Your experiences with mental illness

[magpie]

I'm going to post this in a thread again on the off chance that someone finds it enlightening. Because this stuff is so uncommon that the UN wrote a report on torture in health care settings.

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session22/A.HRC.22.53_English.pdf

Here's the summary:

Summary
The present report focuses on certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that
may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. It identifies the policies that promote these practices
and existing protection gaps.
By illustrating some of these abusive practices in health-care settings, the report
sheds light on often undetected forms of abusive practices that occur under the auspices of
health-care policies, and emphasizes how certain treatments run afoul of the prohibition on
torture and ill-treatment. It identifies the scope of State‟s obligations to regulate, control
and supervise health-care practices with a view to preventing mistreatment under any
pretext.
The Special Rapporteur examines a number of the abusive practices commonly
reported in health-care settings and describes how the torture and ill-treatment framework
applies in this context. The examples of torture and ill-treatment in health settings
discussed likely represent a small fraction of this global problem.

 

[fetus]

Medication has helped me immensely. I believe Lamictal has been a true miracle for me. I'm also on Seroquel, which was prescribed to curb the mania, and I think it's helped me from becoming depressed, too. But Lamictal...it's a wonderful maintenance drug. I had a very bad mixed episode in July 2014. But once the Lamictal dose got high enough, it finally stopped. Since then, I have had no issues with my bipolar disorder.

I'm very grateful I was diagnosed early...it developed when I was 13, maybe younger. First received psychiatric help when I was 14, after being sent to the psych ward for severe depression and suicidal intent. Misdiagnosed with depression. Only a few months later I was diagnosed with bipolar. Many people don't receive the proper diagnosis, let alone treatment, for years. I'm lucky.

I still have issues with anxiety. I took Klonopin back when I was 14, but I don't need that anymore. I manage anxiety with therapy (I see a therapist every week) and coping skills.

I'm doing well.

 

[Betty Blue]

I'm gonna play half the devils advocate here because i agree with you that most of the times meds aren't needed. I was one of those people who had their basic needs met and did not really start feeling relief until i was prescribed the rights med, and it wasn't over night that i magically got better from taking them. just they stablized me enough so that what you're talking about could help. I agree i do best if i eat regularly, sleep enough, stay hydrated, and socialize just normal socialization, then if i take my meds and do none of that. so that stuff is important, but sometimes meds are simply needed,i'm not proud to be on them, in fact i often feel shame for having to take them. but if i dont take my meds and keep doing that i might be ok for a little while but every time i do that something breaks and i have to go back on meds,

Yeah I addressed that in my last paragraph. It wasn't an attack on people taking meds who it does work for and who do need them. I thought it was pretty clear but maybe not.

 

[miss fortune]

as far as meds go, that's been a crapshoot for me :/ <- sometimes this is the only smiley that is sufficient

the ones I was on in college made me feel dead inside so I quit taking them and went without for years... then they mistakenly put me on antidepressants because my records were lost and who am I to argue with the doctor when saying "I'm actually bipolar" sounds like a self diagnosis with no records to back me up? I was a mess on antidepressants (the wrong drug) to the point where I don't remember half of November or any of December... no Christmas, no Finals... nothing... and I still didn't sleep

finally they realized what was going on and took me off of the antidepressants and put me on mood stabilizers instead which have been great except that I kept getting memory gaps on one of them and have had to switch it up recently because I work in a dangerous environment and can't deal with having blank periods in my mind for safety reasons... so now trying out a new drug and hoping that this one works!

so yeah, meds do help... I am significantly more stable than I was before taking them anymore... it's just finding the one with the most tolerable side effects that works well with you as far as working goes. And having the wrong meds can just make things a shit ton worse (from what I do remember of December, I spent a lot of time pondering driving into the river just because I couldn't turn off, which is a very bad thing)... Psych medicating is NOT a precise science, even for those who need to be medicated and there is a lot that can go wrong with medicating someone incorrectly, but there's a lot that can go right once you get the right mix.

