Category: Mental Health

Schizophrenia and Breakthrough Symptoms

Auditory Hallucinations, Delusions, Mental Health, My Schiz Life, Schizophrenia

This seems like a good time to discuss breakthrough symptoms of schizophrenia. This is not easy for me to admit, but important if I want people to understand what it’s like to have a psychotic disorder.

“People can be on the best psychotropic medication targeting a mental health disorder and still experience disruptive and paralysing symptoms. These breakthrough symptoms can be voices, delusions, paranoia, anxiety, or perhaps even depressive features that go unchallenged and uncontrolled by medication. Breakthrough symptoms can be very disturbing, and demoralising, due to the chronic, sporadic, and their seemingly unpredictable nature. This type of symptom activation can be triggered by something external.”

~ psychreg.org

I’ve been feeling numb for a few weeks now and hoping to control it through positive coping strategies such as increased meditation as I did not want to go through a med change of increasing my antipsychotic medication.

It didn’t work and this past week breakthrough symptoms of thought broadcasting and thought insertion which drives my paranoia continued rising to the level of needing a change. After consultation with my psychiatrist I’ve increased my antipsychotics, anti-anxiety medications and one on my antidepressants which is a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA) and encourages sleep, i.e. drowsiness is one of it’s side effects.

My breakthrough symptoms can best be summed up as more invasive auditory hallucinations, paranoia and delusions that people can read my mind and insert thoughts into my head against my will. At this time I realize it is just a delusion and not real. If I didn’t make the med change it wouldn’t be long before I believed my delusions despite all evidence to the contrary which would probably require hospitalization. The med change will probably take a couple of weeks until I am completely back at my baseline. It’ll be an interesting couple of weeks, but this is part of the reality of living with a severe mental illness.

#MySchizLife #BreakthroughSymptoms #PsychoticDisorders

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), Mental Health, Mental Illness Treatments

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions.

ECT often works when other treatments are unsuccessful and when the full course of treatment is completed, but it may not work for everyone.

Much of the stigma attached to ECT is based on early treatments in which high doses of electricity were administered without anesthesia, leading to memory loss, fractured bones and other serious side effects.

Why it’s done

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can provide rapid, significant improvements in severe symptoms of several mental health conditions. ECT is used to treat:

• Severe depression, particularly when accompanied by detachment from reality (psychosis), a desire to commit suicide or refusal to eat.

• Treatment-resistant depression, a severe depression that doesn’t improve with medications or other treatments.

• Severe mania, a state of intense euphoria, agitation or hyperactivity that occurs as part of bipolar disorder. Other signs of mania include impaired decision-making, impulsive or risky behavior, substance abuse, and psychosis.

• Catatonia, characterized by lack of movement, fast or strange movements, lack of speech, and other symptoms. It’s associated with schizophrenia and certain other psychiatric disorders. In some cases, catatonia is caused by a medical illness.

• Agitation and aggression in people with dementia, which can be difficult to treat and negatively affect quality of life.

ECT may be a good treatment option when medications aren’t tolerated or other forms of therapy haven’t worked. In some cases ECT is used:

• During pregnancy, when medications can’t be taken because they might harm the developing fetus

• In older adults who can’t tolerate drug side effects

• In people who prefer ECT treatments over taking medications

• When ECT has been successful in the past

Risks

Although ECT is generally safe, risks and side effects may include:

• Confusion. Immediately after treatment, you may experience confusion, which can last from a few minutes to several hours. You may not know where you are or why you’re there. Rarely, confusion may last several days or longer. Confusion is generally more noticeable in older adults.

• Memory loss. Some people have trouble remembering events that occurred right before treatment or in the weeks or months before treatment or, rarely, from previous years. This condition is called retrograde amnesia. You may also have trouble recalling events that occurred during the weeks of your treatment. For most people, these memory problems usually improve within a couple of months after treatment ends.

• Physical side effects. On the days of an ECT treatment, some people experience nausea, headache, jaw pain or muscle ache. These generally can be treated with medications.

• Medical complications. As with any type of medical procedure, especially one that involves anesthesia, there are risks of medical complications. During ECT, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and in rare cases, that can lead to serious heart problems. If you have heart problems, ECT may be more risky.

