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Loving Someone with a Mental Illness

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 17, 2012

Standing Beside Someone with a Mental Illness

One of the most popular things I’ve written here is a piece called, Saying Goodbye to Someone with a Mental Illness. I think this piece is very important as it highlights the fact that you can’t stand beside someone just because they have a mental illness. Sometimes it’s simply an unworkable situation and you have to take care of yourself by putting some distance between you and the person with the mental illness.

Leaving Someone with a Mental Illness

Unfortunately, some people took this as an indication that I believe that you should leave people with a mental illness.

Loving Someone with a Mental Illness

Nothing could be farther from the truth, of course. The vast majority of people with a mental illness are people just like everyone else and are completely reasonable with which to be in a relationship (of whatever type).

Suicide and Suicide Attempt Resources

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 10, 2012

Over the last couple of years I have written a lot about suicide. It’s a big topic and one of great importance to the mental illness community and, I believe, society at large. As today is World Suicide Prevention Day I wanted to present a round-up of all the suicide and suicide attempt resources I have written over the years.

Please use these to help others or help yourself. Not one more person ever needs to die of suicide.

Suicide Prevention

Why Should I Continue to Fight the Pain of Depression?
Suicide Warning Signs You Should Know – Part One and Part Two
What to Do if You Start to Feel Suicidal
Some People Will Commit Suicide No Matter What You Do?

Thinking About Suicide

Suicide Threats

Suicide Attempts

How to Support World Suicide Prevention Day

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 9, 2012

September 10^th is World Suicide Prevention Day and I, for one, am thankful. I’m thankful there’s a group called the International Association for Suicide Prevention that is out there promoting World Suicide Prevention Day. I’m thankful that an international group is taking the time to address this incredibly important subject.

Worldwide Suicide Statistics

I won’t bore you with pages of suicide statistics, but when you think about suicide prevention, consider this:

Data from The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 1 million people die every year of suicide worldwide
There is one death by suicide every 40 seconds
There are more people lost to suicide than to homicide and war combined
Suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death worldwide among 15-19 year olds
More than 100,000 adolescents die by suicide each year worldwide
Highest rates of suicide are among those age 75 and older
Up to 90% of people who take their own life have a psychiatric disorder

Suicide is a major problem in the mental illness community, to be sure, but suicide is really everyone’s problem as it’s estimated that there are 20 times the number of suicide attempts as there are suicide completions. If you haven’t been personally touched by suicide yet, you will be.

Suicide Prevention

But World Suicide Prevention Day isn’t about dwelling on the suicide statistics. World Suicide Prevention Day is about working on preventing those 1 million deaths. And as I’ve stated before, I believe suicide is entirely preventable and we, as a society should strive for a zero percent suicide rate.

Should Mental Illness Funding Be Used on Addiction Treatment?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 6, 2012

If you read the Breaking Bipolar blog over at HealthyPlace you might have seen a question earlier this week:

Is addiction just like any other mental illness?

People have come down on both sides of this question on HealthyPlace and on Facebook but I think the overarching sentiment is that addiction is not just another mental illness as personal choices lead to its existence. No one causes bipolar disorder or schizophrenia through action but no one puts a drink in an alcoholic’s hand and forces them to imbibe. Moreover, addiction recovery is considerably simpler in that addicts get better by choosing not to use substances while other mental illness treatment involves months of treatment before any turnaround is seen and typically involves lifelong treatment.

But whether you think that addiction (or, more specifically substance abuse and substance dependence) is simply another mental illness or not, there is this question:

Should funds intended to be used on serious mental illness be used for addiction treatment?

The Bipolar Burble Blog Gets a Facebook Page

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 4, 2012

Last night saw the launch of the Bipolar Burble blog Facebook page. In all honesty, I’ve been meaning to do this for quite a while but couch-contributed inertia slowed me down. This Facebook page is dedicated to supporting people with a mental illness and all those who love them.

Why a Bipolar Burble Blog Facebook Page?

I created this page in response to the concerns that some people had over the nastiness that was being put on my own Facebook profile. People felt it wasn’t a safe space to discuss articles or leave comments and while I try to make the Bipolar Burble blog clutter-free, that’s tougher to do on Facebook. Having a Bipolar Burble blog Facebook page, though, makes this task easier, so you can consider the Bipolar Burble blog Facebook page a safe space to comment and discuss mental health topics.

Why People Refuse Therapy – Therapy Feels like an Insult

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 30, 2012

Yesterday I was at my psychiatrist’s and I wasn’t doing terribly well. It seems I’m a little stressed. Turns out being a well-known mental health writer is a smidgen more challenging than one might think.

And so one of the recommendations my doctor made was to do some mindfulness training in a local program.

Instantly I felt myself rile against the idea. Internally I was feeling very resistant against yet more therapy.

And I realized why – therapy feels like an insult. The idea that I need more therapy seems to suggest that I’m not handling my disease in the best way possible. This seems to suggest that I don’t know everything already. More therapy feels like I’m doing something wrong and have to be fixed. The idea of more therapy suggests that someone else knows something that I don’t. And boy am I tired of bipolar treatments that don’t work.

Are People Born with Bipolar Disorder?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 28, 2012

I’m not sure that I was born with bipolar disorder. I might have been. I might have been born with such genetic predisposition that no matter what happened I would have bipolar disorder. Or I might not. I really don’t know and science isn’t in a position to tell me.

But like with most things mental illness, there is a debate about it. Are people born with bipolar disorder?

Psychiatric Medications Don’t Work – a Fact?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 22, 2012

Again, a commenter last night popped onto the blog to tell me how psychiatric medications “do more harm than good” and how “I [the commenter] know for a fact that these meds no not work.”

Sigh.

I’m not sure how so many people confuse “fact” with “opinion.” It is the opinion of some people that psychiatric medications don’t work. It is the opinion of some people that psychiatric medications do more harm than good.

I am not of that opinion. And I actually have facts on my side.

Myths that Increase Mental Health Stigma and Decrease Compassion

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 20, 2012

The Bipolar Burble blog is pleased to welcome guest author Jessica Gimeno from Flipswitch. Jessica is an online communications associate for The Balanced Mind Foundation and at only 28 is an amazing advocate for people with mental and physical illnesses.

Stigma and Compassion for Both Mental and Physical Illness

In our struggle to obtain mental health parity, I sometimes hear advocates claim or insinuate, “Everyone knows that emotional pain is worse than physical pain.” Really? Believe it or not, this comparison does not help us win society’s empathy and compassion. Have you ever sat at the bedside of a relative who was dying of cancer? It sucks. And if you’ve lived through physical pain but have no experience with mental illness, you’re less likely to have compassion for people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other stigmatized illnesses after hearing this claim.

Mental Pain is Worse Than Physical Pain?

I also know the claim is false. How? Well, I have many physical illnesses: myasthenia gravis (a neuromuscular autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis), polycystic ovarian syndrome, asthma, and another respiratory illness. I also have bipolar II. (You might be thinking, how did she get so lucky?) The truth is: All illnesses—mental and physical—are hard. I know what it’s like to feel so depressed that you can’t get out of bed. That used to be my life. I also know what it’s like to endure many surgeries, not be able to feel your legs, and spend over a year lying in bed.

This article is not about bashing the mental health industry (an industry I work in, by the way)—it’s about expanding our worldview and helping others see our physical and mental pain more clearly.