Tag: mental illness

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Coping General

Always Be Willing To Question Discrepancies

No one wants to make their loved one more unwell or feel worse about their situation than they already do. Quite a few people that deal with mental illness know it does have an affect on them and the people around them. Granted, there are some people that have either not made that realization or they are just selfish assholes. Be that as it may; there is no reason for anyone to roll over and simply be walked all over. It is in everyone’s best interests to approach discrepancies with healthy skepticism.

The problem with mood disorders is that they so drastically warp the perceptions of the person experiencing it that they may legitimately not have any idea why they are doing what they are. For example, there was a period of time when I was a teenager when I thought God was talking directly to me on a daily basis. That’s how far into the extremes of Bipolar Disorder and disconnected from reality I was. When you’re that unwell, everything can seem like a good idea- especially if God is suggesting it to you.

When I rebalanced, I had no idea what the fuck I was thinking during that period of time. I wanted to put it behind me because I couldn’t make sense of it. I also made some very strange decisions during that period of time which is not unique to just me. Everyone with a mood disorder is going to make bad or strange decisions based on their interpretation of reality unless they know how to identify and manage their unwellness.

Mental illness is often very quiet and stews in the mind of the individual. To identify and root out unwell thinking, we have to be proactive in identifying the potential indicators. A very significant and powerful indicator is just that a particular claim does not add up. Does that mean the person is manipulative? Not necessarily. It could simply be a case of the person making a decision while their brain is unwell and their perspective is skewed out of proportion.

Thus, we want to get to the bedrock of the situation. The facts, the absolute truth where emotion plays no role. I feel this is essential in separating unwell thinking from normal thinking or just plain shitty behavior on the part of the unwell person. A mood disorder will take that small seed of truth and blow it up into a full grown tree. But if the seed is a pine cone and you’re looking at an oak; something is amiss. That something is quite likely the warped perception of an unwell thought process.

If things don’t add up- ask questions. If you find yourself saying “that’s bullshit”- look for the truth. You won’t be able to come to a concise conclusion every time but it’s still worth doing for the sake of everyone concerned. The person with the mood disorder may be in an unwell cycle and not realize it. They could potentially be doing damage to your lives thinking they are on the right path. The sooner you sniff out this erroneous thinking the faster you can minimize the damage.

On the other hand, there are plenty of people with a boyfriend/girlfriend they aren’t sure how to handle. It’s great to want to be there for someone you care about but the unfortunate truth is that there are still plenty of shitty people in the world; mentally ill or not. You want to be skeptical to ensure you are protecting yourself and your interests in the event that the person is not who they claim to be. They may also be the type of person who uses their mental illness and problems as an excuse to treat other people like crap. That is not something that anyone should put up with.

Skepticism is healthy for any relationship. Yes, trust is so important to the long-term health of the relationship. But it should never be blind. Facts and truth don’t care about how you feel about them or what you believe- they simply are. There is no more important tool in the management of a mood disorder.

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Coping General

Dealing With The Mentally Ill Who Damage Your Life

All across the internet you will find articles and advice on dealing with the damaged in a loving and kind manner. That is well and good in many cases. However, there are many people that have no interest in understanding themselves, their mental illness, or how it affects those around them. These people think that because they have problems that everyone else should cater to their issues and treat them with kid gloves. The person may also feel that they don’t need to change. Whatever the reason- understand that these people can and will pull you under the surface with them if you let them. They may not mean to, but they can.

So how do we deal with these types of people? In my opinion, the answer is quite simple. You establish rules, boundaries, and then enforce them like you would a child. The reason is the way mood disorders work. I often speak of my brain in an adversarial nature. “I didn’t want to do this but my brain decided it was a good idea.” That’s because my unwell brain is nothing like my well brain. My unwell brain may scream at me to take a swing at someone who won’t shut up; but I would never do that if I was in a well state of mind.

