Whitney Houston’s Death and Addiction Stigma

February 13, 2012 / by / Debunking Addiction

Whitney Houston’s death kept me up Saturday night because my mind was racing. Not only from the shock of a legend being gone, but also the speculation and response from media, but mostly from people on Twitter and Facebook. There is so much misunderstanding, judgment, and blame placed on addicts whom die, and am saddened to not see more compassion for the struggle people face when struggling with an addiction. I know at this point the cause of her death is pure speculation, and I will not try to analyze the how and why in this post, because I feel I do not have enough information to talk about it, without more facts. I do want to address the life and loss of a legend, the realities of a struggle with an addiction, and the frustration and sadness I feel when seeing the responses to her death.
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About Jodi Aman, Author of the Anxiety-Schmanxiety Blog

February 13, 2012 / by / Anxiety-Schmanxiety Blog

Hello, I’m Jodi Aman. I’m a licensed clinical social worker and former anxiety sufferer. Welcome to my new anxiety blog on HealthyPlace.com.

I have been counseling children and adults since 1994 and currently work at the Center for Narrative Practice and write a blog about healing from emotional problems. Keep reading »

Recovering From Mental Illness is Exhausting

February 13, 2012 / by / Recovering from Mental Illness

No kidding! I am telling you what you already know. I might be telling you how you felt when you opened your eyes this morning. But let’s start at the beginning. Let’s recall, and sorry to drag you back to this time, the first time you were diagnosed with a mental illness.

The Diagnosis

“Natalie, you have bipolar disorder.”

A whopping twelve years old when these words were thrown on the table. My reaction? How exhausting! The years before the diagnosis? Bloody exhausting!

Next: A small amount of relief. Above all, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired but my life wasn’t about to get any easier, no, it was time to try on medication’s, fingers crossed they worked, and then fell defeated, beaten, when they did not.

But this isn’t my story. It’s probably yours as well. Or, it’s the story of someone you love. It hurts to watch them suffer.

Side-Effects, Complications, From Medication

Recovering from mental illness involves medication and medication is exhausting. Keep reading »

Bullying Goes Viral – Digital Abuse and Teens

February 12, 2012 / by / Verbal Abuse in Relationships

Teenagers stand on the brink of discovering who they are. It’s a magical time, full of opportunity and promise. Teens have the advantage of constant contact with their peers and adult role models via personal phones and the Internet’s vast array of video chat, picture sharing, social networking, and all the rest. Teens are connected in ways we couldn’t be at their age. Like so many other great possibilities, this connectedness can be both a blessing and a curse. Keep reading »

Explaining Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment to Mentally Ill Child

February 10, 2012 / by / Life with Bob

This time of year, I am always reminded of the first half of 2008–the year I admitted Bob to inpatient psychiatric treatment not once, but twice. I suppose it’s because this is the same time of year, or because it’s the season when Bob experiences more manic-type symptoms. Apparently, it’s on Bob’s mind, too. Keep reading »

Understand and Prevent Teen Dating Violence

February 9, 2012 / by / Verbal Abuse in Relationships

This month is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. Why do teens get their own month? The signs and symptoms of teen dating abuse are the same as domestic abuse, so why can’t the kids just read our grown-up sites? They’ve always gotta be so hard-headed! Keep reading »

Schizophrenia’s Voices: The Strength to Say No

February 9, 2012 / by / Mental Illness in the Family

Every so often, I am reminded that my son Ben still has to work hard to stay focused on the world as we all know it: work, play, conversations, whatever we are watching on TV.  Without his medications, that feat is nearly impossible; with treatment, it’s certainly easier. But not without effort. Not without strength. Keep reading »

Mental Illness: The Issue With Feeling Unlovable

February 9, 2012 / by / Recovering from Mental Illness

The issue? It can be an issue and pardon me for being redundant here. The topic for this post was derived from a comment a reader made. This person mentioned the word unlovable in the context of mental illness. I quickly scribbled the word down and put it away for a couple days.

I open my day-timer today and see the word, UNLOVEABLE, written in large and bold text by my own hands. I sort of grimaced, watching the rain fall from a gray sky outside my window, and wondered if I really had to put it in bold, I mean, it’s not as if I have no experience with this feeling. I feel it often, and if you struggle with mental illness, well, perhaps you do too.

Now, it’s a rather complicated word, lest I admit, so let’s try to define it with (yes, again) my thesaurus. Keep reading »

Why Didn’t Evolution Cull Bipolar Disorder? – Bipolar Benefits

February 9, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Most, including myself, would argue that, particularly without treatment, bipolar disorder is a decrease in functioning. Untreated depression and mania disrupt every part of a life in negative ways – that’s what drives people to get treatment in the first place.

But if bipolar disorder is an illness and is a decrease in functioning, why hasn’t evolution naturally selected out bipolar disorder? Why do we still see bipolar disorder today?

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The Five Best “Natural” Ways to Manage Your Adult ADHD

February 9, 2012 / by / Living with Adult ADHD

People with ADHD are often eager to explore all the possibilities of better managing their ADHD challenges.   Even though studies show that medication is up to 70-80% effective in reducing the core symptoms of ADHD (inattention, impulsivity and distractibility), there is no “magic pill” that alleviates all the struggles or cures ADHD.  The impact of ADHD is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and most ADHD medications wear off within 4-12 hours. That leaves many hours in the day that often require alternative ways of coping with and managing ADHD symptoms.

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