What you can expect

The ECT procedure takes about five to 10 minutes, with added time for preparation and recovery. ECT can be done while you’re hospitalized or as an outpatient procedure.

Before the procedure

To get ready for the ECT procedure:

• You’ll have general anesthesia. So you can expect dietary restrictions before the procedure. Typically, this means no food or water after midnight and only a sip of water to take any morning medications. Your health care team will give you specific instructions before your procedure.

• You may have a brief physical exam.This is basically to check your heart and lungs.

• You’ll have an intravenous (IV) line inserted. Your nurse or other team member inserts an IV tube into your arm or hand through which medications or fluids can be given.

• You’ll have electrode pads placed on your head. Each pad is about the size of a silver dollar. ECT can be unilateral, in which electric currents focus on only one side of the brain, or bilateral, in which both sides of the brain receive focused electric currents.

Anesthesia and medications

At the start of the procedure, you’ll receive these medications through your IV:

• An anesthetic to make you unconscious and unaware of the procedure

• A muscle relaxant to help minimize the seizure and prevent injury

You may receive other medications, depending on any health conditions you have or your previous reactions to ECT.

Equipment

During the procedure:

• A blood pressure cuff placed around one ankle stops the muscle relaxant medication from entering your foot and affecting the muscles there. When the procedure begins, your doctor can monitor seizure activity by watching for movement in that foot.

• Monitors check your brain, heart, blood pressure and oxygen use.

• You may be given oxygen through an oxygen mask.

• You may also be given a mouth guard to help protect your teeth and tongue from injury.

Inducing a brief seizure

When you’re asleep from the anesthetic and your muscles are relaxed, the doctor presses a button on the ECT machine. This causes a small amount of electric current to pass through the electrodes to your brain, producing a seizure that usually lasts less than 60 seconds.

• Because of the anesthetic and muscle relaxant, you remain relaxed and unaware of the seizure. The only outward indication that you’re having a seizure may be a rhythmic movement of your foot if there’s a blood pressure cuff around your ankle.

• Internally, activity in your brain increases dramatically. A test called an electroencephalogram (EEG) records the electrical activity in your brain. Sudden, increased activity on the EEG signals the beginning of a seizure, followed by a leveling off that shows the seizure is over.

A few minutes later, the effects of the short-acting anesthetic and muscle relaxant begin to wear off. You’re taken to a recovery area, where you’re monitored for any potential problems. When you wake up, you may experience a period of confusion lasting from a few minutes to a few hours or more.

Series of treatments

In the United States, ECT treatments are generally given two to three times weekly for three to four weeks — for a total of six to 12 treatments. Some doctors use a newer technique called right unilateral ultrabrief pulse electroconvulsive therapy that’s done daily on weekdays.

The number and type of treatments you’ll need depend on the severity of your symptoms and how rapidly they improve.

You can generally return to normal activities a few hours after the procedure. However, some people may be advised not to return to work, make important decisions, or drive until one to two weeks after the last ECT in a series, or for at least 24 hours after a single treatment during maintenance therapy. Resuming activities depends on when memory loss and confusion are resolved.

Results

Many people begin to notice an improvement in their symptoms after about six treatments with electroconvulsive therapy. Full improvement may take longer, though ECT may not work for everyone. Response to antidepressant medications, in comparison, can take several weeks or more.

No one knows for certain how ECT helps treat severe depression and other mental illnesses. What is known, though, is that many chemical aspects of brain function are changed during and after seizure activity. These chemical changes may build upon one another, somehow reducing symptoms of severe depression or other mental illnesses. That’s why ECT is most effective in people who receive a full course of multiple treatments.

Even after your symptoms improve, you’ll still need ongoing depression treatment to prevent a recurrence. Ongoing treatment may be ECT with less frequency, but more often, it includes antidepressants or other medications, or psychological counseling (psychotherapy).

Source: The Mayo Clinic

The Mayo Clinic – Minnesota: Psychiatric & Behavioral Health Hospital

Mental Health, Psychiatric Hospitals, Therapies

Mayo Clinic John E. Herman Home and Treatment Facility

The Mayo Clinic John E. Herman Home and Treatment Facility is a residential treatment program for adults who have a serious mental illness. Its goal is to help residents return to the community to engage in value-driven, productive and meaningful lives.