Rules and boundaries act as solid anchors to reality. The person CANNOT go this route without repercussions. It’s been clearly stated, they know what will happen otherwise, and these types of anchors can actually pierce through the turmoil by forcing an unwell person to stop and think about their actions. The more the person is forced to think about their actions; the better chance they have to realize what they are doing is a result of their illness.

The most common response I get to this line of thinking is “I can’t be harsh to my friend/loved one”. I would counter that by pointing out the person running wild in their instability is not your friend or loved one. It is a warped version of that person who is sick. Your loved one is in there somewhere; but for whatever reason they are presently losing their battle (not the war) with their mental illness. If anything, it should be viewed as taking drastic steps to try and find that person and haul them back to the surface.

I’m going to give some examples of what I’m talking about. It would be impossible for me to include a comprehensive listing; but if you have a specific situation you would like some input on, email me. Contact info will be at the bottom of the post.

*I have a friend who calls me incessantly to the point that it fills my voice mail and even cost my a job interview.

ex. “All friendships and relationships have boundaries and you are overstepping ours. Your actions cost me at least one interview and who knows what else because people couldn’t leave me a message. Do not call me more than once a day. If you do, I will call the phone company and have your number blocked.”

*I have an adult relative who lives with me. He does nothing but idle, won’t take his medication, won’t go to the doctors, and won’t get a job.

ex. “I am willing to help you if you are willing to help yourself. This isn’t a hotel and you’ll never get well unless you actually do something about it. So you can start making an effort to take your meds, visit your doctor, and (if capable) get at least a part-time job; or you’re going to have to find another place to live.”

*I have a loved one who is verbally and/or physically abusive while they are unwell.

ex. “Mental illness is no excuse for being abusive and will not be tolerated. If you persist on being verbally abusive, I will remove myself from the situation. If you persist, I will remove you from my life and get a restraining order if I have to. If I feel like I’m in danger, you hurt me, or you threat to kill yourself or me; I will notify authorities.”

As you can see, each one is very clear and concise in approach. It puts the choice in the hands of the mentally ill person. That way when they come around to blame you (and they will), you can point back at it and say “I gave you a choice and you made it. This was your decision.” The goal is to try and break through the mental illness to the rational part of their brain. A mood disorder unwell thought process is very similar to a tsunami. The further it is allowed to go, the bigger and harder to stop it becomes. There has to be something solid in the way to break up that wave (or thought process). By introducing such harsh measures with clear repercussions, we are hopefully putting sturdy walls in the path of the wave.

Reintegrating such a person into your life should be handled the same way. “I’ll let you move back in, but you must maintain your medication and go to your doctor. If you do not- then you’ll have to find another place to live. Entirely your choice.”

To all the friends, parents, supporters, and loved ones of those with mental illnesses like Depression and Bipolar Disorder- I know that many of you want to understand and help your loved one. The fact of the matter is, the only person that can truly help your loved is them. They are the one that needs to go to the doctor, take their meds, monitor their moods, and most importantly- realize there is a problem in the first place. The greatest way to help these people is to force them to realize that their way of conducting life, their way of thinking is damaging. The sooner, the better- which is why I advocate strong measures even early in the process. It could be the difference between lost months and lost decades.

Yes, it’s probably going to be difficult for you to establish limits and stick to them. Even if they storm away and you end up separating from that person for awhile; you are actually still helping them. At some point their brain is going to hit rational thought processes again and think about those circumstances. It may very well contribute to their moment of clarity even if you haven’t heard from them in months.

Unfortunately, there are people that can’t or won’t help themselves either. These people will draw you to the bottom like an anchor. They will drain you of all of your emotional energy and bring the chaos of their lives into yours. It’s one thing to be there for someone who is trying to get themselves together; it’s another to be constantly victimized or treated badly by someone who is just fine with it. Look at the entire picture of the situation. Is this person trying to help themselves? If the answer is no- put distance between you if the person is damaging.

Many people with mood disorders and mental illnesses can reach a point of management and live a mostly normal life. Unfortunately, getting the person to realize that and fight for it is often an extremely difficult road. It can take years of suffering and loss before that person realizes they have to be the one to take control.

