I hear people say quite often, "I have depression." Others say, "I have anxiety." Still others say, "I've got ADHD or ADD or something." Since they openly brought up the topic of mental health, I engage in the conversation. Usually my first question is something like, "So, do you see a therapist?" Their response is something like, "Oh, no...I don't do anything like that. I haven't even talked to my doctor about it. I haven't been diagnosed, but I just know I have it."
I tend to pause when someone tells me they have a mental health condition but they've never even brought up with their doctor because I'm not entirely sure how to proceed without coming off as a mental health "snob" of sorts. I'm a little concerned and very curious as to how they have arrived at the conclusion that they have a clinical mental health condition. They usually go on to give me an explanation that boils down to something like, "I know a friend that has this disorder/I read about it online/I read a book about it, and I have some of the symptoms." Basically, the person had self-diagnosed their mental health condition.
I'm not saying that the person does or does not have the mental health condition that they have self-diagnosed. I'm saying that self-diagnosis is not the same as a clinical diagnosis. I'm also saying that self-diagnosing yourself with any condition, whether it's a mental health condition or a physical health condition, is NEVER a good idea. Self-diagnosis is subjective, unreliable, and a lot of times self-diagnosis is inaccurate, even if you've done a lot of research (and even if you have a psychology degree). It takes years of clinical training (and the proper credentials) to be able to accurately diagnose a mental health condition. Also keep in mind that some other health conditions (a thyroid issue or an autoimmune disorder) may cause symptoms of a mental health condition, which is another reason that you shouldn't self-diagnose.
I've been down this road. I left Psych 102 pretty sure I had Schizophrenia because the symptoms I experienced as part of Pure O sounded awfully similar to some of the symptoms of Schizophrenia. I was wrong. The terror really set in at that point that if I ever told even a trained professional what was wrong they would lock me up in an in-patient residential facility, and so I didn't tell a soul for five years after that.
It's super easy to see a list of symptoms and to think about times in your life when you definitely experienced something similar. Maybe you got halfway to work, and you suddenly wondered if you left the stove on, so you had to turn around to go check. Maybe a whole list of things have gone wrong for you lately, and one day, you just don't even feel motivated to get out of bed, and so you stay in bed for the day. Maybe you have a whole lot of energy one day, and you bounce around from task to task or conversation topic to conversation topic so that other people can't keep up with you. All of these things are listed as the symptoms of one mental health condition or another, but just because you experience these things sometimes does not mean you have that mental health condition.
Don't self-diagnose yourself based on some vague and, more than likely, inadequate information that you gather from friends, from a book, or online. It's like going on WebMD. You go there to get an idea about why you're breaking out in a weird rash, and you exit your browser pretty sure you're going to die of the plague. You're terrified. You go to the doctor, and they tell you that you're having an allergic to the cream you put on a mosquito bite. So, you realize that self-diagnosing your condition was a ridiculous thing to do. It would have saved so much effort and fear on your part if you would have gone to the doctor in the first place instead of putting your life in the hands of a website that can't see you or listen to you.
It's never a good idea to just take your chances with unreliable sources when your health and well-being are at stake. Before you start thinking you have a mental health condition, and especially before you try any medications, please, go to an actual mental health professional. An untreated mental health condition or trying the wrong medication based on what you think you're dealing with can have disastrous consequences. (I also went down that road when I tried the wrong medication for my condition after a misdiagnosis, and I feel lucky to have survived those five agonizing days.)
So, when should you say that you have a mental health condition? When you see a doctor and they run all the necessary tests to make sure that another physical health condition isn't to blame, and then they tell you bluntly that they think you have a mental health condition. It's okay to recognize that something has changed with your mental health, and to then do some research on mental health conditions. It's even okay to take that research in with you to your doctor to show them what you were thinking. (I did that, and that's how we found out I have Pure O in addition to Panic Disorder.) Just talk to a medical and/or mental health professional first before you run with some information that "proves" you have a mental health condition.
