Category: General

Last weekend my family and I participated in a 5K walk/jog/run for suicide prevention.  This event has been held for several years, and as part of the event they do a suicide remembrance ceremony the night before the 5K.  While we have not been able to make it every year since my dad died, we try to go when we can.

Although not the same type of event, the 5K was similar to the Out of the Darkness Walks held by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, or AFSP.  I might have mentioned them before, however I don’t talk about them as much as I do NAMI.  You can visit AFSP’s website here: https://afsp.org/  Honestly, I do not know a lot about them, but I know they do walks like the one I already mentioned.  And, since an unfortunate outcome of depression can be suicide, I understand and support the work that AFSP does.

Unlike some of the walks, I mentioned that the one I just went to had a remembrance ceremony, and that has been powerful for me.  To see and hear the names and faces of other suicide victims is heartbreaking, but sharing that grief with others is impactful.  For people who are touched by depression and suicide, you are not alone, and hopefully a lot of us can find some comfort in that.

Doing events like these can be a powerful way to show your support and help eliminate the stigma of suicide.  5Ks are social events and naturally involve people talking about suicide and how to create solutions to this terrible outcome.  It is one of many ways for anyone to get involved in the hope to end all suicides.

So, are you up for a walk?  Or a jog?  Or a run?  If so, consider looking into events such as the Out of the Darkness Walks, where you can get some exercise and support a good cause.

As you may suspect, sometimes being an advocate for something means you might get involved in a heated discussion or controversy.  While I don’t want to get into the specifics on here, it is sufficient to note that it is starting to happen in my corner of the world in a particular situation.  The details don’t matter.  What matters here is how we perceive ourselves and our world, and that is what I want to touch on today.

Now, I write this knowing full well that I am just as guilty of these things, but I want to call them out as a reminder to everyone.  I think we all know better, but we also need to work on doing better.  This has come up several times over the last few weeks, and it is so important for all of us to know.  When it comes to mental illness, we are all in this together.  No one is immune from being touched by mental illness.  It may not affect you today, but it could at any time.  People with mental illness are not a fringe or “out” group.  They are all of us.  In fact, I suspect we all know a lot of people that may have mental illness and we don’t even know it.

We have to start treating mental illness as a part of all of our lives.  We can’t say we want to help people but then fight to make sure they are taken care of somewhere away from where we live.  Mentally ill people are a part of us, and they should be able to live and recover around all of us too.  We are all human – it doesn’t matter what disorder or disease or symptoms you have – you are with us, and it affects all of us.  We can’t hide it away like it is something separate from our society.

My hope is that we agree we are all in this together.

Since my last entry I was at a board retreat.  There was a lot of discussion and learning that took place, but there are several key items that really stood out for me during that day.  Today, I would like to talk about one of them.

As we all know, there is stigma associated with depression and mental illness.  What is one way to help eliminate stigma?  Talk about it, of course.  But what I heard the other day was a great reminder of a powerful way to talk about mental illness, and I think it is worth repeating here.

Basically, the key is that talking about what is going wrong and what needs to be changed surrounding depression and mental illness is not enough.  If we are going to talk about the problems, we also need to talk about the solutions.  We realize we have issues, but what are we going to do about it?  What are some suggestions or ideas?  How can we make it better?

Another piece of this is to talk about depression and mental illness as something that can lead to positive outcomes.  We know that people with mental illness can live in recovery and lead lives full of quality and meaning, but I think a lot of people don’t realize this.  People need to understand that the solutions we propose can lead to hope and recovery, and that there are positives that can come from the negatives.

These are key concepts to remember when speaking about mental illness.  This is even more important when we think that some of us are speaking for those who are unable to.  We need to name the problems, propose solutions, and spread a message of hope.  Of course this is all easier said than done, but it can go a long way in getting our voices heard.

In my last entry, I mentioned a book I had just finished that talked about using psychedelics for depression.  While there were many great ideas and theories brought out in the book, I want to touch on one in particular: the idea of a unified theory of mental illness.

In a nutshell, a unified theory of mental illness basically states that all mental illness is connected.  Each diagnosis does not stand alone, but is rather part of a spectrum or continuum of illness.  Of course, there are likely several ideas out there to help explain why people think all mental illness is connected, but the overall idea is worth pondering.  Are all mental illnesses truly connected?

