The mental health system is going to break me

a reply to: KyoZero

Taking an antidepressant when you have mania often markedly increases mania to extremes

While in a borderline manic state I was told by my doctor to try and double my dose of "Pristiq" (50mg to 100mg) this sent me into what was later described as a mania.

It was horrible, I did not sleep for at least a week, I had zero control over my thoughts, it was like entering a godless dimension that was fueled by methamphetamine. I had horrific violent lucid nightmares while I was still awake.

a reply to: GoShredAK

Strangely enough, And I'm just putting this together. Those lucid nightmares were all about War. Like urban warfare. It was me, surrounded by a bunch of hostile people, lots of explosives and automatic weapons. There were a lot of fast talking disconnected voices too. It was disturbing.

That's kind of weird because I'm not a militiary or gang person, and my life and thoughts at that time had nothing to do with those things, quite the opposite really. Where did that come from?

(Btw, disclosure, I'm now 100% pharmaceutical free and feeling better every day)

a reply to: GoShredAK

My experience with being on the wrong meds. Antidepressants instead of BP medication that for the first time in my life I found religion to where I believed it. I was believing in all kinds of stuff.

Like you it was totally the opposite of how I am.

That is my litmus test now so if I ever start to believe in things like that again I will be sure to see a doctor to make sure I am not becoming imbalanced again. Now if that happens and I get a clean bill of health then I will proceed.

Grimpachi - I am glad you decided to take control in that case. I now the feeling of taking Zoloft or Prozac and having unreal mania take over my life. Good luck with the Depakote and stay strong

Aedaeum - (seriously it took me three tries to spell your username :-)

Yes there is a decay I feel but not in such an extreme state as one might think. I think we face a few problems here.

1. Greed in the "system" and big pharma is becoming more rampant

2. People are noticing mentall illness more due to the sometimes terribly unfair portrayal of clients in the media

but then...

3. With an increase in information comes an increase in recognition when it isn't always warranted. We've seen it before and I have seen it both personally and professionally that it sometimes becomes fashionable to tell the world you have bipolar or MDD or GAD or whatever it might be

Examples

Jenny McCarthy and her "autistic" child. That opened the door quite a bit for everyone to blame a shot for autism. Now...I want to beg and plead that we don't start discussing the vaccine. I am not saying I am 100% for or against...I am merely pointing out that I believe her case was a fraud but it gave parents around the country a reason to rally that their children were autistic

Also that horrible waste of skin Tila Tequila has over the past year "come out" as DID (used to be multiple personality disorder. She went on Howard Stern and "called" her personalities out. It amounted to her basically changing her voice and mannerisms a bit and when those things happen then there is a level of copy cats of people who over-empathize and believe they suffer the same

Or those folks who self diagnose to excess. Now you may think "Woa Kyo, you said be your own doctor" I still stand by that but there are people who make it a fashion statement to have a disorder and they WebMD themselves into a frenzy over it

so yes there is a decay but I believe information is either

A. bringing reality to light

AND/OR

B. bringout out disingenuous people...

Of course like I said above, big pharma loves their misdiagnoses and over-diagnoses so there is that

GoShredAK - Welcome back. Yes I recall greatly the horrific details of being misdiagnosed. I will admit that in my case, part of the misdiagnosis was my fault. But like I said that doesn't stop MD's from trying to make poor choices in the face of extreme evidence to the contrary...120 Ativan to a known and admitted addict...not so hot a choice methinks

a reply to: cavtrooper7 Some conditions effect your brain chemistry in such a way that your brain has trouble laying down memories. I have a very high IQ, but I have trouble adding, subtracting, and multiplying numbers in my head. I always thought I was a "math phobe" until I discovered that I had been suffering from dysthymia since I was an adolescent. I now have major depressive disorder. I am a military combat veteran with PTSD. Mental conditions such as these, or traumatic brain injury, may explain why you are having trouble doing math. You should have neuropsychological testing, which can determine whether it's a mental or physical problem. (Mine is 100% mental, btw, so it does happen.)