I'll end with this: If you notice something about your mental health has changed, please, go to your doctor to rule out any other health issues, and then go to a mental health professional. Don't just look something up online and go with that because it SEEMS accurate. Also, don't assume any behavior is a symptom of a mental health condition unless that behavior causes you significant distress or someone close to you that you trust suggests that a behavior may be cause for concern.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
In the Old Days
"Back in the old days nobody had mental health problems," some "friend" or even a complete stranger will sometimes say when they hear someone say that they live with depression, an anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, or even PTSD. That statement is usually followed by something like, "Nobody back then had anything like that, so it's not a real illness. It's a modern made up thing for people that are lazy/too sensitive/weak."
I read mental health articles and sometimes other mental health blogs online, and in almost every comment section, I see something like the above mentioned statements. Most recently, a dear friend of mine told me that someone actually said something similar to the above mentioned statements to her. Every time I see or hear something like that, I am filled with this Hulk-like rage, and as my blood boils, I want to go on an educational rampage (okay...and maybe I want to punch the person in the face, but I wouldn't actually do that. They can't learn with a busted up face...)
The idea that mental health conditions didn't exist throughout history is simply incorrect. Mental health conditions have existed since humans have existed. Our scientific knowledge has only recently become advanced enough to allow doctors to recognize mental health conditions for what they truly are (an unwell brain) instead of seeing them for what they aren't (demonic possession, witchcraft, punishment from an angry god, or cowardice).
As far back as the ancient Greeks, research has shown the existence of mental health conditions. Back then, it was thought to be one of the four bodily humors out of balance (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, or black bile). Some people were bled or given strange concoctions to treat the out of balance humor, which didn't actually help.
The Salem Witch trials were brought about because some women and men behaved in ways that didn't fit with the societal definition of "normal" behavior. Some of these "witches" were more than likely suffering with some mental health condition. They were branded a witch or someone possessed by the devil or some other demon. (Others had some physical deformity or something non-mental health-related.) Treatment included prayer and other religious practices, but you can't pray away a mental health condition. Then they were exorcised and/or burned at the stake.
Then asylums sprang up all over the place. People that behaved strangely, exhibited criminal behavior, or even "hysterical" or headstrong housewives were packed off into these asylums where they were often chained to walls, strapped to beds, and generally kept out of society.
During World War I, it was noticed that soldiers exposed to the traumas of war behaved strangely. Some even tried to run away from military service. Many were executed by firing squad for cowardice. They had Shell Shock, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it's known today. These men weren't weak. Would you be completely fine if you saw someone take a bayonet to the face, heard their blood-curdling scream, and then had to yank your weapon out of their face and go on to the next guy? Or do you think something like that might give you nightmares and maybe make you shake uncontrollably every time you had to pick up your weapon? Those soldiers weren't cowards, they had just endured the stress and trauma of war, and it had wreaked havoc on their brains.
Mental health conditions aren't recent made up explanations for why a person is lazy, too sensitive, or weak. Mental health conditions are real medical conditions caused by a brain that is unhealthy. Why didn't people recognize this earlier, you ask. Science. Science hadn't advanced enough until recent history to recognize mental health conditions, but that doesn't mean they are any less real than cancer or diabetes.
If the person still doesn't think mental health conditions are real because "Science can't just do..." Kindly remind them that the Earth is no longer thought to be flat, that Pluto is no longer considered a planet, and that smoking cigarettes is now known to cause cancer thanks to new scientific knowledge. Science changes things, and scientists and doctors make new discoveries all the time. Recognizing and treating mental health conditions is no exception. Science debunked your "in the old days" argument.