I really see no point in medicating someone who doesn't really need it because the side effects can be a real bitch

 

[prplchknz]

as far as meds go, that's been a crapshoot for me :/ <- sometimes this is the only smiley that is sufficient

the ones I was on in college made me feel dead inside so I quit taking them and went without for years... then they mistakenly put me on antidepressants because my records were lost and who am I to argue with the doctor when saying "I'm actually bipolar" sounds like a self diagnosis with no records to back me up? I was a mess on antidepressants (the wrong drug) to the point where I don't remember half of November or any of December... no Christmas, no Finals... nothing... and I still didn't sleep

finally they realized what was going on and took me off of the antidepressants and put me on mood stabilizers instead which have been great except that I kept getting memory gaps on one of them and have had to switch it up recently because I work in a dangerous environment and can't deal with having blank periods in my mind for safety reasons... so now trying out a new drug and hoping that this one works!

so yeah, meds do help... I am significantly more stable than I was before taking them anymore... it's just finding the one with the most tolerable side effects that works well with you as far as working goes. And having the wrong meds can just make things a shit ton worse (from what I do remember of December, I spent a lot of time pondering driving into the river just because I couldn't turn off, which is a very bad thing)... Psych medicating is NOT a precise science, even for those who need to be medicated and there is a lot that can go wrong with medicating someone incorrectly, but there's a lot that can go right once you get the right mix.

I really see no point in medicating someone who doesn't really need it because the side effects can be a real bitch

I agree, though my side effects have usually been minimal, its more of for me how well they work i usually end up on pretty high doses well not super high but i tend to do ok on them. I've been lucky that over all the meds i've been on have not given me lots of side effects. the worse was lithium and that made me shake like crazy, people thought i was withdrawing from alcohol on it even though i shook even when i wasn't drinking regularly during that time and after alcohol would be out of my system, funny how the shaking stopped once they switched me to lamictal.

Another one was wellbutrin it made me crazy i ended up in the psych ward for 3 days because it made me very suicidal. that was how i got switched to mood stabilizers that and most anti-depressants didn't do shit for me.

I was on a low dose of antispychotic before i got my diagnosis because back then they thought the only thing i had was depression it wasn't until someone asked me if i heard voices (I don't know what made my therapist ask it) and i answered honestly did i start on much higher doses. so antipsychotics can be used in treatment resistant depression. The thing with psychosis or my experience with it is you really don't want to tell anyone that might be related especially not a therapist because there's this fear of having to go to the psych ward or people thinking you're nuts.

I do talk about it on my blog here but real life i never mention it. and if something might be related or even if it isn't and i know people are gonna say its because of that i won't mention it, except maybe to my therapist or psychiatrist. I don't exactly hide it either if someone asks me a question that is related i'll probably tell the person if i like them well enough, or if i don't i say its a long story.

 

[miss fortune]

[MENTION=360]prplchknz[/MENTION]

it's annoying how the meds aren't one size fits all and how the side effects can hit one person badly and leave others alone... I know lamictal works great for a lot of people and I'm jealous of that because in the realm of mood stabilizing it did work great and I loved that... it was just the mental blackouts in a way that really bothered me... I'd suddenly be doing something and had no clue why I was and what had happened and that's dangerous as fuck because I wouldn't always be doing something safe I had to switch to something else just because I work around a bunch of large and dangerous machines

but yeah... most of what I mention is in my blog where I feel safe... work knows (a few people who won't talk) just because people got curious and kept guessing after I turned in my heavy equipment license after driving into an unsecured truck with no clue why, but in general I see no point in mentioning it because it's none of anyone's damned business. I know that it's something I'd be judged for and not viewed the same in most places (my department at work is actually the island of misfit toys where everyone has some psych issues so surprisingly I was actually kind of comfortable with admitting to it there because we'd all be stigmatized if anyone knew) and I don't care to be viewed either with caution or pity really when I'm perfectly competent and have yet to murder anyone

 

[prplchknz]

