treatments
The past, present and future of psychiatric diagnosis and beliefs about treatment in every culture and pocket of society.
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Session #4
Interviewer: How did your collegiate aspirations relate to your experience with BDD? BBB: Before I begin, I should to warn you that this may be the most bizarre coming of age story you've ever heard. I chose a difficult major in college for two reasons: It was revered as prestigious and lucrative, and I was told that once I graduated from all those years of rigorous study, I would have little to no time for a social life while I practiced my trade. I wanted a career that would keep me so busy that I had no time to dwell on my awful appearance. I also wanted a preoccupation that would provide an understandable reason for why I had no time for romantic relationships—why I would never have children. My plan was to strictly focus on my studies, after which, I'd rely on my friends to satisfy whatever social needs I had. I loved to laugh and discuss politics, philosophy and art. So, I targeted those who majored in these subjects to help me indulge my interests when I wasn't studying my more conservative curriculum. Perhaps every now and then, I would enjoy a casual tryst or two if I was feeling up to it. I'd be a workaholic socialite from now on, I thought. Without time to focus on myself—to obsess over my ugliness, I could avoid what I referred to as "The cloud," which were my severely depressed episodes. My new distractions worked to steady my moods and lessen my obsessions. My grades were almost perfect. I'd even managed to acquire a small but well-coveted grant from the university strictly based on my academic merit. There are ugly people all over the world who are very prosperous, I thought. I studied the careers of very successful, powerful men who were also practicing the trade within the field I was studying. Most of them were single, with few or no children, and no one seemed to criticize their life choices. They weren't stigmatized for not living a conventional life. They were celebrated as playboys in fact. This was one of several observations that solidified my decision to become a playgirl. I could be satisfied with just a great career and friends. No husband. No children. I couldn't really conceive of living what all the other girls had coveted since holding their first doll baby: A "normal" life.
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
Go to Rehab or Nah?
The pain pulsing through the right side of my torso should have been enough incentive. But no, it wasn’t until the tear drops spilling on the linoleum floor of my kitchen in North Hollywood pooled enough to wet the back of my head that I realized I needed help. I had reached rock bottom. It was not my first and it would not be my last, but a bottom it was indeed. Emotionally, I was emaciated; crippled by loneliness with life threatening symptoms of untreated alcoholism. The thought of entering treatment scared my ego but motivated me enough to seek the help I desperately needed. For those financially able to even consider in-patient rehabilitation, we should consider ourselves lucky. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration in 2015 “About 6.7 percent of adults who had AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder) in the past year received treatment. This includes 7.4 percent of males and 5.4 percent of females with AUD in this age group.” (www.niaaa.nih.gov, 2017) With over 15 million suffering from the “chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences” we can acknowledge that a majority of us are still suffering; still dying. I was there, so this article goes out to the ones who are still suffering.
By Eric Hunter7 years ago in Psyche
Horror Asylum Story in Fort Lauderdale
April 19, 2018 marked the start of a nightmare dressed as the light of freedom from the prison of being at home locked in my room every day. As a person who suffers from a debilitating anxiety disorder, I was desperate to get help by going almost anywhere just so I can control my anxiety. As I was about to board the plane at the gate in Harlingen, Texas, I hugged my mom and cried. I remembered all the times I told her how, if it weren’t for my crippling anxiety, I’d run for the hills and go to a big city and live the life I so desperately want to live. This was my opportunity. I was flying to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to seek treatment for my OCD. I was so excited.
By Ivan Urteaga7 years ago in Psyche
Alcohol Instead of Medication Is a Bad Idea
Alcohol promises fake stability for us mentally ill alcoholics. You see, it calms you down well-enough, but medication does a far better job of that. Alcohol leads to fraudulent stability since drinking counts as self-medication because mentally ill people are in a lot of pain either way. Alcohol really doesn’t help, especially if you treat the drinker well while they are drinking. Alcohol sometimes makes people curious as to what it would do to your body in large quantities—that’s why I stayed alcoholic for so long, because I was in general, curious. In college, I was drinking to fit in.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Insight on My Need for Meds
From the age of 12, I had insight as to why I needed medication. I’d see doctors at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital where they would help me manage my diabetes. There was enough proof even then that I was competent enough to care for myself even if my mother tried to find some excuse, a primordial need, to take away my legal rights to custody of myself while I was a child. Even as young as 10 I knew I needed medication, but I didn’t get my first set of meds until the age of 20.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Adulting with Depression
It's been one month since I've been on antidepressants. Now if you know me, or read my article on medication (see below for it), you would know that I have always had a fear of taking any form of medication. Fear of how it might change me, how I would feel afterwards, and how I would act once I started taking them. But I had to accept what was and that was this: I couldn't control the chemical imbalance in my brain. I couldn't control the fact that there were things I wanted to accomplish in life and I felt like my body simply didn't live up to my mind's capacity. I couldn't control the days where I was feeling super low and the other days where I was erratically high and moving at all speeds. It was all very inconsistent and super depressing, so I caved. Or so it felt that way.
By Aurea Gonzalez7 years ago in Psyche
Top 10 Things to NOT Do in Rehab. Top Story - August 2018.
10. Don't fight with the doctors, nurses, social workers, or maintenance staff. While on the surface this seems like a rather obvious concept to most of us, most patients—whether it is their maiden voyage into this realm of treatment or they are a well-seasoned traveler—enter such facilities first needing to detox from their substance of choice, and no one does so exactly the same way, from recovery time to adjusting to (possibly) new meds. And, of course, everyone is at a difference level of reality in terms of accepting their situation, and their course of action is usually the default setting of some combination of anger, confusion, depression, indifference, hostility and remorse.
By Daniel McCaffrey7 years ago in Psyche
How Electroconvulsive Therapy Changed My Life
I am currently undergoing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Yes, the famously controversial treatment that everyone seems to fear, even people on here. Well, I have recently come to a conclusion that is quite big for me.
By Alexandra Amethyst8 years ago in Psyche