People in the program experience:

• Individualized treatment of psychiatric symptoms

• On-site, 24/7 support from a multidisciplinary team

• A supervised environment

• A stay of at least three months, usually

• Evidence-based individual and group therapy

• An opportunity to gain competitive employment in the community through an evidence-based vocational program, individual placement and support (IPS)

• Dedicated time for activities of daily living, physical activity and recreation, facility maintenance, and leisure

People age 18 or up may be eligible for the program if they are living with mood disorders (such as depression and bipolar disorder), psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia), anxiety or personality disorders.

The program includes a treatment facility and two residential recovery homes in Rochester, Minnesota. The homes each have eight rooms with private baths and communal spaces for cooking and gathering.

Self-referrals are considered, as are referrals by family members and providers.

Mayo Clinic Psychiatric Hospital

In the hospital, psychiatrists work in integrated teams with internists, psychologists, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, and other specialists to provide comprehensive coordinated short-term care tailored to the needs of each patient. The hospital includes these units:

• Psychiatric Acute Care Unit. This unit stabilizes and treats adults experiencing mental health crises, such as those who are suicidal, homicidal or psychotic. After being stabilized and evaluated, patients receive individualized care, which may include medical treatments, group psychotherapy, recreational therapy, and education about coping strategies, relapse prevention, and stress management.

• Medical and Geriatric Psychiatry Unit. Admitted to this unit are adults with both medical and psychiatric conditions, as well as geriatric patients who need hospitalization for psychiatric issues — most commonly late-life mood and cognitive disorders. Treatment may include medication, recreational and relaxation therapy, and education about depression, anxiety and aging-related issues.

• Mood Disorders Unit. This unit treats adults whose depression or bipolar illness is significantly affecting their quality of life, functioning or safety. Intensive daily treatment is personalized to each patient and may include talk therapy (psychotherapy), such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy or behavioral activation. Treatment may also involve medications, family and group therapy, occupational therapy, relaxation activities, and — when appropriate — electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

• Child, Adolescent and Family Services Unit: This secure unit specializes in stabilization and treatment for children and teenagers who are experiencing an acute mental health crisis, such as those who are suicidal, homicidal or experiencing psychosis. Treatment for a variety of conditions including mood and adjustment disorders, anxiety, self-injurious behavior and psychotic disorders is family-centered and multidisciplinary. The treatment team includes psychiatrists, advanced practice providers, psychologists, social workers, specialized nursing staff, Child Life Specialists, and occupational, physical, recreational and music therapists.

Mayo Clinic Depression Center

A member of the National Network of Depression Centers, Mayo Clinic Depression Center offers comprehensive evidence-based evaluation and treatment for adults and children with depression or bipolar disorder. Programs range from outpatient consultations to intensive inpatient treatment, with care provided by a team of Mayo Clinic psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, social workers and other specialists with expertise in mood disorders. Services include:

• Adult Mood Clinic. Outpatient evaluation and treatment for adults with treatment-resistant depression or bipolar disorder is available in the Mayo Mood Clinic. After an initial assessment and depending on the person’s needs, he or she may be referred to the Mood Disorders Unit or the two-week Mood Program.

• Adult Mood Program. This is a 10-day, full-day group-based outpatient multidisciplinary psychotherapy for adults with depression or bipolar disorder. It uses three evidence-based supported psychotherapies: interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (also called IPSRT), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and behavioral activation. The program helps to develop more effective ways to manage interpersonal problems and stabilize the daily routine of activities.

• Adult Mood Disorders Unit. This inpatient unit, described above, is part of the Mayo Clinic Psychiatric Hospital, which provides expert care tailored to individual needs.

• Pediatric Mood Clinic. Staffed by experts in childhood mood disorders such as depression, bipolar disease, cyclothymic disorder and persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), the clinic provides team-based diagnosis and treatment. Outpatient options include: Adolescents Coping with Depression, a 12-week intervention meeting for one hour a week for teens ages 14 through 18; and Multifamily Psychoeducational Psychotherapy, an 8-week intervention meeting for one hour a week for youths ages 11 through 14.