[MENTION=360]prplchknz[/MENTION]

it's annoying how the meds aren't one size fits all and how the side effects can hit one person badly and leave others alone... I know lamictal works great for a lot of people and I'm jealous of that because in the realm of mood stabilizing it did work great and I loved that... it was just the mental blackouts in a way that really bothered me... I'd suddenly be doing something and had no clue why I was and what had happened and that's dangerous as fuck because I wouldn't always be doing something safe I had to switch to something else just because I work around a bunch of large and dangerous machines

but yeah... most of what I mention is in my blog where I feel safe... work knows (a few people who won't talk) just because people got curious and kept guessing after I turned in my heavy equipment license after driving into an unsecured truck with no clue why, but in general I see no point in mentioning it because it's none of anyone's damned business. I know that it's something I'd be judged for and not viewed the same in most places (my department at work is actually the island of misfit toys where everyone has some psych issues so surprisingly I was actually kind of comfortable with admitting to it there because we'd all be stigmatized if anyone knew) and I don't care to be viewed either with caution or pity really when I'm perfectly competent and have yet to murder anyone

yeah mental blackouts are a big deal, it's not like oh it makes me nauseas which if i skip a dose of one my meds i get like throwing up is not a big of a deal as forgetting shit. at least i remember puking.

 

[miss fortune]

yeah mental blackouts are a big deal, it's not like oh it makes me nauseas which if i skip a dose of one my meds i get like throwing up is not a big of a deal as forgetting shit. at least i remember puking.

yeah, some side effects can be handled with other drugs (which sucks because it's like "here's the never ending parade of drugs to take care of the side effect of the previous drugs... like the old lady who swallowed a fly!") like the drug induced narcolepsy that I have going on (dear god I'm a fucking mess!) and some can just be dealt with... but yeah... blackouts are scary and one of the main reasons I quit drinking

 

[prplchknz]

yeah, some side effects can be handled with other drugs (which sucks because it's like "here's the never ending parade of drugs to take care of the side effect of the previous drugs... like the old lady who swallowed a fly!") like the drug induced narcolepsy that I have going on (dear god I'm a fucking mess!) and some can just be dealt with... but yeah... blackouts are scary and one of the main reasons I quit drinking

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
I guess she'll die.

i'm very much like to my doctors i don't want a ton of drugs and i want the lowest doses possible which they've listened to me, I might have to go up on lamictal because of some personal stuff going on, but i don't want to.

 

[miss fortune]

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
I guess she'll die.

i'm very much like to my doctors i don't want a ton of drugs and i want the lowest doses possible which they've listened to me, I might have to go up on lamictal because of some personal stuff going on, but i don't want to.

yeah, I'm just happy that my doctors are willing to listen to me and take my feedback and suggestions too... as they've said, the perfect set of meds will make you feel better so that you WANT to continue taking them. I'm trying to keep things as low as possible while being effective because they don't know the long term effects of most of these things

 

[prplchknz]

yeah, I'm just happy that my doctors are willing to listen to me and take my feedback and suggestions too... as they've said, the perfect set of meds will make you feel better so that you WANT to continue taking them. I'm trying to keep things as low as possible while being effective because they don't know the long term effects of most of these things

my issue with the perfect set of meds is eventually i'll think i don't need them and just stop them i actually started skipping doses because of that thought process but i'm still taking them because the withdrawls suck.like part of me still knows i need them but the part of me that is like nope nothings wrong is beginning to win.

 

[miss fortune]

my issue with the perfect set of meds is eventually i'll think i don't need them and just stop them i actually started skipping doses because of that thought process but i'm still taking them because the withdrawls suck.like part of me still knows i need them but the part of me that is like nope nothings wrong is beginning to win.

and that's supposed to be pretty common really... I've been scolded for the possibility that I might even do so by both my doc and my psychologist

though coming to terms with the fact that there's something not right about you and that it will last forever is kind of a difficult thing to grasp

 

[prplchknz]

and that's supposed to be pretty common really... I've been scolded for the possibility that I might even do so by both my doc and my psychologist

though coming to terms with the fact that there's something not right about you and that it will last forever is kind of a difficult thing to grasp

it really is.

