If you are reading one of my blogs for advice or to better understand
your own mental condition or that of someone else, keep in mind that I am a lay
person. I am not a professional
counselor (yet). I am a person who has
experienced mental disorder for approximately 36 years and has been
professionally treated for about 12 years.
I say that so that you can understand it is okay to disagree with me if
your medical professional has given you different advice. What works for one person may not be the same
for others. Having said that, if you
struggle with your current plan, then maybe what I have been through will be
helpful to you.
I always explain to anyone who suffers from a form of
depression that medical care can be frustrating. It takes a lot of trial and error to
determine what is your best course of action, especially if a prescription is
part of your plan. In addition, you may
find that a particular dose of something only works about three months at a
time before the dosage must be adjusted.
Depending on the severity of your condition, you may have been on the
same anti-depressant, or “nerve medication” for a long time and see no need for
change. If that fits you…great, you are
fortunate.
When I first started seeing Psychiatrists I was grateful for
the help, but I was alarmed at just how fast and frequent they wrote
prescriptions. I found it very
frustrating to be in the office of a doctor and after only five minutes of
talking, they were pulling out their pen and script pad. Everyone who knows me realizes that I can’t
say all I need to say in five minutes.
It takes a while! Ha! I need more time and it honestly took a while
for some of my doctors to realize that I was Bipolar because they would not
listen to me after five minutes. I went
through a great deal of rapid cycling, but they would only treat me for what
they heard me say in the short time they allotted me to speak. I was very confused because I had a vision of
a couch and an hour-long session…that is not the case for most
Psychiatrists. You sit in a chair across
from their desk. They herd you in and
out just like your MD does…more patients to bill.
I understood the concept of trial and error, but I had
serious reactions to medications. One
“anti-psychotic” script actually had me so out of it I had to crawl to the bed
within ten minutes of taking it and I had horrible hallucinations. Well maybe not so horrible, one time I was
married to Dolly Parton in one of those conscious dreams. I won’t even get into what transpired. You get my point about the wrong meds.
At one point I was on so much lithium that it caused one of
my kidneys to stop functioning. Not
good.
I am an advocate for anti-depressants. I don’t want to sound like I am trying to
talk people out of it. They save
lives. In my humble opinion, you have to
be the person in control of what you are taking. You have to journal; track all symptoms and
have a medical professional willing to listen to all that you have to say. He or she should care about the side effects
and the feelings you are having, i.e. sleep patterns, etc. Getting control of my meds was one of the best
things I could have ever done. It put me
on the road to recovery as well as my faith and my support group. Whatever your diagnosis, research it. Become an expert in your own mind. It’s your healthcare and you should be the
smartest person you know regarding that disease. It empowers you.
My family medical practitioner became one of the greatest
resources for my depression and bipolar disorder. Dr. Russell Ingram in Jacksonville has a
great deal of knowledge of depression.
He treats many patients with varying mental illness. He fully believes depression to be a medical
condition. With Dr. Ingram’s help, I was
able to walk away from a great deal of medication that others had
prescribed. I won’t criticize them and
say they were all wrong, but they were not working for me. Later I added a homeopathic doctor to my
medical plan, Dr. Reed Sainsbury in Rainbow City. He treated me as a whole patient. My first session with him lasted over two
hours. He charged me $25. That is the sign of a medical professional
who cares!
Today my treatment plan for depression and bipolar disorder
is multi-faceted. I see a medical
physician, a homeopathic doctor, and a specialized counselor, just for me. Did I mention she has a couch? Guess what, all of that added together is
less than some of the meds I was paying for five or six years ago. My plan includes praying, meditation,
journaling, herbs, homework, friends, etc.
Most of all, it involves a lot of talking and writing…what I do
best. I am using the talents that God
gave me to overcome this disease. Sometimes
it’s an uphill battle and I feel differently from season to season…but today, I
feel like I am winning. How do you feel
about your plan?
Depression or other related mental illnesses are nothing to
be ashamed of. More people have these
diseases than you can imagine. For many
years society prevented us from feeling confident about publicly discussing the
disease or asking for help. If I
accomplish anything, in my own part of the world, I hope to change that
view.
Take charge of your own life and your own health. I am happy to be a resource or a support to
anyone in need. God willing…one day I
just may have one of those counselor titles behind my name and I can work even
more for our health! God bless and love
to you all.
