Archive for the ‘Bipolar’ Category
Sunday, September 14th, 2008
by DavidIt's hard when you don't feel like doing anything to fill up a day's hours with things to do. It's hard trying to sleep when you can't, or trying to go walking when your self esteem is so low that you feel very self conscious around people. Sometimes you feel so self conscious that any traffic makes walking a real burden. It makes you want to stay home where you feel safe.
Depression can take your breath away as well as your friends and your self. It can isolate you from loved ones when they don't understand at times that you don't feel like being around anyone, including them. That is the most heart breaking thing when you have children and you can't be your best for them....... missing out on things or events that are so special to them.
You try to show your children that you love them. You hope they understand or will someday understand that depression is a disability just as sure as if you were in a wheel chair for life. Depression is a prison at times, keeping you from being out in the world enjoying things other people are enjoying. At times I cry. Sometimes I hide my head under the covers. There's no escape and sometimes no relief. Deep inside I know life is beautiful. I have two daughters.
Posted in Bipolar, Children, Disability, Mental Health, depression, prison, self esteem | Comments Off
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
by Susan
My husband and I spent four days at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital with his mother who is 94 years of age. She is out of the hospital now and will be returning to the hospital soon for a procedure on her back. The many hours we spent in the ICU and adjoining waiting room were very similar to times when I was there for my own mother and for one of my sisters.
Needless to say, I believe the events of the past week have triggered some depressive feelings for me. My mother passed away in 1999. She was in the hospital for 10 days as a result of a fall due to the unsteadiness she suffered with Alzheimer's Disease. All of my sisters, as well as my brother visited and spent time together. We all rallied together again a few years later when one of my sisters spent 10 days in the ICU on life support.
I believe significant events such as loss of a loved one and life threatening illness of a loved one can trigger depression. I also believe similar events can re-trigger those same feelings of depression, fear and anxiety.
There are so many events in our lives that are possible triggers of depression. Job loss, financial problems, arguments with loved ones, death, illness and many many more. Some of us may be depressed due to genetics and chemical imbalance but these triggering events increase our levels of depression, sometimes to the point of immobilizing us for a short period of time. If you find yourself unable to function somewhat normally for you, get professional help as well as help from family members.
Here is an interesting site that lists many of the triggers of depression
"Causes of Depression: Possible Triggers of Depression?"
Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, Family, His and Hers, Relationships, Triggers, depression, ozzieblackcat | Comments Off
Thursday, August 21st, 2008
by Susan
There's an old song titled, "You've Gotta Have Heart" but I've often heard the word
Hope substituted for heart including in the title of an old episode of
The Golden Girls. In my opinion ya gotta have both....but hope is what I want to talk about in this article.
Those of us with depression often feel hopeless but we can learn to have hope through cognitive behavior therapy. We can learn to set goals and make plans to achieve those goals thus giving us hope....hope for a better life. With hope we can begin to overcome our depression. I believe that hopeful people who encourage us to have hope, are exactly the kind of people we need in our lives.
Let's say we have a goal and a plan. Now we need the motivation to execute that plan. In my opinion, mustering up the motivation is the hard part but we can do it with the help of those who offer us encouragement. Sometimes that can be a professional, a family member or friends. I'd like to say that my brother, David, has given me a lot of the encouragement I needed to carry out my goals with this blog.
There's an interesting article in the Ohio State University Research News on
"Hope Therapy". Check it out to learn more about this very interesting idea for controlling the monster.......depression.
Visit:
Ozzie Reviews Avon
Posted in Bipolar, His and Hers, Hope, Mental Health, Relationships, depression, ozzieblackcat | Comments Off
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
by Susan
I've found more helpful resources for those who suffer from depression and those who are bipolar. First I'll tell you what I've found for those who are bipolar.
There is a fairly new site called
Bipolar Beat. The blog is authored by Candida Fink, M.D. and Joe Kraynak. At Bipolar Beat you can learn more about Bipolar, ask a question of Dr. Fink or Joe Kraynak, or take a Bipolar Quiz. They also authored the book
Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. Depression for Dummies looks like a good read by By Laura L. Smith, PhD, Charles H. Elliott, PhD. I haven't yet read these Dummies books but can highly recommend many of the other Dummies books on the market. I like the simplicity as well as the humor that is injected into the Dummies books.