If I look back on my dad’s experience, this idea makes a lot of sense to me.  As I have noted before, my dad had a clinical diagnosis of depression.  However, I know for sure there was a lot of anxiety that came with the depression.  Also, my dad described times where he heard voices and would share what they were saying, so it seems that there may have been some psychosis and/or schizophrenic symptoms occurring.  Looking back on it, I think I have subconsciously known for a long time that all of this was connected.

What do you think about a unified theory of mental illness?  Do you think it is all connected?  If this is a new concept for you, how does it make you feel?  Does it help to possibly explain what you might be experiencing?  For me, I am looking forward to seeing what else comes from this theory.  Will it help to finally explain the causes of mental illness with more certainty?  Will it help lead to better and more effective treatment options?  I am very excited to see where an idea like this will go.

Today, I want to tell you about a book I just finished.  Typically, I like to actually read books, but lately I have been getting into audiobooks because I can finish books faster through this method.  Not that fast is good, but I can’t get enough of reading and always want more, so this allows me to cover more territory.

The book that I listened to is called “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence”, and it was written by Michael Pollan.  The depression part of the title caught my attention at first, but overall all it ended up being a broad look at the history, neuroscience, and hope that psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin may bring to mental illnesses such as depression.

Even as a pharmacist, I was vaguely aware of these drugs, and I have always assumed they were “bad” and illegal.  However, after hearing this book, I understand that there is a lot more to the story of psychedelics.  In fact, there is research going on today that suggests these drugs might be helpful for some of the topics mentioned in the title.  There is still a long way to go, but psychedelics have shown some promise, and may be another treatment option for depression in the future.

What do you think about this information?  Is it possible these drugs may be helpful?  Does it seem too “out there” in terms of a treatment option?  Would you consider using psychedelics such as LSD if you have depression and research indicates that it may help?  To me, this was an eye opening book, and I encourage people to at least consider taking a look at it.  It may seem ahead of its time right now, but it also might end up being an important tool for treating depression.

Several entries ago I discussed setting up and taking a class called Mental Health First Aid.  Today, I got to take the class, and it was a good learning experience.  The training was about 8 hours long and really targeted what you can say or do when someone is starting to become mentally ill or if there is a mental health crisis situation.  As you can imagine, there was a lot to cover.

As part of the class, there is a 100 plus page booklet that you get to keep, and I am excited to have it as a reference.  On the flip side, that amount of information plus 8 hours of class can be overwhelming, but I am glad to have the information available if and when I would need it.  Also, there is a basic approach presented, so overall just having the simple framework will help you in a lot of situations.  And ultimately, if you are facing a mental health situation, it is good to have an easy, simple framework to help you guide your actions and words.

On the whole, I am always impressed at how I can learn so much from all of these classes.  Sometimes I think I know a lot about mental illness, especially depression, and that one more class won’t add a lot to my knowledge base.  But, I am proven wrong every time.  I should know better by now, and I love to learn anyway.  However, today was another example that the more you learn about mental illness and depression the more you can empower yourself to help others.  That in turn can create a domino effect that helps to reduce stigma, spread understanding, and help us all take care of each other.  Education is indeed a powerful thing, and that is no different when it comes to depression and mental illness.

As we can assume, depression can have a huge effect on those who work for a living.  There are statistics out there that can talk about lost productivity in the workplace, but there are not necessarily numbers on the emotional toll that accumulates when someone has depression.  Some people will end up not being able to work at all, which was the case for my dad.  Some people might be able to work part time, if that is even an option.  Still, others might be able to work but may have issues, including feeling like they have to work even if they don’t feel like it.

Since I have not personally experienced depression I cannot comment on how it feels to live through a depression while working.  My assumption is that it is very, very hard.  It may be hard to concentrate, and performance may suffer.  It may also be hard to interact with others.  Is there anything that can be done at work to help the situation?  Here are some potential ideas I have that may help.

Have you told your boss and/or co-workers about your depression?  This may be hard to do, but may be an option.  If people understand that you have an illness, that may help with your day to day working experience.  Also, many employers have employee assistance programs (some may use a different term), to help employees with a wide variety of concerns.  It may be worth checking to see if your company has such a program.  You could start by contacting your boss and/or human resources department, if you have one.