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Coping

How You Relate To Mental Illness

When I was younger, angry, and far more depressed; I used to scoff at the notion of the impact of the language I used internally. It seemed entirely stupid that negative talk in my head would have any kind of impact on my thinking in general. I have no idea why I thought this. I’ve been writing for fun and myself for about 20+ years. I know the power of words and language. Yet somehow, I came to the conclusion that this didn’t apply to me. I largely lump it into the huge pile of stupid shit I’ve thought and/or done for no reason other than “it made sense/seemed like a good idea at the time”.

Today is quite different. After spending most of my life confused and unsure of myself; I finally came to terms with who I am after my diagnosis. I will still talk negatively and make fun of myself as a means to break through the walls of others. I can’t verbally tell jokes or longer stories worth a shit; but most people will find it funny that I got my ass kicked by a 10 year old little girl once. And on two of my passive suicide attempts, I got so fucked up on pills that I passed out outside. Which wouldn’t have been a problem if not for the fact that I used to live directly across the street from a crack den- and I’m assuming it was some crackhead that stole the clothes I was wearing on both occasions.

Dark? Morbid? Strange? Yeah. Welcome to my life; and the lives of many other Bipolar people. But it’s alright. Today, it’s something for me to look back on and laugh at. I feel like not taking myself that seriously is perfect for opening doors into my warped life without coming off as being preachy or getting into a pissing contest over who had the most fucked up life.

There is some language I will never use in regards to myself or being Bipolar. Primarily the word “victim”. I’m not a victim of Bipolar Disorder and mental illness because I have a choice. I can choose to let the Disorder destroy me or I can choose to fight it, tooth and nail, every step of the way. I choose not to associate myself with this word because I feel it denigrates people that actually have been victimized. I am friends with people with far more serious mental illnesses than I who had them inflicted on them by people that should have loved and cared for them. These people were victimized and need an extraordinary amount of patience and kindness to be mostly functional.

But me? My shit is relatively minor in comparison. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t exist or that I haven’t had some of my own difficult times. I’m not going to allow myself to fall apart and wallow in self-pity for an extended period of time. I’m far too stubborn to ever let that happen again. Not knowing all the things that I know now.

Granted, this won’t be applicable to everyone, but you should evaluate your relationship with your mental illness or the person you have in your life who has one. How do you approach it? Is it a death sentence of everything you hold dear? Or is it a challenge to be overcome? Do you realize that many mentally ill people are able to overcome and manage their illness(es)? I’ve met many people that don’t think so.

The choice is yours to be a survivor or a victim of mental illness. Yeah, life is probably going to suck from time to time. Most likely you’ll still end up doing insane things that cost you a lot. But you can change how you look at the circumstances. Sweep up the pieces, accept that there are casualties in the war for sanity, and keep putting one foot in front of the other until you reach your destination.

Self-talk has a much greater impact on your perception of yourself than you realize. You’ve been through a lot. Cut yourself some slack on your perceived “failures” and keep striving for success. You’ll get there eventually.

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Coping General Self-Help

An Organized Approach To Medicating

I can’t count the number of times I’ve ran into Bipolars and Depressives who do not have an organized approach to finding their wellness. I’ve dealt with a lot of different people since I started living openly with being Bipolar and putting up my website. “Mental illness” is a perfectly suitable name for what we deal with. It’s an illness. It has symptoms, predictable patterns (though our actions during a pattern may not be), and a method of treatment.

But how many of us have slacked when it comes to our medication? It’s easy to do if you let yourself get mired down into morbid depression. You just keep chucking pills down your throat and hope it goes away as the weeks and months tick by. The problem is that we are sabotaging our own wellness efforts by letting the depression rule us. That’s why we need an orderly, organized approach.