• CAIMP. The Child and Adolescent Integrated Mood Program (CAIMP) is a two-week outpatient partial hospitalization program for children and teens (ages 10 to 18) with primary depression or bipolar disorder. It’s held Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Central time. Treatment includes cognitive behavior therapies, interpersonal therapy, mindfulness, medication management, family-focused strategies, health and wellness interventions, and education about mood disorders. Caregivers are required to participate in the program with their child/teen to improve understanding of their child’s illness and develop techniques to both support their child and assist with their own coping.

• Depression Improvement Across Minnesota, Offering a New Direction (DIAMOND). DIAMOND involves a primary care provider, care manager and consulting psychiatrist for Minnesota adults with depression who are seen in primary care settings, with a focus on relapse prevention. DIAMOND is currently only available for patients who have Mayo primary care providers in Rochester or Kasson, Minn.

Pain Rehabilitation Center

Mayo’s Pain Rehabilitation Center offers adult and pediatric outpatient programs for noncancer-related chronic pain to help people regain function and quality of life. These programs treat patients with a broad range of pain types, as well as those with medical and psychiatric complications. These may include chronic fatigue and nausea, fibromyalgia, cyclic vomiting, and autonomic disorders, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Programs include:

• Adult three-week program

• Adult two-day program

• Pediatric three-week program

Addiction Services

Since 1972, Mayo Clinic has been treating people addicted to alcohol, illegal drugs and prescription medications, using an individualized, holistic approach within a respectful environment. Multispecialty care teams include addiction psychiatrists, licensed alcohol and drug counselors, licensed clinical social workers, registered nurses and other specialists.

Learn more about Mayo’s options for addiction treatment, including the Outpatient Addiction Program, an Intensive Addiction Program and continuing care programs.

Other areas of excellence

The Department of Psychiatry and Psychology provides many other areas of excellence, such as:

• Comprehensive multidisciplinary psychiatric assessments for adults, teenagers and children

• Formal assessment of attention, concentration, memory, reasoning and learning abilities to help diagnose neuropsychological disorders such as dementia, mild cognitive impairment, traumatic brain injury, stroke, learning disabilities and attention deficits

• Clinic for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

• Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Clinic, including treatment for panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety

• Behavioral Medicine Program

• Innovative memory training program called HABIT Healthy Action to Benefit Independence & Thinking®

• Telemedicine program for cognitively impaired elderly patients with behavior problems

• Rehabilitative services for people with traumatic brain injury

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Essays, Mental Health, Therapies

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common type of talk therapy (psychotherapy). You work with a mental health counselor (psychotherapist or therapist) in a structured way, attending a limited number of sessions. CBT helps you become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking so you can view challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to treat a wide range of issues. It’s often the preferred type of psychotherapy because it can quickly help you identify and cope with specific challenges. It generally requires fewer sessions than other types of therapy and is done in a structured way.

CBT is a useful tool to address emotional challenges. For example, it may help you:

• Manage symptoms of mental illness

• Prevent a relapse of mental illness symptoms

• Treat a mental illness when medications aren’t a good option

• Learn techniques for coping with stressful life situations

• Identify ways to manage emotions

• Resolve relationship conflicts and learn better ways to communicate

• Cope with grief or loss

• Overcome emotional trauma related to abuse or violence

• Cope with a medical illness

• Manage chronic physical symptoms

Mental health disorders that may improve with CBT include:

• Depression

• Anxiety disorders

• Phobias

• PTSD

• Sleep disorders

• Eating disorders

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Substance use disorders

• Bipolar disorders

• Schizophrenia

• Sexual disorders

During CBT

Your therapist will encourage you to talk about your thoughts and feelings and what’s troubling you. Don’t worry if you find it hard to open up about your feelings. Your therapist can help you gain more confidence and comfort.

CBT generally focuses on specific problems, using a goal-oriented approach. As you go through the therapy process, your therapist may ask you to do homework — activities, reading or practices that build on what you learn during your regular therapy sessions — and encourage you to apply what you’re learning in your daily life.