Give these resources a try if you feel you need a little help. You might also want to send them to a friend who could benefit from the blog or the Dummies books.
Posted in Bipolar, Bipolar Beat, His and Hers, Mental Health, depression, dummies books, ozzieblackcat | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
Someone asked me recently, "what do you get from blogging and how has it helped you?" I had to give that one a lot of thought before arriving at my answer. I had to evaluate my reasons for blogging about depression first. There are a lot of reasons why I blog. One very important reasons goes back to the years of professional help I received from my Psychologist. He suggested writing as a form of expression in an effort to understand and express my feelings. For quite some time I wrote poetry or letters and then I graduated to the Internet and blogging.
Another reason I blog about my mental health, namely depression, is to let my readers know they aren't alone. I'm very aware of how so very many people suffer from depression, anxiety and relationship problems. I always found it helpful to know I wasn't the only one and I'm betting you feel the same way. Somehow, having this knowledge helps us all to stop feeling like an oddity of some kind.
My final answer to the question, "what do you get from blogging and how has it helped you?" is this: I get empathy and encouragement from my readers through their comments on the blog and their other contacts with me either by email, in person or at various websites that I visit on a regular basis. Empathy, or understanding of what another is feeling, is an important thing for all of us to receive. Encouragement is sometimes vital to a persons survival and recovery of an acute episode of depression or anxiety. I appreciate immensely how you have all helped me and my brother with your support.
I had to add this statement to my answer "what do you get from blogging and how has it helped you?". In addition to getting something from blogging at
"His and Hers", David and I hope we are also giving something to you, our readers. We hope we are helping you in some small way to realize you are not alone in your battle with being Bipolar and you are not alone in your struggle against depression.
Please visit:
my homepage at
http://ozzieblackcat.com My blackcat, Ozzie
Posted in Bipolar, Blogging, His and Hers, Mental Health, Professional Help, Relationships, depression, ozzieblackcat | Comments Off
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
May is Mental Health Month. This is a time for us to work harder at attempting to raise awareness about mental health issues.
According to the Mental Health Association, 95% of us talk to someone about important decisions in our lives. I would imagine this would include family members, other relatives, friends and professionals. It sounds like many of us are getting support and have friends.
I happened upon an article written by Dr. John Grohol which addresses the findings of the Mental Health Association. You can find it in the
PsychCentral Newsletter. I think it is interesting. In the article there is a link to the survey and findings of the Mental Health Association. It's really worth reading.
I hope our blog readers have people in their lives who are supportive and lend an ear when you need it. David and I have found that having each others' support, makes a huge difference in our ability to keep on going when things are tough.
Happy Mental Health Month to everyone!
Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, Family, Mental Health, Relationships, depression, stress | Comments Off
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
It is sometimes easy to feel all alone when I am depressed. My kids don't really understand and you can't mention depression around strangers. I mean, it is taboo! I get very strange looks if I am asked why I am on disability. People can be very ignorant about disability due to mental health problems.
In addition to my caseworker and my doctor, I have my sister, Susan, who helps me very much. We talk on the phone and we go out to eat. I think everyone needs someone like her to talk to.....someone who understands what depression is like. If you don't have someone, get someone.
You can't depend on changing someone's mind about depression. If someone says things to you such as, "I make myself do a lot of things I don't want to do", they probably don't understand depression. This is someone you can't talk to because they will argue with you and you'll end up feeling worse.
If your spouse argues with you then you both need help together. If you don't get that help, you don't need that person around because it will be too hard to pat yourself on the back for your accomplishments when faced with their negativity. Sometimes our only accomplishment may be simply washing the dishes. Don't let someone else be negative about that.
Please find someone to talk to. Each of us needs all the help we can get.
Avon Website Posted in Bipolar, Mental Health, Professional Help, Relationships, depression | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
What do you do when the negative feelings overwhelm the positive ones? I don't know. It's hard, very hard to do even the simplest things, especially when you think of reasons not to do these things all the while that you're trying to accomplish them.