Quite a few psych medications should be working by 4-6 weeks after you start taking them (check your prescriptions for specifics). There’s no reason to stay on the same dosage or medication after the maximum time has passed for the medication to be doing it’s job. If it’s not, call your doctor and get that shit either changed or increased. Chances are very good it’s not going to magically start working a month later.

One person I spoke with was taking an incorrect dosage for six fucking months! She could have tried as many as three varying dosages in addition to the original in that time. But she didn’t because she let her depression and mental illness drive her decision making processes.

If you want to be well, you have to push through the bullshit that you normally deal with to get it. An established course of action takes all the mental turmoil out of your decision making process. If it doesn’t work in 6 weeks (or a time appropriate to your prescription); get it changed. You’re only punishing yourself and the people around you by letting it go.

A similarly important point is to have some kind of idea on what “correct” medication should do for you. Everyone has different tolerances and desires. So you have to understand what you need out of your medication so you can define it as successful or a failure. Functionality, the ability to meet your basic needs as a human, and not have your mental illness destroying your relationships serves as a pretty good baseline.

It’s a bitch to get there, but you can make it. You just have to keep pushing and avoid the pitfalls your mental illness will inevitably throw in front of you.

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General

A Random Affirmation

I realize that I am very inconsistent with providing updates and useful information. I suppose I should have accounted for exactly how social I’m usually not before attempting to reach out to people and connect through social media means. But hey, hindsight and all of that. It isn’t that I don’t like people. It’s more that in addition to being Bipolar, my family has a history of High-Functioning Autism. Several of my social processes are just broken. I’ve learned how to adapt to them in the past few years; but it still requires a shitload of mental energy. (Also, my word processor didn’t detect shitload as being a typo- which amuses me greatly.)

But! Today I want to provide you an affirmation. I know a lot of us deal with a whole lot of bullshit on a daily basis from dealing with ignorant people to just trying to keep things together in our minds. Today may be a shit today, tomorrow may be too; but just keep moving forward. Keep trying things. If one medication or technique doesn’t work- try another. Keep trying. Keep pushing forward.

Things will never change unless you keep pushing yourself. You can conquer the chaos in your mind. You can own your mental illness instead of it owning you. Yes, it requires so much work and effort. No, it’s not fair. But neither is life. You can spend your time spiraling into depression, dwelling on it; or you can do something about it.

If I can do it- you can do it. Educate yourself on management, how medication really works, and pull out the stops to claim your mental wellness.

It’s glorious to wake up in the morning and have my first thoughts be of anything other than death or just sleeping through the day. I want that for each one of you as well. Be kind to yourself.

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Coping Depression Self-Help

The Joy Of Changing Antidepressants – Pt. 1 #bipolar #depression #mentalillness

This post will be the first in a series I will do in relation to my medication change. I hope it will provide insight into my decision making process and better facilitate your pursuit of mental stability.

Just a few days ago I realized that I was missing out on a pretty good opportunity to provide you all with some insight on medication changes. I’ve been on varying dosages of a few different medications since my diagnosis. Antidepressants are the sticking point. None of the antidepressants that I have tried have even scratched the surface except for name brand Wellbutrin. That was several years ago when I talked to my doctor about depression and far before my Bipolar diagnosis. I felt pretty good for about a week on my way into one of the worst hypomanic periods that I have had. My rage was so extreme that I almost destroyed my refrigerator door because the milk was holding it open.

Today, I take lithium to prevent me from escalating. I have not had an escalation in probably two years now. While I would love to put Wellbutrin to the test now, I have no prescription coverage. I have only been taking generic equivalents to ensure that I keep my cost of long-term treatment down just in case I come unhinged or life sets me back in the future (Which is a strategy I advocate in my Medication Strategy). Wellbutrin does have a generic equivalent that is supposed to be chemically identical to the name brand. Surfing around the internet uncovers a much different story. There are pages upon pages of complaints, requests for the FDA to investigate, and a drastic disconnect from the name brand to the generic. The primary complaints about the generic are severe weight gain, amplified depression, and stronger suicidal impulses. That is not quite what I’m looking for out of an antidepressant. The chatter is too prevalent for me to think it is just standard internet bitching.