I'll end with this: The argument that mental health conditions didn't exist back in the old days is not a valid argument. Are you also going to argue that the Earth is flat based on the biblical phrase "at the four corners of the Earth", or that Pluto is still a planet? You wouldn't tell someone with diabetes that diabetes wasn't real because it wasn't recognized in the Middle Ages, would you? If you wouldn't argue about those scientific advances, why is mental health any different? Stop and ask yourself why you view mental health conditions so differently. The answer is simple: stigma and inadequate information. Please, do some research, ask some questions, before you make something that someone struggles with every day seem like nothing.
I read mental health articles and sometimes other mental health blogs online, and in almost every comment section, I see something like the above mentioned statements. Most recently, a dear friend of mine told me that someone actually said something similar to the above mentioned statements to her. Every time I see or hear something like that, I am filled with this Hulk-like rage, and as my blood boils, I want to go on an educational rampage (okay...and maybe I want to punch the person in the face, but I wouldn't actually do that. They can't learn with a busted up face...)
The idea that mental health conditions didn't exist throughout history is simply incorrect. Mental health conditions have existed since humans have existed. Our scientific knowledge has only recently become advanced enough to allow doctors to recognize mental health conditions for what they truly are (an unwell brain) instead of seeing them for what they aren't (demonic possession, witchcraft, punishment from an angry god, or cowardice).
As far back as the ancient Greeks, research has shown the existence of mental health conditions. Back then, it was thought to be one of the four bodily humors out of balance (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, or black bile). Some people were bled or given strange concoctions to treat the out of balance humor, which didn't actually help.
The Salem Witch trials were brought about because some women and men behaved in ways that didn't fit with the societal definition of "normal" behavior. Some of these "witches" were more than likely suffering with some mental health condition. They were branded a witch or someone possessed by the devil or some other demon. (Others had some physical deformity or something non-mental health-related.) Treatment included prayer and other religious practices, but you can't pray away a mental health condition. Then they were exorcised and/or burned at the stake.
Then asylums sprang up all over the place. People that behaved strangely, exhibited criminal behavior, or even "hysterical" or headstrong housewives were packed off into these asylums where they were often chained to walls, strapped to beds, and generally kept out of society.
During World War I, it was noticed that soldiers exposed to the traumas of war behaved strangely. Some even tried to run away from military service. Many were executed by firing squad for cowardice. They had Shell Shock, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it's known today. These men weren't weak. Would you be completely fine if you saw someone take a bayonet to the face, heard their blood-curdling scream, and then had to yank your weapon out of their face and go on to the next guy? Or do you think something like that might give you nightmares and maybe make you shake uncontrollably every time you had to pick up your weapon? Those soldiers weren't cowards, they had just endured the stress and trauma of war, and it had wreaked havoc on their brains.
Mental health conditions aren't recent made up explanations for why a person is lazy, too sensitive, or weak. Mental health conditions are real medical conditions caused by a brain that is unhealthy. Why didn't people recognize this earlier, you ask. Science. Science hadn't advanced enough until recent history to recognize mental health conditions, but that doesn't mean they are any less real than cancer or diabetes.
If the person still doesn't think mental health conditions are real because "Science can't just do..." Kindly remind them that the Earth is no longer thought to be flat, that Pluto is no longer considered a planet, and that smoking cigarettes is now known to cause cancer thanks to new scientific knowledge. Science changes things, and scientists and doctors make new discoveries all the time. Recognizing and treating mental health conditions is no exception. Science debunked your "in the old days" argument.
I'll end with this: The argument that mental health conditions didn't exist back in the old days is not a valid argument. Are you also going to argue that the Earth is flat based on the biblical phrase "at the four corners of the Earth", or that Pluto is still a planet? You wouldn't tell someone with diabetes that diabetes wasn't real because it wasn't recognized in the Middle Ages, would you? If you wouldn't argue about those scientific advances, why is mental health any different? Stop and ask yourself why you view mental health conditions so differently. The answer is simple: stigma and inadequate information. Please, do some research, ask some questions, before you make something that someone struggles with every day seem like nothing.
For more information: If you don't want to just Google questions.
1.
http://nobaproject.com/modules/history-of-mental-illness
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