Steps in CBT

CBT typically includes these steps:

• Identify troubling situations or conditions in your life. These may include such issues as a medical condition, divorce, grief, anger or symptoms of a mental health disorder. You and your therapist may spend some time deciding what problems and goals you want to focus on.

• Become aware of your thoughts, emotions and beliefs about these problems. Once you’ve identified the problems to work on, your therapist will encourage you to share your thoughts about them. This may include observing what you tell yourself about an experience (self-talk), your interpretation of the meaning of a situation, and your beliefs about yourself, other people and events. Your therapist may suggest that you keep a journal of your thoughts.

• Identify negative or inaccurate thinking. To help you recognize patterns of thinking and behavior that may be contributing to your problem, your therapist may ask you to pay attention to your physical, emotional and behavioral responses in different situations.

• Reshape negative or inaccurate thinking. Your therapist will likely encourage you to ask yourself whether your view of a situation is based on fact or on an inaccurate perception of what’s going on. This step can be difficult. You may have long-standing ways of thinking about your life and yourself. With practice, helpful thinking and behavior patterns will become a habit and won’t take as much effort.

Length of therapy

CBT is generally considered short-term therapy — ranging from about five to 20 sessions. You and your therapist can discuss how many sessions may be right for you. Factors to consider include:

• Type of disorder or situation

• Severity of your symptoms

• How long you’ve had your symptoms or have been dealing with your situation

• How quickly you make progress

• How much stress you’re experiencing

• How much support you receive from family members and other people

Confidentiality

Except in very specific circumstances, conversations with your therapist are confidential. However, a therapist may break confidentiality if there is an immediate threat to safety or when required by state or federal law to report concerns to authorities. These situations include:

• Threatening to immediately or soon (imminently) harm yourself or take your own life

• Threatening to imminently harm or take the life of another person

• Abusing a child or a vulnerable adult ― someone over age 18 who is hospitalized or made vulnerable by a disability

• Being unable to safely care for yourself

Getting the most out of CBT

CBT isn’t effective for everyone. But you can take steps to get the most out of your therapy and help make it a success.

• Approach therapy as a partnership. Therapy is most effective when you’re an active participant and share in decision-making. Make sure you and your therapist agree about the major issues and how to tackle them. Together, you can set goals and assess progress over time.

• Be open and honest. Success with therapy depends on your willingness to share your thoughts, feelings and experiences, and on being open to new insights and ways of doing things. If you’re reluctant to talk about certain things because of painful emotions, embarrassment or fears about your therapist’s reaction, let your therapist know about your reservations.

• Stick to your treatment plan. If you feel down or lack motivation, it may be tempting to skip therapy sessions. Doing so can disrupt your progress. Attend all sessions and give some thought to what you want to discuss.

• Don’t expect instant results. Working on emotional issues can be painful and often requires hard work. It’s not uncommon to feel worse during the initial part of therapy as you begin to confront past and current conflicts. You may need several sessions before you begin to see improvement.

• Do your homework between sessions. If your therapist asks you to read, keep a journal or do other activities outside of your regular therapy sessions, follow through. Doing these homework assignments will help you apply what you’ve learned in the therapy sessions.

• If therapy isn’t helping, talk to your therapist. If you don’t feel that you’re benefiting from CBT after several sessions, talk to your therapist about it. You and your therapist may decide to make some changes or try a different approach.

Source: The Mayo Clinic

Will Tonight Be The Night

Alcoholism, Essays, My Schiz Life, Suicide Ideation

July 22nd, 2009

It had been one of those weeks. I was on a bender. I was always on a bender averaging around eight drinks a day, but this one was significant, was impressive even by my standards. I was drinking more than usual during the day and then when I got off work I headed direct to the Bar. I wasn’t eating, hardly sleeping, just drinking heavily. It was a mere two and a half blocks to the Bar, I could stumble to and from there in my sleep.

I slapped my copy of Anna Karenina on the bar. I read it once every year and it was that time of year again. The days of me actually ordering a drink here had long since passed. A moment later I had my well vodka tonic and a rocks glass of Jameson. The perks of being a regular. Work had been slow and I was eager to put it behind me. Tomorrow would be better, it could hardly be worse. I glanced around the oval shaped bar, most of the usual regulars were there. The professor was talking with his latest girl. He wasn’t a full fledged professor, but a lecturer at Montana State University. He read genre fiction in his spare time. He would bring in about five books a month to trade in at my used bookstore. I almost always sold his books online within a day or two. We’d talk a bit of philosophy and the current events at the university.

