We have a new theme!
With Spring here and my mood being a little wonky lately, I wanted something with bright colors and a cheery feel to it. I hope coming to a place that feels lite and refreshing will help all our moods! I wish I could do the custom design, actually I wish I could do the full upgrade, but the price doesn’t fit my budget right now.
Maybe in the future when I can land a freelancing job haha! I can always dream, right?
In light of the fact that I recently blogged about Advocacy For Mental Illness, I think this blog topic is a bit important.
It’s hard to “come out” to the world about your specific MI. We risk ridicule, judgement, losing our jobs, our families and even some of us fear that we could lose our children because of our diagnosis, the label that has been slapped on us and sometimes for life. And it’s true, the risk that is. We could face ridicule and judgement and maybe even some of our family members….Truth be told, if you lost your job because of your MI, that’s illegal and sure, they could always use a different reason for letting you go, but in a law suit or an unemployment case, they’d have to prove why they fired you and if they can’t….well, you know the outcome. I speak from a little bit of experience with this myself. Not that I won a law suit, but because my Hubs won an unemployment claim because of my MI. Also, you can’t lose your children over your MI. You might have Children Protective Services called on you because of it, but unless you are severely neglecting or abusing your children, CPS has no concern in taking your children away from you. Their main concern would be helping you find resources to help you be a better parent because of your MI.
If you are going to advocate, you are going to have to go public at some point in time. So who do you tell first? Well….if your spouse, children (especially adult children) or family members don’t know you have an MI, I suggest telling them before you tell anyone else. You don’t want them to all of a sudden see your face on a brochure, in your local newspaper or possible TV and find out that way. You’d much rather have them hear it from you, no matter how hard it may be. You can simply say that you had been having some difficulty and went and sought out some help and you’ve been diagnosed withMI and you have joinedadvocacy group and you’d really like them to support you with this. Sound excited about the advocacy part, let them know how important this is to you. If they cast judgement or ridicule, tell them you are sorry they feel that way and walk away from the conversation. Do not engage in a power struggle or trying to get them to understand. It’s most likely pointless and they will have to come to understand on their own. You could always invite them to a pdoc appointment or therapy session so they can hear it from a different point of view. People are sometimes a bit more willing to accept MI diagnoses if they hear it from a professional.
I wouldn’t suggest marching into work and announcing it with a bullhorn that you have said MI. Honestly, I wouldn’t tell them at all unless you KNOW they are going to be receptive to this kind of information. If they do eventually find out, you do not have to answer any questions you are uncomfortable with and you can always quell their questions with, “My MI has not affected my work so I didn’t feel it was important to discuss here.” That should pacify them for a bit and who knows, they may even be willing to contribute a donation to your cause. It’s good for business and great advertising for them. You may be able to get them to sponsor you for a walk, or they may join the walk themselves. You never know until you try.
The important thing to remember is, we’re trying to stop stigma by advocating and we can’t do that if we aren’t willing to “come out of the closet” about our MI’s and do what’s right. That wall of shame must be broken down in order for us to continue getting proper treatment and care.
It would be nice if we didn’t have to think about that, but the unfortunate fact is….we do. It’s our first responsibility to make sure our illness doesn’t affect our children’s every day lives. When we are constantly saying no to going outside, or we are running our children from activity to activity and then stopping because we are too tired from the depression or too agitated from the mixed episodes, our illness is indeed affecting our children. The truth is, sometimes…..our children’s lives are impacted when we are symptomatic and we must find a way to help them to cope when we can’t cope ourselves.
I think a lot of it depends on how much support you have and who can you turn to in the event that you find yourself in crisis. Just like all parents get the flu, MI parents get sick as well. It would be beneficial to have someone who can either come in and help with the kids or better yet, take the kids until you start feeling better. No child should have to see what their parent’s are going through when they are in the midst of an episode, especially our mixed or depressive times.
Helping children to understand that your illness is not because of them is extremely important. When children can’t see what the illness is, it’s hard for them to comprehend it. When Mommy and Daddy are in the bathroom throwing up, they understand that we are sick and have the flu. If they see Mommy or Daddy crying all day, they may think it’s something they have done to make you upset. Or if you are running around, non-stop, hyperactive and yelling at them for getting in your way, they may feel sad because they were just trying to help you clean up or trying to play in an area you were trying to run around in. They may not understand the sudden changes in you and may attribute a lot of your behavior to their own behaviors. If you are laying on the couch, depressed out of your mind but screaming at them for everything they are doing, they are certainly going to feel guilty for how you keep responding to them.
Keeping yourself in check, keeping yourself grounded is one way to help your children. If you are unable to do that, then it’s time to find some help. I always know what kind of episode I’m headed for if I can keep watch on how I’m treating the kids. If I’m super happy, laughing at their silly antics, playing with them ALL the time, running around keeping the house clean….then I’m headed into a manic episode. If I’m not giving a crap about the messes they make, putting the gate up and keeping us all in the living room together, letting them watch hours on end of TV and sleeping off and on, then I know I’m depressed. If I’m unmotivated, but complaining and yelling, then I’m mixed. The last 2 have dominated most of their lives for the past 17 months or so.