Overall, you may be surprised by the resources that are available to you as an employee with depression.  I encourage you to at least research what some options might be to help make your working experience a little more manageable.

As I write this post, we are starting the month of May.  In the United States, there are months and days for everything it seems, and one of the designations for May is Mental Health Month.  This has been happening for many years, and green is the color that has been chosen to go along with it.  As you can imagine, May will be a month in which there will be a lot of attention drawn to mental health, and people may see more ad campaigns and commercials on it.  Although I willingly signed up for the email lists, my inbox was flooded today from a variety of mental health organizations calling the month to my attention.

Sometimes I wonder why we need to call out issues with a special day or month.  After all, shouldn’t we be working on these things every day?  But, I understand it.  Of course, we are working on issues every day.  However, when we think particularly about May being Mental Health Month, it creates an extra layer of attention and effort towards the cause.  Simply bringing up the fact that “May is Mental Health Month” could be the beginning of many insightful conversations.  Ad campaigns and commercials may just be the inspiration that someone needs to seek help.  There are also probably many other ways that a heightened awareness can help people, and that is important.

If you are struggling with depression, maybe hearing about Mental Health Month will give you more hope than you currently have.  Maybe it will help you see that people really do care, not just in May, but every day of the year.  Were you aware of Mental Health Month before reading this post?  Regardless, are you interested in learning more?  I hope that the fact that Mental Health Month has become a major part of the calendar gives everyone some comfort that progress is being made.

Although we are making progress, we still live in a world where there is a lot of stigma associated with depression and/or other types of mental illness.  Stigma can create a lot of shame for people who are suffering from depression and can keep them from getting the help they need.  Stigma can also ultimately reduce quality of life and may lead to premature death.  For the most part, I think that a lot of us understand the major aspects of stigma.  But what about the more subtle forms of it?

As an example that I have shared with many people, several years ago I was at a Motley Crue concert with my husband.  Alice Cooper was the opening act, a guy I consider to be a big “shock rocker” of the 1970s.  His set was going fine until he came onto the stage wearing a straightjacket, and he was trying to fight his way out of it.  People seemed to be entertained by it, but I was physically repelled.  A straightjacket?  This was not funny to me at all.  However, it occurred to me that even 10 or 20 years ago I wouldn’t have thought much about it.  Here was a more subtle form of a stereotype that was being perpetuated at a rock concert.

Some other examples come to mind.  Ever been to a haunted house that was portrayed as an “insane asylum”?  Ever used expressions such as “that’s crazy”, “that’s insane”, or “you’re crazy”?  Whether we realize it or not, there are subtle ways that the stigma of mental illness is still perpetuated.

Now, I’m not here to become the “stigma police” and shame people for these activities.  However, I want people to at least realize what these examples and others can mean.  Does it continue the idea that mental illness is scary and something to be feared?  Does it create more of a burden on people who want to seek help but are worried about how they will be seen?  Again, my ask here is to at least think about the subtle ways in which stigma is still alive and well in our society.  After all, recognition is usually the first step in solving an issue.

A few posts ago I wrote about tapering antidepressants.  Right after I wrote this, there was a very good article in the New York Times on April 7, 2018, about withdrawing from antidepressant medications.  The article is entitled “Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit” by Benedict Carey and Robert Gebeloff.  As the title suggests, the article highlights people who have had issues with stopping antidepressants.  In fact, some people have had such trouble with stopping the medications that they have chosen to remain on them instead of dealing with the withdrawal symptoms.  What really struck me was that the term “discontinuation syndrome” was used.  Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying withdrawal?

Regardless of what you call it, there are many people who struggle with stopping antidepressants, even if the drug may not really be giving much of a benefit to the individual.  There is some research being done on tapering protocols, but the article also mentions that many people have taken tapering into their own hands and have tried to make it work for them without any help from a medical professional.  Of course, drug companies don’t necessarily have any strong desire to work on protocols to help people safely stop the medications they are selling.

I think this article is yet another call to think about what works for you as an individual, assuming you are taking antidepressants.  Can you stop an antidepressant without any issues?  Would you prefer to try a taper instead?  Perhaps the taper may take months or even over a year to complete – is that alright with you?  What side effects are you willing to accept and how long are you willing to accept them?  This article is further proof that antidepressants may not necessarily be the wonder drugs many people think they are.