I can't "hold" numbers in my head in order to add or subtract numbers with two or more digits. My short and long term memory is effected by the imbalance in my brain chemistry in such a way that I have to religiously write things down and do other things like always keep a particular object in the same place so I can find it when I need it. I also have trouble when someone throws a bunch of information at me in a rapid fire manner. My brain kind of freezes and everything seems to get muddled and I have to ask them to repeat themselves.

More on the subject of the article... I see my psychiatrist once every 6 weeks for a medication consultation. I have to take with me a list of all the medications I have tried and failed and the side effects, because if I don't the psychiatrist will often suggest I try a medication I have already failed when exploring options with me. She does not consult her own notes before meeting with me and relies upon me, a severely depressed person with memory and cognitive difficulties, to keep my own treatment on track. I have tried at least a dozen different anti-depressant medications. I get care through the VA, and they've been really good with the physical injury stuff, but really bad with the mental. I was seeing a therapist once per week for a while, but she kept pressuring me to stop therapy and it was obvious from our conversations that she was being pressured by her supervisors because I wasn't getting any better. I was basically being told it was futile to continue counseling. She kept asking me to figure out a treatment plan that would work. How am I supposed to know? I'm not a mental health professional. I will say that all my breakthroughs in understanding my condition were made doing my own research on the internet, not through what the doctors helped me understand. (There are actually a few really good articles on Cracked.com that really lit the light bulb over my head.) There are articles written by fellow sufferers that help too. I think we're barely out of the medieval stage as far as understanding of mental illness. Most people who take anti depressants are still depressed. In clinical studies they just flat out don't work any better than a placebo. The worst was A.C.T. which told me all I needed to do was commit to an action, be mindful, and then do it even if I didn't feel like it. That was their answer for why I lost a well paying job I loved and my whole life fell apart from mental illness. How I went from successful to homeless in two years. Believe me, I knew what I needed to do while I was going through that, I just could not do it. I was simply frozen and unable to function. Being put through a six week grueling group counseling session in A.C.T only to be told that, yes, you can do it if you try hard enough!! I felt betrayed. Like I was being blamed for my own illness. It felt like they were telling me I'm not sick, I'm just lazy. You go to these people for help and answers and all they do is shrug and ask you what you think is wrong. If I knew what was wrong and how to fix it I wouldn't be in this mess, now would I?

Guess I'm bipolar. I tried a few antidepressants at age 18. Each one gave me terrible side effects. It felt like I had major blockage going on in my brain, and I feared a stroke was imminent. The last I tried was wellbutrin, and it made my heart race to such an extent that I feared for my life, and didn't sleep for over 36 hours after one XR dose. Recall sitting with my hand over my heart lying down all night thinking that may be the end. Doc told me that was normal for the first couple of weeks, WTF?? , so I never went back to him and never tried a med again.

I felt really manic on wellbutrin, but found out later it's not a simple SSRI, it's thought to inhibit re-uptake of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Not what my brain needs. IF I'm bipolar, it's type 3, cyclothymia, and seems to help me more than harm. I'm okay with no pharma. My meds are strenuous exercise, and a healthy diet.

a reply to: KyoZero


I hear what you are saying..YES the system is broken....however, letting a person with server mental illness become a therapist to help patients with mental illness is the dumbest and most irresponsible practice ever.

I not only would not hire a ex-rapist to console a raped person, I think that having someone with mental illness treat and give counsel to equally mental people is why there are so many problems with the treatment of mental people.
I know, we have to fill quotas, for race, disability, sex and mental affliction to meet the PC way society is set up now...but I will always back BEST person for the job....and for yours where mental problems are abound you are not the best person for the job!!

I don't believe medication works at all, in America you people love it and live on it like its a life blood.