P was sitting across from me drinking her coke. N her boyfriend and father of their unborn child was bartending. She had her laptop in front of her going through possible baby names. She was a photography student with a penchant for going to the strip club outside of town. N would stop by her every few minutes and they’d exchange a glance or a joke. She was talking to the girl next to her I didn’t know. We would probably talk later as we usually did. She stopped in the store from time to time, but just to say hello and see if I’d be at the Bar later.

The Jameson and vodka was going to my head quickly tonight. It could be the alcohol I’d already consumed today or the blood I’d been passing lately. This was going to be an early night even if it was my thirty-seventh birthday. J walked in, a girl who had taken interest in me a couple of months ago as the guy who was always quiet and reading. She wishes me a happy birthday ordering us each a shot of scotch, Johnnie Walker Blue. We had polished off most of a bottle back on her birthday. It had cost a fortune. She sits down and we begin to chat. She runs a construction crew and has been by my store a few times.

I’ll miss my drinking buddies I casually think to myself when I’m gone. I wonder if it will be tonight or maybe tomorrow. This is what I’ve lovingly begun to refer to as my passive suicide attempt. I’m not leaving a note, just goodbye. The world will be better off without me. I’m sure it will hurt my family, but one large hurt is better than the endless small hurts I’ve been causing them these past few years. I wonder if I’ll have many people attend my funeral. I’d like a decent size crowd. I push my empty glass forward for a refill and return to my book. “If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content,” I mumble.

“What’s that,” J asks.

“Just something from the book,” I pat it tenderly, “if you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Yes.”

“I think we need another shot.” Moments later I have my well vodka tonic, a rocks glass of Jameson, and a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue all in front of me. The shot goes down a little rough. I can feel the heat of it in my belly and my stomach churns in response. I take a large swallow of my vodka tonic to calm it down. “You alright tonight?”

“Just tired,” I reply.

“Well you’ve got a long night ahead of you the two of us,” she giggles.

“I’m in,” I lie.

“Be right back,” she gets up heading in the direction of the bathroom. I take it as a sign for me to escape. I quickly stand the alcohol hitting me. Grabbing the barstool I steady myself. This could be an interesting trip home. I can feel the heat of the shots in my belly as my nausea is returning. I have to get out of here quick before I’m ill. I’ve thrown up already twice today, all liquid. I haven’t eaten anything in a few days and the cheap vodka diet is playing havoc on my system.

“Will tonight be the night the sweet comfort of death closes my eyes forever and ends the unrelenting pain,” I mumble leaving the bar for home before J returns.

Social Anxiety Disorder: Symptoms

Anxiety, Diagnosis Symptoms, Mental Health, Social Anxiety Disorder

It’s normal to feel nervous in some social situations. For example, going on a date or giving a presentation may cause that feeling of butterflies in your stomach. But in social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, everyday interactions cause significant anxiety, fear, self-consciousness and embarrassment because you fear being scrutinized or judged by others.

In social anxiety disorder, fear and anxiety lead to avoidance that can disrupt your life. Severe stress can affect your daily routine, work, school or other activities.

Symptoms

Feelings of shyness or discomfort in certain situations aren’t necessarily signs of social anxiety disorder, particularly in children. Comfort levels in social situations vary, depending on personality traits and life experiences. Some people are naturally reserved and others are more outgoing.

In contrast to everyday nervousness, social anxiety disorder includes fear, anxiety and avoidance that interfere with daily routine, work, school or other activities. Social anxiety disorder typically begins in the early to mid-teens, though it can sometimes start in younger children or in adults.