Just a few weeks ago I ended my fluoxetine (prozac) regimen and asked my doctor for an antidepressant from the same “family” as Wellbutrin. Prozac is an SSRI whereas Wellbutrin is an SNRI. What’s the difference? They stimulate different chemical processes in the mind. Taking the prozac worked about as well as taking sugar pills. Thus I decided I wanted to try something from the SNRI family which was sort of “successful” before. The medication of choice this time around is Venlafaxine Hydrochloride Extended Release, better known as Effexor.

I have already gotten off to a bad start. I have procrastinated and put off getting my bloodwork done for my lithium level testing. I ended up stretching my initial dosage of Effexor longer because I was trying to force myself to face my social anxieties and go get the shit done at the hospital instead of a remote clinic where I normally have my appointments. That already put me slightly off balance, though I know I am and have been taking active steps to keep myself in as well of a state as I can manage.

Moral of the story? Even though I’ve written hundreds of pages on mental health, finding wellness, and so forth; I still screw up in major ways sometimes. That is exactly why I never say that “my way is the only way”. My goal is to give readers a wider understanding, more options, and hope for something better. Why even bring it up? Because every person needs to know that they will screw up, give up, or lose hope eventually. You will have to do the same thing I do; push yourself to your feet and keep going.

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Coping Depression General

Fun Times In Medication Town #Bipolar #Depression #Effexor

I would like to begin this blog post with a slew of profanity but I will spare you all my potty mouth. I visited my doctor a couple days ago and asked to be removed from fluoxetine because it had all of the effectiveness of sugar pills for me – even at a maximum dosage. I asked to switch families of antidepressants. Fluoxetine (prozac) is an SSRI style of antidepressant. What he put me on, effexor, is an SNRI. What’s the difference? An SSRI focuses solely on the neurotransmitters that produce serotonin. An SNRI affects both serotonin and norepinephrine transmitters. It has a much higher success rate against Major Depressive Disorder which is what the low end of the Bipolar spectrum is pretty close to for me.

Many moons ago I had talked to my doctor about depression and he put me on wellbutrin. It was great, for about 3 days. At the time, I had no idea what Bipolar Disorder was, or what happens when you put a Bipolar person on an antidepressant with no mood stabilizer. I rocketed into the stratosphere. Everything enraged me. I would go out to our garage and use the weight machine until I couldn’t move anymore just to try and burn some of the excess energy off. The problem was, I didn’t know what it felt like to not be depressed. I had an inkling that something was wrong but was unable to really put my finger on it. I ended up coming off wellbutrin before too much damage was done due to a loss of insurance. (uh – thanks, corporate America? I guess?)

At present, I’m horkin’ down lithium and am starting to get this effexor seeded in my system. You know, initially I wasn’t going to apply for payment assistance through Social Security but at about 150 bucks a month for this prescription I probably will just to ensure I can keep up with everything I need to while I see if this crap is going to work for me or not.

This whole feeling stoned thing is a distinct flavor of crap that I find irritating. Many medications have side effects that will go away as your body gets acclimated to their presence. I’m hoping this feeling will be the same way once the effexor is seated in my system and the ol’ body is used to it being there. It is pretty common for a person to decide they can’t deal with a particular side effect without giving it enough to see if it goes away or not. Don’t make that mistake! Give it about 3-4 weeks. If it doesn’t go away, talk to your doc. In the meantime, few weeks to find out how this will effect my mentality. Probably another day or two before I find out how well the lithium is keeping things in check.

My doctor also recommended a cognitive therapist that he felt might help with my goals of readjusting how I view the world. I completely ran out of energy to be bitter and pissed off all the time – as much as I’d like to be. A mark of maturity? Of understanding? Of growing up? I don’t know. I’m just exhausted from thinking that way for so many years. Depressives, I’m sure you can identify with me on that.

