Why Can't I Just Be Still?

     I have noticed that those of us on medicine bounce, fidget, and pace. Why is
it that when all I want to do is rest; I end up pacing, fidgeting, and bouncing?
The reason is, is that there is a brain-timing mechanism that medicine affects.
When I walk, I can't just walk. I end up counting my steps. To avoid counting,
I try to listen to music as I walk.

     But, I am getting ahead of myself. Bouncing, fidgeting, and pacing seems
like I have boundless energy, but I actually am trying to avoid cramping. This
cramping I associate with the phrase- muscle sepsis. The medical field terms
these side-effects as.akathisia .

     What happens is that when you try to relax your muscles, your tendons start
to partially contract or you get mild stomach cramps (and those make you rock).
At this time, there is no alternative treatment that allows you the freedom to
relax, but there are coping skills.

     Some coping skills that I have found helpful is: walking (at least a mile),
putting your heals against chair legs with your toes bent (this is especially
helpful if you find yourself bouncing your legs), a long hot bath (this has a
calming effect and helps you rest when you are going to sleep), going to bed
on a full stomach (this keeps daydreams away at night), then there is reading
in bed (this distracts you and seems to calm restless legs), and finally, staying
awake during the day (so you can be tired enough at night to fall asleep without
restless legs).

     Please look for other Vocabulary ABC's links to explainations of what is
what to the mentally ill and their family.
    
     Surviving Mental Illness from the Inside Out

Why College is Important

   Did you know that the brain is not fully mature until around 25-27? I really wish the age of
a minor in the United States would be raised to at least 21. I hear that some states do have the
age of a minor set at 21, but this needs to be nationally, with another 2 years of school added
to the curriculum. That would mean that junior college would become a mandatory requirement.

   Who would have expected that my assumptions to be right? In a few previous posts I iterate
about raising the age of a minor, so that the child could learn that there is still a chance, before
age 25, to become a schizophrenic or be affected with another mental illness. Bipolar and schizophrenia are not the only mental illnesses out there. There is body dysmorphic disorder,
anorexia, bulimia, OCD, disassociative disorder- to name a few. They say that one
out of five adults have a mental disorder. They also say, that it is closer to one in four.
That's a lot of people.

   Not only should the age of a minor be raised, but families should keep childen home
until you know for sure that they can survive on their own. I would say that 25 is the new
18. Why would you set your child up for failure? Unless they can demonstrate they can
have gainful employment or even finish college with a degree and then look to become
independent if they want to leave sooner, need to be home. Boundaries are key. They
want to be alone, but then again adult children still need parental support and guidance.
Think about it as finishing school. Our children need us.

Young Adult Resources

Vocabulary ABC's

Surviving Mental Illness from the Inside Out

How I Overcame Loneliness

 Being mentally ill causes moments of loneliness that has the 
potential to eclipse all else. Being shunned and abused is a 
common phenomena to the mentally ill. You feel like you are
alone and that society will do everything in its power to make
sure you follow what they want, excluding what you want, what
you want to be in life and that they won't let you get there. You 
are not the same as them. To them you can't handle real life and
what real life really is.

 Society, family, friends... all say just accept your social status.
Accept that you will forever be in a poverty stricken system and 
stay put. To a high-achieving person this is social suicide. Growing
up, you do well in school. You know what you want to be, but now
you can't be that because you are labeled "crazy". You get put on conservatorship, all freedom is taken from you, even your right to
vote and drive. You can't even do normal things by yourself, as if
you lost the ability to do laundry, take showers, clean house. All
of that is supervised. You're not stupid, you know how to do those
things. But, you are faced with every aspect of your life being dictated to you. Telling you when, where, why, and how.

 What if I told you that I was abused? What if I told you that my
family raised me to be mentally ill so they didn't have to accept
the fact that they did nothing to stop it? What if I told you that the
abuse lasted for four and a half years? What if I told you that I am
still being abused? Not the same abuse as when I was ten, but a 
different kind of abuse? The victim of bullying? The victim of 
passive-aggressive treatment? The victim of belittling? The 
victim of social parriahism? The victim of stigma? The victim
of loneliness? 

 Being abused affects every aspect of the social spectrum. It interferes with daily socializing. It interferes with daily conversation (because it might be difficult to communicate). It interferes with normal ambition (no one will hire you). It interferes with intimacy. It interferes with friendships. It interferes with sleep. There are probably more, but I can't think of them yet.

 Loneliness is a side-effect of mental illness. Almost every
patient has had loneliness overcome them. It is an empty life.
Being in a group home has helped me overcome my loneliness.
I am around people every day who have the same experiences that
I have. They have similar symptoms and they don't judge. They
are just there. There for me, if I allow them in. 

 I am not lonely anymore. I used to have my own residence. My 
neighbors abused me, because they knew I was mentally ill and 
that they could get away with it. I was shunned. It was lonely. 
Very lonely to the point that I would cry every day. But, I'm not
lonely now. I live in a shared residence. It helps to be around 
people with the same circumstances, the same symptoms, the same
diagnoses. 

 I have never been in a board and care. It is something that I am 
trying to avoid. Being in a half-way house has given me the
company that was missing when I was living on my own. To tell
the truth, I'm ready to go out on my own again, but it is taking a 
long time to get there. I don't make enough to rent an apartment on
my own. There is affordable housing, but those have wait lists. 
We will wait and see how things go, just because I have no other
choice. 

Vocabulary ABC's in Mental Health 

Surviving mental illness from the inside out 

 I just noticed that my quick links are missing. I will try to 
trouble shoot that. I apologize to my readers.