 

[Frosty]

yeah, I'm just happy that my doctors are willing to listen to me and take my feedback and suggestions too... as they've said, the perfect set of meds will make you feel better so that you WANT to continue taking them. I'm trying to keep things as low as possible while being effective because they don't know the long term effects of most of these things

Yeah. My psychiatrist has been great once I told her up front that I really did want to get better- and that I would do anything to make that happen. After that she started- I felt like she started to include me a bit more in things. She would answer my questions. And thats so important to me. And she would ask me what adjustments I-I!- thought would be good for me.

And weve worked it out I think pretty well. I mean. I dunno maybe it could still be better- but right now I feel that my meds are pretty well just 'right' for me.

Not that I want to keep taking them forever if I don't have to- but I WILL do that if its needed. I will take them as long as it feels I need to- as long as she tells me I need to. Because they are really fucking helpful.

 

[miss fortune]

Yeah. My psychiatrist has been great once I told her up front that I really did want to get better- and that I would do anything to make that happen. After that she started- I felt like she started to include me a bit more in things. She would answer my questions. And thats so important to me. And she would ask me what adjustments I-I!- thought would be good for me.

And weve worked it out I think pretty well. I mean. I dunno maybe it could still be better- but right now I feel that my meds are pretty well just 'right' for me.

Not that I want to keep taking them forever if I don't have to- but I WILL do that if its needed. I will take them as long as it feels I need to- as long as she tells me I need to. Because they are really fucking helpful.

in a perfect world patients would keep themselves educated on their conditions and the treatment options available for them so that they could help their doctors out with information that's relevant... which is really what I've attempted to do as far as things go... I even helped select my most recent mood stabilizer because it's not one of the first line ones and it's newer, but the side effect profile and what it treats are more perfect for me as an individual than for the typical patient

but yeah, that's a two way street and you've got to keep asking your doctors questions and keeping in the loop because that's the only way that you'll know what to think about on your own and research and such and a good doctor is excited to have a patient that takes interest and a participatory approach to their own healthcare

only when you two trust each other enough to share information back and forth can anything really good come from treatment

 

[Mole]

And breaking rules is seen as dangerous and crazy behaviour. Not agreeing is seen as crazy and dangerous behaviour. Contesting your diagnosis is seen as further proof that you're sick.

This is normal in authoritarian organisations and is almost always unconscious. We can see it here: when I say, mbti is no more psychometrics than astrology is astronomy, at best I am met with blank looks, then my right to be here is questioned, then I am accused of being a troll, and then I am dismissed.

This is how authoritarian organisations work. It is unthinkable to question them, so we don't.

 

[MattHerman]

I have depression, and OCPD. The depression is pretty mild but it's enough to interfere with my life at times. I do take medication though, which helps quite a bit.

 

[á´…eparted]

Considering my post on the first page is kinda embarassing looking back on it, I will update and say this:

If you need meds, take your goddamn meds .

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I have extensive experience with my children as well as other family members. I didn't reread from the beginning, so I may have posted some of this already, but I have talked with a lot of professionals over the last few years, as well as seen inside a few mental hospitals my sons have been admitted in.

Some are very bad, abusive places. Others are really nice.

Some psychiatrists are competent, some are not.

One of our extremely capable ones admitted to me it was all crap shoot with meds. Each person is unique. The dx often is off, because the generic standards don't reach individual condition and what works for one often will not work for others.

I am very happy my sons are on meds. Even with the meds, we have numerous episodes of extreme behavior.

It is a miracle that no one is dead yet.

Maybe one day we can solve all this with a simple test. Maybe we will get easy solutions.

For now it is very hit or miss on dx and rx, not because the doctors are lazy or incompetent, but because each person is so unique......

 

[fetus]

Considering my post on the first page is kinda embarassing looking back on it, I will update and say this:

If you need meds, take your goddamn meds .

Yes! I think this is an especially important message to tell younger folks. The first few months after being diagnosed I went through this really pissy phase where I would become angry every time somebody mentioned my medication. Threatened to flush them all the time. Once threw them all over the floor and posted a picture to Facebook (one of the most embarrassing things I've done in life, tbh). I could have used a slap in the face.