I often want to walk or ride my bike to Walmart and then to K-Mart and then who knows where. Well many times, if I make it to Walmart then when I come out of the store it feels like my little bit of mental energy has been drained. I think to myself, how did I ever get this far?
I feel like just sitting down on the sidewalk and not going any further but I know I have to go home. It's such a job getting back home. I'm beginning to learn not to venture out so far from where I live. When things start getting to this point, I know it's time to get emotional and professional help, which is what I have done since starting this article several days ago.
I get great emotional help from my sister, my caseworker and my doctor. My doctor increased my prescription medication which hasn't changed anything yet. However, I don't feel so alone, mostly because of my sister, Susan. She is always there for me and much more a friend than a sister......very special.
When I am overwhelmed with depression, it can make all the difference in the world just knowing that someone understands.
Posted in Bipolar, Mental Health, Relationships, depression, fatigue, prescription medication | Comments Off
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
We are all as fair minded as we are going to be, at least for the time being anyway. We may bend a little from time to time depending on different circumstances. I feel a person needs to realize this ahead of time, so as not to be manipulated by others. Know who you are ahead of time!
Some people will try to make you feel guilty in an effort to get more out of you. They will attempt to get you to bend a lot more than you otherwise would. That is when some important clichés should come into effect such as “Stick to your guns†and “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything.†Know ahead of time who you are.
There are abused women all over the country who don’t know who they are. They are made to feel guilty and through the guise of her man, he gets what he wants, whether it be sex or worship or both, usually both. These women lack the confidence to know who they are ahead of time.
We all know ahead of time there are certain things we won’t do such as going around taking our clothes off in public, robbing stores or shooting people. These may be extreme examples, but they are examples that most of us can give a clear yes or no answer to as far as whether we would do them or not. Well, I believe we can condition ourselves and change our lives by extending that principle to all aspects of our everyday living.
Will we allow people to manipulate us? Yes or no? If we are so lonely that we put up with that kind of behavior from people, then maybe there is no hope. Did you like seeing the words, no hope? I sure didn’t. I don’t even know you and I wouldn’t wish that on you or anyone!
If you were in Missouri and you were going to drive to California, you shouldn't end up in Maine. You would want to follow a road map which is what I think we all need in our everyday lives, along with the most important words, yes or no.....not maybe!
Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, Health, Mental Health, Responsibility, depression, life | Comments Off
Friday, March 7th, 2008
His & Hers - A Blog About Depression
Peopleized by:
merkal2005 - Friday, 07 March 2008
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His & Hers - Read an excellent blog about depression |
merkal2005: Hi Susan, please tell us about yourselfozzieblackcat: I am a retired senior citizen who likes to blog. I've been married for 41 years and have four children and two grandchildren. I sell Avon products part time to ensure that I get out and connect with my friends and neighbors and don't spend all of my time on the computer. I enjoy my family, my black cat...Ozzie, gardening, movies, walking and working on the computer.
merkal2005: How did you decide to keep a blog about depression? What was your main motive?ozzieblackcat: I grew up in a family of nine and depression in varying degrees affected each and every one of us. I only have one brother, David, who is bipolar. He has made so many improvements in the past several years that I started my blog about depression as a way for he and I to express our feelings and continue to grow and improve our lives.
merkal2005: How is your blog going ? Do you get positive reaction from your readers?ozzieblackcat: Yes, I do get positive reaction from my blog readers. In fact, my motives have evolved into attempting to help others by sharing the daily struggles and successes of living with depression. Readers frequently let me know that it does help them to know they aren't the only ones who feel depressed in similar situations. My brother and I have both received a lot of encouragement from readers too.
merkal2005: How do you describe wisdom?ozzieblackcat: I believe wisdom is a bit of intelligence mixed with good common sense, then, simmered for a while until you've reached the level of understanding required for each situation you must deal with.
merkal2005: As a "senior citizen" do you have suggestions to young bloggers to help them live a better life?ozzieblackcat: Yes, my suggestion is to make your blog reflect something that is important to you in your life. I wouldn't make blogging your "life". Be sure to get out there and live.
Posted in Bipolar, Blogging, Mental Health, Relationships, depression, merkal2005, peopleized.com | Comments Off