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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on May 3, 2014, at 23:27:14
...the meds board is pissing me off.
Plus, social...we all need...social lives...right? Right. I should get one.
Anyway, I'll be posting more here from now on.
Posted by Phillipa on May 4, 2014, at 17:58:55
In reply to maybe ill post here..., posted by Christ_empowered on May 3, 2014, at 23:27:14
No posts there are there? P
Posted by baseball55 on May 4, 2014, at 19:21:07
In reply to maybe ill post here..., posted by Christ_empowered on May 3, 2014, at 23:27:14
> ...the meds board is pissing me off.
>
> Plus, social...we all need...social lives...right? Right. I should get one.
>
> Anyway, I'll be posting more here from now on.We do need social lives. And I think people with mental illness need to connect with others who understand how complicated life can be when coping with a mental illness. So welcome to social!
Posted by Christ_empowered on May 6, 2014, at 5:44:59
In reply to Re: maybe ill post here... » Christ_empowered, posted by baseball55 on May 4, 2014, at 19:21:07
hey hey hey....I'm glad to be posting here!
baseball, I'm really sorry about your separation. Something about it reminded me of this novel I read way back when..."The Women's Room" (I found it in my mother's office).
Meds have faded into the background in my life. Such is the nature of recovery, I suppose; less therapy, less shrink time, more facing life. I feel like the 70s for some reason, lol.
Its hard, you know, when you're in recovery. I live in The South. People around here can deal with impoverished crazy, crazy people who are in and out of mental hospitals, but my particular brand of crazy...with parents behind me (they have resources and clout, thank God), the opportunity to go back to school, and, right now, a lawyer...
...not your typical "mental patient." What can I say? I'm an uppity crazy m*th*rf*ck*r! Hell yeah!
Thanks for welcoming me to social. I appreciate it :-)
Posted by Lamdage22 on May 15, 2014, at 1:58:51
In reply to Re: maybe ill post here..., posted by Christ_empowered on May 6, 2014, at 5:44:59
Good idea, i recently had the exact same one!
Posted by Lamdage22 on May 15, 2014, at 2:01:05
In reply to Re: maybe ill post here..., posted by Lamdage22 on May 15, 2014, at 1:58:51
Meds to make you happy, i dont think so, while i do appreciate antipsychotics.. i dont think there is any pill for happyness. And i dont think there will be.
Life doesnt work that way.
Posted by baseball55 on May 15, 2014, at 19:24:21
In reply to Re: maybe ill post here..., posted by Lamdage22 on May 15, 2014, at 2:01:05
> Meds to make you happy, i dont think so, while i do appreciate antipsychotics.. i dont think there is any pill for happyness. And i dont think there will be.
>
> Life doesnt work that way.This is so true. I've heard of people calling psych meds "happy pills." But it was not my experience that they made me happy. Sometimes, when they worked, they made me able to function and not spend weeks in bed. Overall though, I found that really working on DBT and regular therapy over time helped me the most. I learned to cope with depression, to not give in totally to despair.
Right now, I take 200mg of lamictal, which, for me, has no side effects. My p-doc wants me to stay on it at least through the summer while I go through this divorce. I stopped parnate last summer. I have a scrip for haldol and xanax which I take prn in high doses if I lose control and become suicidal. They knock me out for 12-24 hours and I generally wake up stable enough to work on DBT techniques.
I am a big advocate of therapy and social supports to deal with mental illness. After years of being repeatedly hospitalized and attempting or coming close to attempting suicide, I started intensive DBT and have not been in the hospital for 3 years.
I go to 12 step meetings, have made friends with whom I can talk about problems with depression. I see my p-doc once a month (I had done weekly therapy with him for six years) and my DBT therapist once a week or sometimes once every two weeks, depending on how my life is going.
I feel like I am never going to be an entirely well or happy person. But I can cope and sit through things and have moments of joy and happiness.
Posted by Christ_empowered on May 16, 2014, at 8:05:24
In reply to Re: maybe ill post here... » Lamdage22, posted by baseball55 on May 15, 2014, at 19:24:21
meds only do so much. The best I can hope for is minimal psychosis, minimal agitation, and maybe less depression. That's about it.
I had such terrible experiences with counselors before that I'm wary of even talk therapy. Or maybe its just where I'm at in life, honestly. I'd rather do things--like going back to school online, which I'm doing right now--than explain my thoughts, behavior, and thoughts to a "professional." I've also read entirely too much Szasz, so...that figures into the whole thing.
Posted by alexandra_k on May 16, 2014, at 20:14:45
In reply to Re: maybe ill post here..., posted by Christ_empowered on May 16, 2014, at 8:05:24
i think often people are attracted to fields (e.g., counselling) because they think they will get to learn stuff that will help them... rather than because they are particularly good at whatever it is that the field is supposed to be about. I mean... Often counsellors seem interested in things like better communication skills. But that isn't to say that their communication skills are particularly great. I find most 'professionals' are overly focused on... 'Fixing' things... And sometimes what is needed is... A little more of something more like a container... Or blank screen... I think DBT came close to communicating the idea with it's talk of acceptance... And the idea of finding a moment of happiness (okayness?) in the focused present moment... I think this is probably why people are drawn to things like orthopedics, too. Because it is probably one of the clearest areas of medicine with respect to 'broken - there, see? and then I did this fairly simple and straightforward thing with powertools and now it is all better yay me'.
I never found happiness in pills... I found moments of... Obliviousness. Which is a needed respite from the world, sometimes. When things really are... Too much. Too overwhelming. Or for when I'm too much. Brain won't shut down. I think... The pain is useful insofar as it motivates us to make things (the world?) a better place. Insofar as it gives us... Some connection with people who care. Empathy. I think it is about that, too. This idea of growing a thicker skin... Of getting totally lost in the process of... Living ones life... With no connection to the pains and ills of society... Seems... Not very authentic, to me. The ideal? If people were merely animals, for sure. THough even animals are better than that...
This is the end of the thread.
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