Anyway, figured I’d write about the medication change. Let you all into my process, line of thinking, and strategy in case it can help you with yours. Any questions or comments, by all means leave them below! Be well!

-Dennis

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Coping Depression Self-Help

An Open Letter On Depression #Depression #MentalIllness #Bipolar

I am penning this missive as an easy way to help try and get someone close to you to understand what you are going through. Print it out, forward it to them; whatever. Get it in front of that person. Let me try and crack through the wall to help them see the difference.

To Whom It May Concern;

I am writing this letter on behalf of someone that you care about and that cares about you. Depression is a very misunderstood mental illness that affects quite a few people. Too many people equate “sadness” with depression, but they are nowhere near the same. Sadness is a normal human emotion, one that many of the depressed wish we could actually feel. Depression is a void. It is nothingness. It is a black hole that devours everything that makes life worth living.

I’m sure you have felt sad in your life. It is very normal. But how about depressed? People make the mistake of thinking it is all about emotion. It is not. Depression is rooted in a physical condition affecting the brain. Do you remember the last time you had a bad cold or flu? How did you feel mentally during that time? I’m willing to bet you weren’t upbeat and chipper. People commonly feel mentally exhausted, tired, and generally foul. It is the closest thing I have been able to come up with that compares to depression for someone that does not experience it. Depression however, is worse.

Why? Our breaks are few and far between. A person may have a flu or a cold for a week but they know it is going to end. What if you did not know it was going to end? What if it carried on for months or years at a time? How about if you ended up like me, dealing with major depression for going on 20 years? That mental state you have while you are sick is part of a physical ailment. It is a virus that is having a drastic effect on your mentality. So why is it so difficult for people to understand that the same thing can happen to a person without having the sniffles – only worse?

I have seven suicide attempts under my belt that range from putting a loaded gun to my head and pulling the trigger to taking fistfuls of pills with alcohol. I’ve attempted to unmake myself with drugs and alcohol. All of these things and more are the direct result of dealing with depression. I had no hope for a better tomorrow. I knew that the day I would face tomorrow would be exactly the same as the day I’ve had every day for the last several years.

How did you feel when your child was born? I felt nothing. When you got engaged to a wonderful person? Again, nothing. Any sense of pride in a commendation or promotion at work? Still nothing. No sense of accomplishment, no pride; just the void. Depression devours EVERYTHING and leaves only emptiness behind. Then, one day, the person will eventually get tired of it. They will have a moment of weakness and attempt to end their life because they just cannot deal with it anymore. Humans are not meant to exist in an emotional void, but we do it for years at a time. And we are so tired from this journey.

That’s why we need people like you to understand that this is an illness. It’s not just a feeling. It’s invasive and we need your help in continuing to look forward. We know we should have hope, because there is wellness somewhere out there for us. But we periodically need someone to remind us of that. We need them to just be there in our darkest moments. You do not need to have answers or try to fix us. It is beyond what you can contribute. And yes, we know it will hurt watching someone you care about suffer. But really, it’s alright. We have walked this road for a long time. We can continue to do so once we get through this moment of weakness to get back to the pursuit of mental wellness.

My name is Dennis, and this is just part of my story. Someone you love and care about is going through similar circumstances. They need you to understand that this is a serious medical issue. Or would you prefer to find out at their funeral while wringing your hands over why they committed suicide? I hope not. I really cannot afford the airfare to come and point out “I told you so”.

There are a number of great resources available on the internet for helping someone with a mood disorder like depression. Educate yourself. It could very well save the life of someone you love.

Sincerely,
Dennis H.

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Personal Empowerment Creates A Better Future For All

I do not have a very typical approach to how I view the world, mental illness, and making my way through it. A significant departure is the quest for reducing stigma and encouraging a better social understanding. I don’t think it really matters nearly as much as is stated. There are so many people struggling for equality and understanding for several different reasons. Yet, when I look back through history, I have yet to find a single time period when that was actually a reality. I don’t think it is a reasonable, feasible goal. That is why a lot of my content, words, and ideas are focused around the individual. Elevating individuals who live with mental illness seems like it will be a more effective tactic.

