness really is a disability like any other?
Bipolar Depression and Feeling Nothing at All – a rarely discussed part of bipolar disorder – feeling nothing at all.
Bipolar Disorder, Depression and Psychosis – psychosis, delusions and hallucinations, isn’t just a part of schizophrenia, as many of us know too well, it’s a part of bipolar mania, and even depression, as well. Recognition of Irritation and Anxiety is also important.
Telling Your Family You Have a Mental Illness – You’re Not OK – we all face the battle of telling others about our illness, how do we do it and what do we do if family members remain in denial anyway?
Why Didn’t Evolution Cull Bipolar Disorder? – Bipolar Benefits – are their evolutionary benefits to having bipolar disorder?

Oh, and the mental health resources page has been updated. Check it out.

If there’s a topic you’d like to see covered feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll see if it tickles my fancy.

Why My Mental Health Opinions Aren’t Just About Me

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 14, 2012

Let me share a little secret with you – I don’t agree with all mental health treatment. I don’t agree with all the decisions doctors make. I don’t like all the available treatments. I have had very bad experiences with some mental health treatments. I have had some very bad experiences with mental health care professionals.

But I still talk about them. And I still think they are right for some people.

Why?

Because my story isn’t your story.

Acceptance of Bipolar Disorder is a Process

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 7, 2012

I remember the day, or rather, the night, about 13 years ago when I discovered I had bipolar disorder. I did exactly what I tell people not to do: I went online and diagnosed myself. In my case, I happened to be right.

I remember the extreme pain, fear and shame I felt at realizing I had a mental illness. I remember the indignation I felt at the idea that I would have to take medication for the rest of my life. Mostly though, I remember the tears. I remember the candy apple-red face stained with hundreds of tears. That’s what I remember the most.

But that was 13 years ago and a lot has happened since. One thing I have learned though is that I didn’t accept my mental illness that night. Nor the next. I didn’t truly accept my mental illness for years.

Reader Discretion is Not Advised

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 5, 2012

Recently a couple of my posts / links / images raised eyes with some of my readers. Some complained and others requested that I put content warnings in front of them.

Well, I don’t do content warnings.*

In this case, one post was about self-harm and had a picture of a cutter’s arm. Another post contained a link to the TV-promo for a Dr. Oz show on electroconvulsive therapy, in which a person gets ECT. Images of self-harm and ECT, it was argued, are very upsetting to some people.

Well, yes.

Nevertheless, in neither case did I think a warning was appropriate.

Here’s why: you’re an adult. Grow up.

Stopping Self-Harm Urges Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 1, 2012

If you feel you may harm yourself, get help now.

I talked about dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in the last post. Dialectical behavior therapy is designed to work specifically with borderline personality disorder and part of this disorder is often self-harm so DBT uses specific techniques to try to stop self-harm urges and prevent self-harm.

What is Self-Harm?

Self-harm is a huge problem for many people. It is typically a sign of borderline personality disorder but it can occur with any disorder (or no diagnosis at all). Self-harm, also known as self-mutilation or self-injury, can be any form of self-abuse including cutting, burning, hitting and statistics often include those with eating disorders as well. Millions of people in the US practice some form of self-harm.

Self-harm is often practiced by teens and is more common in women than in men, but make no mistake about it, many adults self-harm and men do as well. It is a behavior to be taken seriously. Here are some techniques to stop self-harm urges.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 29, 2012

In spite of what some people intimate, I do endorse non-drug solutions and one of the best adjunct treatments to medications is psychotherapy. Many types of therapy can work for different people, but one current and research-backed therapy is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Now, don’t let the big words scare you – this is not a scary therapy. This is simply a therapy that works to use reason to integrate and synthesize to opposite points of view. Meaning, the techniques taught are designed to find a balance in emotion, behavior and acceptance.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Borderline Personality Disorder

Dialectical behavior therapy was designed specifically to treat borderline personality disorder; however, it has shown usefulness in mood disorders and research is currently underway to see if DBT techniques are also useful in other disorders. This therapy represents a huge breakthrough as the first indicated treatment of borderline personality disorder.

Nominate a Superior Mental Health Advocate for $10,000

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 27, 2012

The National Council is an organization I recently become involved with as they have asked me to speak at their conference in Chicago this April.

The National Council

In their words, this organization,

… is the unifying voice of America’s behavioral health organizations. Together with our 1,950 member organizations, we serve our nation’s most vulnerable citizens — more than 6 million adults and children with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. We are committed to providing comprehensive, quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and inclusion in all aspects of community life.

The National Council advocates for public policies in mental and behavioral health that ensure that people who are ill can access comprehensive healthcare services. And we offer state-of-the-science education and practice improvement resources so that services are efficient and effective.

From what I can tell, this organization believes in community care over hospitalization, advocates for people with a mental illness and are just one quality organization.

And they’re giving away $10,000.

Amazing right? Well, I sure think so.

The Reintegration Awards

The awards are known as the Reintegration Awards and there are nine categories. The Reintegration awards have, for 15 years,

… celebrated the achievements of those in the community who dedicate themselves to improving the lives of individuals with serious mental illnesses, and the achievements of those living with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who battle tremendous odds to improve their own lives and the lives of their peers.

And, as fun as it would be, the $10,000 is actually granted to an organization of the individual’s choice, and not the individual themselves. Most of us, though, would be thrilled to give a $10,000 cheque to a deserving organization.

So, please nominate a spectacular mental health advocate or worker here. People who work hard for us deserve our support. And act fast because nominations close on the 31st of January.

Learn more about The National Council’s initiative here.