Shocking that Metal people can be placed in a position of responsibility for other mental people! No wonder the world is screwed.

What next? ex-Child molesters teaching parents how to raise children, multiple times convicted DUI offenders offering driving lessons...damn stupid.

However, even though you will always suffer from these mental problems I do wish you luck and success in controlling and managing your disease!! Maybe one day in the future a true cure will be available! Good luck

a reply to: projectbane

I can see your point, but think it's a bit jaded and too black and white.

Basically think it goes both ways, potentially to exacerbate the problem in society (the ill treating the ill) or perhaps mitigating the damage.

People who experience the uncommon/extreme are in unique positions to guide those who are new to the journey. They can offer insight and wisdom, especially as a supposed professional. The key would be, do they have their illness under control to an extent, or are they truly unstable? Very unstable psychologists can't and won't treat. Shrinks have other shrinks assess their state of mind, and counsel them on if they need to drop clients, take breaks, or even take on a new profession.

Speaking of the DWI thing. After my first, we had a guy who got drunk and killed a kid while driving speak to us after getting out of prison for part of the program, sponsored by MADD. He was sincere, and I'm sure he impacted some people. Didn't really phase me.. I have really good powers of rationalization, ouch!!

So it really does depend. Think it was Jung who said that the teacher was the student, and the student the teacher, or maybe buddha... whatever, point being we're all broken, and without absolute knowledge, and should be open to learning, and admitting that we're a bit broken.

People who enter mental health field seem to have issues with self awareness at times (tend towards personality disorders), and yet seek to better inform their selves and grow with better self awareness. That's different from the average personality disordered psyche who just doesn't have much self awareness and tends to stay that way without seeking a professional. I know personally, as a person who is as broken as the next (maybe more so) that I'm a wreck sometimes, until the situation calls for me to take lead to help another. If someone is worse off than me at the moment, I get my poo together. Helping helps me.

Not sure if any of that gets through, but to think that an always well-adapted individual can empathize and guide a sick individual through his sickness, is... not well thought out.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

I do question HIS motivation for this thread!! Why? because after reading his other threads and posts carefully I noticed that like a few other on here HE has basically repeated this thread from an old thread of his back in APRIL!!


HE opens with a statement "It's time. I am not looking for flags or stars, just open ears." I believe this to be FALSE.

below is HIS thread from APRIL

The failure of the mental health system - a personal summary

HE has taken much of that thread and used it here....some of it almost word for word
from that previous dated thread of his

To put it bluntly, in my personal and professional opinion, our mental health system is broken.

There are a few examples of basically the same stuff....HE starts with your credentials then go on the call it an ESSAY and then gives a problem you are seeing or experiencing with the health care service etc etc etc.

So Please forgive me, but HE got 40+ stars for this thread and onlly 12 for the last. This thread he added more stuff like his own personal mental illness etc but basically the threads are similar. Just reworded for the most part and some filler chucked in.

BOTH threads are in fact saying the same exact thing....the MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM is destroyed....this time round he went for the kill!! so 40+ stars over 12 is much better!!

Not well though out (I used his phrase here as its more apt)

a reply to: projectbane

Maybe you need a cup of joe.

That's not my thread.

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
a reply to: projectbane

Maybe you need a cup of joe.

That's not my thread.

What?

It the OPs thread

a reply to: projectbane

I see you have chosen to edit your post, and then attempt to make me look like the fool/confused one, without admitting your fault. It still makes no sense. You changed all of the "you" , to "his", and yet the last line was obviously my wording. For shame.

You are intellectually dishonest, and obviously trolling.

No more discussion with you.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

No I am not....read my post and you will find you are mistaken....I am talking about the OP not you!! Please re-read!


You are mistaken!! For not reading correctly! No attempt to make you look like a fool.....why would I need too?