For the past couple of years, I have been working as an internet marketer. I write content for business’s that are trying to get found on the internet. I have used many of those skills that I developed and learned from those marketers to bring you this website and blog. In the course of my work, I came to work for a man in the United Kingdom who was involved in marketing “forex” websites. Forex is short for foreign exchange, as in the foreign exchange currency market. It is the worldwide market where businesses, banks, individuals, and governments all go to change money to purchase what they need from international markets.

There is an entire industry of traders that make profit off of the differential in prices of currency. For example, if you look at the EURUSD (Euro/United States Dollar) pair, each Euro may be worth 1.2 dollars. I buy one Euro at $1.20 and the value of the Euro rises to $1.34. I then close my position. I have just made .14 cents of profit.

As I came to learn more about forex I realized what a huge opportunity it was for the mentally ill, the poor, and senior citizens trying to live off of nothing. A particular discipline within forex is known as technical trading. In technical trading, you analyze charts to look for patterns to spot high probability opportunities for a profitable trade. The pair might be in a clear uptrend or downtrend. The predictability is what technical forex traders use to make money.

Looking at the above example, 14 cents is nothing to write home about really. That is where the forex market differs from traditional investing. Currency is the most liquid asset in the world. Because of that, forex brokers (the people you make trades through) offer a high degree of leverage. At present I trade at a 50:1 leverage. For every 1 of my dollars, I am allowed to use up to 50 of theirs to trade with. So I can take 200 dollars and trade up to 10,000 dollars with it; with all the risks and rewards that come with that higher amount.

The forex market is open 5 days a week, 24 hours a day; which makes it perfect for people like me who can’t function well in a 9 to 5 traditional role. A trading plan with clear directions, how to profit and minimize losses, and the system a person uses for analysis provides a concrete reminder of the method we adhere to for profitability.

A large number of people do not look at investing or gambling in a way that is profitable. If you are playing blackjack and your goal is to get 21; you’re not going to ask for another card if you are sitting on 20. Why? The chances of you pulling an Ace from the deck are much, much lower than the dealer getting anything other than a 20 or a 21 to beat you. Will you always win? No. However, the cards totaling 20 have a much higher probability of being a winning hand for you than say a total of 7. If you get a 3 and a 4, you’re going to have to get at least two other appropriately numbered cards to be competitive. So you play on the 20 and withdraw on the 7 – maximizing potential gain while minimizing losses.

All of that comes back to my original point. You don’t need a college degree, to be good at math, or have a lot of money to make a reasonable profit on the forex market. A person simply needs to develop the understanding of what they are looking at and why they are doing what they are doing. I have spent the last several months teaching myself how with a minor amount of success.

My end-game goal is to take that which I have learned and turn it into a very easy to understand system that anyone can use. Through it, I want to enable individual elevation so that those people can create a better place for themselves and others in the world.

Why? Regardless of whether an adversary understands mental illness or not; that person will understand money. Money is power. If we are a bunch of paupers, how are we supposed to make any meaningful gains against political entities and insurance companies?

Striving for social understanding is all well and good, but what good is it if the policy makers can still just give us a pat on the head and send us on our way with empty promises? You know, exactly the same thing they do with women, minorities, the poor, disabled veterans, and everyone else whose rights are trampled on a constant basis.

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Multiple Mental Illnesses With A Mood Disorder

I’d like to thank my Facebook followers for the suggestions for blog posts on content they would like to see. Doug provided a great idea to discuss multiple diagnoses in the form of Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. I did some research on the subject, including the article he provided, and I have decided it would be a disservice for me to attempt to speak about that experience. A very large part of what I do here, on Facebook, and on my website is based through experience. However, Doug’s suggestion did jog an idea in my mind that I haven’t put forward yet in regards to multiple diagnoses. It is at this point that I would like to remind you that this is only a theory, but one I’ve formulated through observation over the past 17 years or so.