Sometimes getting help from an outside source isn’t possible and you must push your way through on your own. In this situation, don’t feel guilty about laying on the couch and letting the house go. Rest and be gentle with yourself and try to be gentle with your children. You can always tell your kids you don’t feel well, which is the truth. If you are manic, then you must try to keep your children’s welfare as your first line of responsibility. With each action, ground yourself with, is this action going to affect my children. At first, this will be the hardest thing you could do and sometimes you will fall a bit short, that’s okay, forgive yourself and try again. And I didn’t save this for last by accident, before your episodes get too bad, call your pdoc and get him to help you. Also, sometimes just calling the crisis line and having someone to talk to can help you during times like this.
Recovery is what I strive for, but I must first get and remain stable. Once I am….I know recovery will happen. It’s just a matter of getting over that last, little mountain, that seems so monumental at the moment.
Until next time……
Becca ♥
Note: this is an account of my personal experience with the drug. Any side effects mentioned below may never happen to you. Please don’t use my personal experience as the reason for not taking your medication. Always consult your psychiatrist regarding any medication changes.
Solian, otherwise known as Amisulpride, is an atypical antipsychotic largely used for schizophrenia. It is also used, to a lesser extent, for mania and depression. Solian is also interesting because it is not available in the USA, but it is commonly used in Europe and Australia to treat psychiatric conditions.
In Australia, Solian comes in three packaged strengths – 100mg, 200mg and 400mg. It also comes in a 100mg liquid solution. The recommended maximum dose for Solian is 800mg.
My experience with Solian was mixed. On the one hand, it was good for the depression I felt at the time. I felt a marked raise in mood on 400mg.
Unfortunately, Solian was very sedating for me. Even taking it at night didn’t help matters. I would sleep 8 hours, wake up, and promptly fall asleep again within an hour. 200mg and 100mg did the same for me and the sedation was detrimental enough that I came off the drug after over a week.
I think Solian has the potential to be good drug for those with sleep issues and require a boost in mood. However, the sedation was too much for me.
Also – Solian has a terrible taste. I felt my tastebuds curl up and die after taking it.
-Sam A Robryn
Sometimes, it feels as though some non-autistic people automatically judge those on the spectrum according to a superficial interpretation of their abilities.
The autism spectrum is wide-ranging, in the sense that it covers people who are profoundly impaired by autism, to people who would be deemed as “high functioning” – that is, people who are able to live independently, have partners, raise a family, have a career, etc.
Those who are on the lower end of the spectrum, who are deemed “low functioning” [depending on how their abilities and impairments are interpreted] are those whose autism are generally quite evident. Few would argue the concept of the autism label on such people.
However, people who are deemed “high functioning” are sometimes fair game for doubters of their diagnosis.
A cursory search through google.com will find such detractors of people who are deemed “high functioning” because they are able to articulate their experiences and thoughts in a manner that non-autistics can understand. These detractors can be found everywhere, from people whose understanding of autism has been more informed by being exposed to people on the spectrum who are not “high functioning”, to parents of those whom are deemed “low functioning”. There are videos and blogs from said parents who, in essence, attempt to deny the existence of people who are “high functioning”, with statements implying that people who are not as significantly impaired as their child have been misdiagnosed, that those deemed “high functioning” don’t share in the same difficulties, or that the medical community has stretched the definition of autism too far.
However, what these detractors are misunderstanding is how autism can significantly impact on an individual, despite whether they are deemed “high” or “low” functioning. Everyone on the autism spectrum will display the triad of impairment in some way – that is, impairment in communication, social interaction and behaviour. How the triad of impairment expresses itself depends on the individual.
For instance, some individuals who are profoundly impacted by autism may never develop speech, which impacts on their ability to communicate with others. Others are overly verbal, which impacts on their ability to communicate in different ways – it can mean, for instance, that they miss out what others are saying, or others form negative opinions of them because others may interpret that behaviour as self-absorption, rather than as a neurological difference. There are also people with autism who experience an inability to follow and maintain a conversation with others.
While those examples above may initially appear disparate, what links them together is that they significantly impair a person’s ability to communicate meaningfully with others. That may lead to others to interpret a person with autism negatively, from downplaying a person’s cognitive faculties, to not realising what a person with autism needs, or ostracising the person with autism due to misinterpreting a neurological difference as a character flaw.
Similar examples can be found for the other elements of the triad of impairment – social interaction and behaviour. Some people with autism may seem to prefer their own company over others, while some people with autism who are socially motivated can appear as active but odd – that is, they seek the company of others, but inappropriately. Some people with autism have rigid routines. Other people with autism develop fixations on items, or topics of interest, to the point where their self-care is neglected.
Again, while those examples may appear disparate at first, they are linked because of their impact on a person’s life.
Basically, these examples highlight that people on the autism spectrum are, first and foremost, individuals. Just because one person on the spectrum doesn’t superficially fulfill a certain box, doesn’t necessarily mean there are no difficulties in an area. For instance, while I am able to hold a conversation with people, I am also liable to launching into monologues on a topic of interest, to the point where I would hammer away at a topic until someone makes it obvious that they would like to change topic. In the past, this has meant that there are times when I am viewed as rude, or boring, or both.
I also can be caught up in an interest to the point where I can neglect personal hygiene. I can also eschew eating and studying at the expense of learning all I can about a certain interest. This can have a negative impact on my life, because it can mean that I fall behind in classes and therefore not perform as well as I could.
Therefore, I think it is important to consider what actually impairs a person in their everyday life, instead of labeling people as “high” or “low” functioning and making assumptions based on said labels.