This thread is about the OP and his thread. Please do not make it about yourself!

a reply to: KyoZero

Thanks for you honest reply. I think you're right about the publicity of mental illness making it seem more extreme an issue then it really is. Very interesting. Thanks again

P.S. sorry you had trouble spelling my username haha, you're not the first

a reply to: projectbane

We are indeed on the internet and I absolutely welcome dissenting opinions. The fact is (which you also won't believe) is that I don't make a habit out of looking at my past threads. I added more than filler btw. I added my personal story and my proposed solutions later in the thread.

I'm sorry you don't trust my motivation for doing so but I am not here to placate you nor are you for me. Yes in April I did make a rather similar post and I apologize for repetition.

In my first post in April, I did not mention my suggested solutions. In this thread I have. In my first thread I never mentioned my own personal story. In this thread I have

Now whether you think I am a star hog or not makes no difference to me. I promise you have no upset me or raised any hairs on my neck

I chose to write this for two reasons. Neither of which you will believe and that is fine

1. I wanted to make an apology for my actions in the past. Both here and in other venues I was a staunch and arrogant poster. I posted things I did not have personal or professional knowledge of but pretended to make a grand stand. I considered myself a debunker but frankly I was not and am not. I, like you, have my own battles to fight inside and needed to make a stand. Yes it was public but I wanted to talk to ATS. I wanted to know and feel what they knew and felt

2. I wanted to share my personal story and not just be some cocky guy who said "I am a therapist I know all!." In fact I thought it was pretty obvious by now that I am making it crystal clear that 'professionals' are no infallible.

Consider your point. Don't let the someone suffering mental illness be a counselor, or therapist, or doctor. Well my friend you best get started firing a humongous chunk of the therapists in the world then. If I may, I feel your post is trying to tell me I am broken, the very thing sufferers of mental illness are trying to combat. In fact, people with mental illness are all around you doing all sorts of jobs. I find your dislike for my position dubious and frankly I have to wonder about your own motivations

But like I said I am not here to be pawed at and admired. I wanted to give out my opinions and here those of others. I understand you question my motivation for writing this but consider the following

Even if I was disingenuous and start collecting, look at all these people who've come out of their shell and spoken out. But regardless, and not believable by you, no I was not looking for admiration here.

Now as far as your other charge. People with mental illness deserve to be treated fairly. It has little to do with quotas as you stated.

Pretending a moment I am not a therapist, merely a person who suffers bipolar disorder. I come in to see a therapist, and while yes the potential to set someone off exists, I am quite pleased to know that the person across from me is aware of the same pains I go through. In fact some of the most successful therapists have been mentally ill.

Marsha Linehan and Kay Jamison are both mentally ill. Kay has a level of bipolar much worse than mine and she opened clinics and helped treat mood disorders with remarkable quality. In fact, during graduate school we talk openly about our own dealings and we discuss whether or not a sufferer can be good at their trade. It's overwhelmingly a yes.

Look outside your own thoughts please. People with mental illness can do pretty much anything you can do with maybe a few rare exceptions

But again, I am sure all these words will mean little to nothing to you

I say good luck to you and I will continue to read your posts

to summarize...

this wasn't for stars, I added more than filler to my last post (personal recollection and my own solutions), and yes as a bipolar client I can do great work with others despite what you may believe

I will say that I don't 100% disagree with what you said about medications. As I pointed out they are overdone

enjoy your day

Aedaeum - Well as you can see from the responses above you and from public scenes all over, people with mental illness are still seen as inadequate. Sorry projectbane but you display this greatly despite your 'kind wishes' for me in my future.

People who experience mental illness, again with some admitted exceptions, are just as capable as functioning in a high quality manner as anyone else. CEO's doctors, therapists, teachers...all of these representative populations have their fair share of employees and employers who suffer as well

And this part is NOT directed at projectbane...just so we get that clear before I get demonized

People have this crappy little stigma and believe I should be locked away, or heavily medicated, or not allowed to function in society when the reality is, most people who suffer are just like anyone else and usually cannot be picked out of a crowd