Multiple mental illness in a person is not uncommon. Some mental illnesses have components of others in them; such as people with PTSD with a Depression component. That creates an even more unique situation when they get combined in a single person. Bipolar Disorder affects each person with it in ways that are personal to them and their mentality. Medical professionals attempt to treat based off of loose interpretations of the symptoms. A depressed person may not be suicidal while another is. They both meet the criteria for depression, just differently.

The combination of multiple mental illnesses in a person will create something that is almost entirely unique to them. Thus, it will be harder to find a treatment that will work properly for the person due to that interaction.

That brings me to my theory: I wonder if people with multiple diagnoses may benefit from focusing on getting any mood disorder under control first. Not because it is any more important than the others, but the way a mood disorder like Bipolar Disorder or depression affects your baseline thinking. It alters your perception of the world around you, in turn, your mind reacts to what it perceives as opposed to what actually is.

As an example; I did not find out about high-functioning autism until my son was diagnosed with it. Going back and reading about it to understand it was like reading a biography. I feel that I am a very high functional autistic because I lack many of the interpersonal functions that are typical for a normal mind. There is also the autistic focuses, the inability to convert emotion to words, logical to a fault, inability to read people naturally, and several other things. It takes a lot of energy for me to function in a social way because I have to think about all the things that other people do subconsciously. As I looked back on my life, I began to see certain patterns and interactions in the ways that Bipolar Disorder and the HFA meshed for me.

The one great fear I have in my life is completely losing touch with reality in a Bipolar unwell period. If my mind ventures too far out- there is only hate, rage, loathing, and despair. There is no love, there is no kindness, no understanding, no vestiges of positivity at all. At that point I become Mr. Hyde to my normal Dr. Jeckyll. Due to the HFA, I have a hard time connecting and empathizing with people in a natural way. I feel that if I really rocketed out of control, the combination of all that negativity with my inability to empathize with others would probably result in a newscast ending with “… and police killed the suspect in the ensuing shootout.”

Let’s cut back to the mood disorder for just a moment. It affects how you interpret things:

– I drop a glass of water and break it.
*Manic: Fuck that goddamn glass! No dustpan? I’ll just clean it up with my hands.
*Depressed: I can’t believe I dropped a glass of water. Can’t even do that right.

The reality of the situation is – a glass of water was dropped. That’s it. A mood disorder skews the situation into extremes. It stains all of the information that comes into your mind before your mind has a chance to really interpret it. The tainted information is already being fed into a mentally ill mind that will skew it even further out of perspective. Sort of like putting a second bullhorn in front of a first bullhorn.

Assume that our example person is Bipolar and Schizophrenic. They are driving along and notice in their rear view mirror that the same car has been behind them for three different turns. The information is processed and skewed as potentially threatening by Bipolar Disorder then sent into the conscious mind where Schizophrenic thought processes could continue to stretch it and spin it out of control.

But what if that person had a good medication regiment for the Bipolar side of their struggle? A mood stabilizer would prevent the Bipolar side of their mind from pulling the situation too far out of proportion before it gets fed into the active mind where Schizophrenia will now contribute to playing with it.

I think this thought process may be applicable for a lot of people. If a person’s perception is at least somewhat healthy, then the circumstances going on around them won’t enter their active mind in an already spun state. The schizophrenia will still have an impact; but which would be better for it to spin? “There’s a car behind me that’s been there for a while. That’s odd. I don’t like that.” or “That son of a bitch is fucking following me. I know it.”

I’m inclined to think the second one is more likely to escalate out of control.

Thus, it seems to me that getting the gateway, perception altering Disorder under control will make all the other things in the person’s mind more manageable. That is not to suggest that everything else should be ignored. It just may be a more effective starting point for the person with two, four, or more mental illnesses with a mood disorder.

I’m curious to hear other peoples’ thoughts on this idea. Feel free to comment!

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