Emotional and behavioral symptoms

Signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder can include persistent:

• Fear of situations in which you may be judged

• Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself

• Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers

• Fear that others will notice that you look anxious

• Fear of physical symptoms that may cause you embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling or having a shaky voice

• Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment

• Avoiding situations where you might be the center of attention

• Having anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event

• Enduring a social situation with intense fear or anxiety

• Spending time after a social situation analyzing your performance and identifying flaws in your interactions

• Expecting the worst possible consequences from a negative experience during a social situation

For children, anxiety about interacting with adults or peers may be shown by crying, having temper tantrums, clinging to parents or refusing to speak in social situations.

Performance type of social anxiety disorder is when you experience intense fear and anxiety only during speaking or performing in public, but not in other types of social situations.

Physical symptoms

Physical signs and symptoms can sometimes accompany social anxiety disorder and may include:

• Blushing

• Fast heartbeat

• Trembling

• Sweating

• Upset stomach or nausea

• Trouble catching your breath

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Feeling that your mind has gone blank

• Muscle tension

Avoiding common social situations

Common, everyday experiences that may be hard to endure when you have social anxiety disorder include, for example:

• Interacting with unfamiliar people or strangers

• Attending parties or social gatherings

• Going to work or school

• Starting conversations

• Making eye contact

• Dating

• Entering a room in which people are already seated

• Returning items to a store

• Eating in front of others

• Using a public restroom

Source: The Mayo Clinic

I’m Privileged

Coping Strategies, Medications, Mental Health, My Schiz Life, Schizophrenia, Stigma, Therapies

I’m privileged:

~ I live in a Western Country with well trained psychiatrists and therapists.

~ I’m white and middle class.

~ I have a college degree and a deeper understanding of my illness.

~ I have good health insurance.

~ I can afford my medications.

~ I have a family that has helped me pay my therapist out of pocket instead of one that my insurance would cover.

~ I have a roof over my head and food to eat.

~ I have a support system.

~ What if I had been poor with no insurance and lacking a support system? Would I be homeless and not medicated? Would I be the “crazy” person talking to himself on the street corner?

~ Having schizophrenia is difficult enough sometimes seemingly impossible, but I can’t imagine how hard and how different my life would be if I wasn’t privileged.

~ I’m no better than anyone else with schizophrenia, just privileged to be born into my social class and all the perks that come with it.

#MySchizLife #Privileged #Schizophrenia

Understanding Stigma

Mental Health, Quotes, Stigma

There are so many books on this topic and those who dealt with issues: composers, artists, even whole books that put Shakespeare’s plays and characters in the context of mental health.

But despite that interest, people with mental health issues didn’t always receive the care they needed. We mistreated people, we misunderstood people and we didn’t have good treatment options.

One of the big things people can do is talk about it. Sharing that mental health is common, that it’s treatable and that there are resources helps people understand. Organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association are good resources for support, information and treatment.

People need to know that there’s hope and help because it ties into the past, why people didn’t talk about it. There weren’t good options like there are now.

~ Psychiatrist Douglas McLaughlin, Cleveland Clinic

Age 16, 1988

Auditory Hallucinations, My Schiz Life, Poetry, Psychosis, Sexual Assault, Stigma, Violence, Visual Hallucinations

Age 16, 1988

For me my mental illness came crashing into my life in full force when I was sixteen.

That was the year I first started hearing voices,

started to believe people could read my mind and insert thoughts into my head,

was the first time I was truly suicidal,

was the year I started to self harm,

dragging a razor blade across my left arm and watching my blood flow,

the first time I was dissociative,

when the world became vague, dreamlike, less real,

as I observed events as if from outside my body like a movie in slow motion,

the year the panic attacks began.

This was also the year I suffered as a survivor of sexual assault,

the most difficult event of my life as a biker held a knife to my throat and raped me,

beating me severely.

From then on I carried a knife in case I am in a similar situation,

not so I could defend myself, but so I could slit my wrists.

To this day the sound of a Harley Davidson makes me physically cringe.

That was when the night terrors began reliving my trauma every time I closed my eyes.

That was the year the negative coping mechanisms developed: cutting, isolating, alcohol, drugs.

That was when the abyss of depression swallowed me up whole,

and I wanted to die or crawl in a hole forever,

because I was worthless, pathetic, weak, and most importantly,

I was to blame for being raped,

I should have been able to stop it as a sixteen year old boy.

This is not how it should be at sixteen.