In Treatment
Discovering the ins and outs of treatments and therapies. Join the conversation today.
The End or the Beginning?
Going in, I never thought I would be admitted. I wore my favorite Maroon sneakers, my leggings, and my Harry Potter shirt that read “Mischief Managed” with a criss-crossed front, and my hair was thrown in its traditional ponytail. I left my backpack in the car, and walked up to the Mental Health Hospital entrance, hand in hand with my husband. There were two sets of doors. They buzz you into the first set, and then when those doors close, they buzz you into the second, basically trapping you in a little enclosure to ensure you can’t leave without a badge or them allowing you out. That alone had me anxious because I loathe confined spaces. When we entered, I was nervous, shaking, and could barely speak to the receptionist. She handed me my clipboard and told me to fill it out, typical doctor appointment protocol. However, this place felt far from typical. It seemed more like a jail rather than a place to go to for help.
By Rachel Bonneval7 years ago in Psyche
A Broken System
My stomach hurt. I couldn’t force myself to participate in the stupid activity. We were suppose to make a collage that represents our recovery. I flipped through the same magazine several times. My hands were visibly shaking. I was sweating to much. Anything I did would be wrong. I was embarrassed to cut anything out of the magazine and glue it on the paper. It would be stupid. People will laugh. Maybe not out loud, but they would.
By Nicole Larsen7 years ago in Psyche
The Day that Changed My Life Forever
It was May 2, 2018. My boyfriend and I had broken up a few weeks before. So I was broken-hearted and depressed. I felt all alone. I had class that day, but before that class, I bumped into my ex-boyfriend. I absolutely lost it. I ran in the opposite direction, climbed up three flights of steps to the third floor of a parking deck. I stood there, looking over the edge. I heard sirens so I ran back to the stairway and went down one floor, and I ran over to the edge, stood up on the ledge and... That is the last thing I remembered that day.
By Serena Fix7 years ago in Psyche
Methadone vs. Suboxone
I am so tired of everybody constantly comparing Methadone vs. Suboxone. Does it really matter? As long as it helps to keep the person off drugs, and saves their life, why does it matter what prescription they use? That's like arguing about which antibiotic a person should take. What does it matter to you?
By Maria Ransom7 years ago in Psyche
Accepting Weight Gain
It is the most difficult part of eating disorder recovery. Letting go of the sick and emaciated body that you spent years striving towards, the safety of a ribcage that sticks from under your bruised skin, and the comfort in listening to anorexia and her sickening demands. Your body changes day to day, meal to meal, as it tries to readjust itself to a regular feeding schedule and a substantial food intake. Bloating, cramps, stomach pains and no appetite are all part of the refeeding process. But what happens after that? When your body gradually remembers how to digest something other than diet soda, and you can see the numbers scribbled in the weighing room begin to increase. There is plenty of support to get you back in a healthy, strong and functioning body, but little to none when you are faced with dealing with the unavoidable weight gain, and the new body you begin to see in the mirror.
By Rosie Carlile8 years ago in Psyche
Getting the Right Mental Health Diagnosis
So you've known for some time that something may be off with your moods... Most research has found that symptoms of mental illness may start appearing in the late teens to early twenties. There are exceptions of course, but if you're in this age group and you feel that your day-to-day experience is being hampered by preoccupations of the mind, you may want to start doing some research. Before going any further, I want to emphasize that you should NOT panic. If anything, now is the time to exercise the most patience. I understand the emotional pain is akin to crawling out of your own skin, but learning to be patient will honestly save you from even more excruciating pain in the future. Recognizing that there may be something wrong and receiving treatment is not some sort of death sentence. You are not an outlier, a freak, or some sort of genetic anomaly; you are merely part of 25 percent of the entire human population. With the right treatment plan, you can find normality and happiness.
By Peter Madera8 years ago in Psyche
What 2-1/2 Years of Sobriety Taught Me About ‘The Good Life’...
October 22, 2015. It’s the day I was arrested and my entire life as I knew it changed. I was screaming inside as the police officer slapped the handcuffs on me and threw me in the back of his patrol car. Federal Fugitive From Another State was the original charge they booked me for... Felony Forgery came two days later as I was called from my cell to meet with a detective in full opiate withdrawal. This was my rock bottom.
By Angelica Friedrich8 years ago in Psyche
New Way of Life Ministries
I would like to write some about the on going problem of drug and alcohol addiction in this county. Here in North Carolina and in many other states, there is a addiction epidemic that is way out of control. In this state the drug and alcohol treatment centers and reducing the times that clients are allowed to stay. Stays at detox centers are usually 3 to 7 days. Treatment centers, normally house clients for 28 to 30 days. Currently, state funding has cut client stays in treatment to 14 days or less.
By Douglas Pettaway8 years ago in Psyche
The Battle With Mental Illness
I have no idea on what is with me and being able to talk to my friends and family who have depression. Is it because of my kind hearted nature or the fact that I too suffer from depression? Let me start this by saying that depression is hard to deal with. I have been battling depression for four years since my dad passed away when I was almost 18 years old. I didn't know how bad my depression was until I went to see my therapist after my dad passed away. I'm still battling my depression because it has somewhat gotten worse over time with having so many deaths in the family happen. Between the time my dad passed away and now, I lost so far six people in my family.
By Carrie Booth8 years ago in Psyche
A Socially Acceptable Addiction
On February 14, 2012, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was 15-years-old, a sophomore in high school, and I was perpetually moody, or rather, as my mother likes to say, “temporarily insane.” I was fortunate enough to have been surrounded by diabetes my whole life, as my father, uncle, and aunt are all Type 1 diabetics, so this diagnosis did not force me to completely change my lifestyle. The diagnosis itself was just shocking. After all, I was post-puberty and the disease was supposed to skip generations. I’m usually a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” type of person, but I just could not do it this time. I tail-spun into a deep depression and began comforting myself with food. Not only was I now officially a diabetic, but also a compulsive overeater.
By Olivia Cox8 years ago in Psyche
