Mental Health The Mental Health Social vs a place for our voices

[herbavore]

Here is a social thread especially for those that visit this forum. It follows all the same rules as other socials--no drug talk, no triggering posts or photos.

Here is part of an article that I found pretty interesting:

Shamanism & Schizophrenia
What we call schizophrenic is, as Joseph Campbell has discussed, called (positively) visionary or mystical in shamanic cultures, hence is valued, not feared or sedated with chemicals. As he clarifies in the well-known [1988] TV series, "The Power of Myth", 'The shaman is the person, male or female, who . . . has an overwhelming psychological experience that turns him totally inward. It's a kind of schizophrenic crack-up. The whole unconscious opens up, and the shaman falls into it. This shaman experience has been described many, many times. It occurs all the way from Siberia right through the Americas down to Tierra del Fuego.'
Hence working with sufferers of schizophrenia from a shamanic angle can be helpful, since the shaman has in all likelihood experienced similar experiences to those of the schizophrenic. Mainstream reductionist psychiatrists, on the other hand, by and large presume that if an experience (such as chronic depression) is unpleasant, it must be stopped or band-aided, but because an experience is painful or difficult, it doesn't necessarily follow that's it's not valuable, or therapeutically worthwhile as a 'wound which heals'.

 

[China Rider]

happy to see that mental health finally has it's own forum

now if there was only a 'human behavior' forum

 

[herbavore]

Well, they are all human behavior forums, right?

I just read this poem and I thought I would share it:

Demand It Courageously

by Julia Hartwig

Make some room for yourself, human animal.
Even a dog jostles about on his master's lap to
improve his position. And when he needs space he
runs forward, without paying attention to commands
or calls.
If you didn't manage to receive freedom as a gift,
demand it as courageously as bread and meat.
Make some room for yourself, human pride and
dignity.
The Czech writer Hrabal said:
I have as much freedom as I take.

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

That Shamanism & Schizophrenia article was interesting. I had never thought of how the ancient cultures saw those with such metal issues before.

 

[China Rider]

I don't care how happy you are, your 'ceiling' is higher, better yourself!

if you can afford it: there's no excuse not to talk to a mental health professional at least a few times a year - with the help, hopefully you'll finally feel 'complete', mentally

I really need to take my advice, currently I just see my suboxone doctor once a month and we have group sessions where we pretty much just talk about drugs....the doctor has no interest in listening to me on a personal level

I've got pretty good health insurance....am I better off talking to a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist?
there's not really anything specific I want to talk about and currently get my meds from either my general physician or bupe doctor, and refuse experimenting with anti depressants, so not sure if there's a point to see psychiatrist....

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

China, I found this helpful when I was trying to figure out who I should see. This information is US based but gives a good overview of the differences:

What is the Difference Between a Psychiatrist, Psychologist and a Therapist?

Psychiatrists

A psychiatrist is a Medical Doctor (M.D.) who has graduated from a medical school. A psychiatrist’s training focuses on general medicine while in medical school. They will then go on to 3-4 years of residency where they will specialize in psychiatry. While for many years in the past, the psychiatrist normally prescribed medications and also delivered psychotherapy, their roles have changed today. For the most part, psychiatrists now do psychiatric evaluations for the purpose of determining if an individual would be appropriate for treatment with medications. If so determined, the psychiatrist prescribes the medications and then follows the patient for medication management. Medication management includes initially following the patient closely until they are stabilized with the proper dosage ( usually once every 1-2 weeks until stabilization occurs) and then usually once every 1-3 months for maintenance.

Psychologists

A psychologist is a clinician who holds a Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) or a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (Ph.D.). These clinicians have spent at least 5-6 years of graduate work strictly studying psychology, then moving on to complete 1-2 years of internship followed by 1-2 years of supervised clinical work experience before qualifying for the right to sit for the licensing examination. A psychologist does not prescribe medication. Instead, they provide psychotherapy through their in-depth knowledge of psychological theory, therapy, research and diagnostic testing. Psychologists also specialize in psychological testing and are the only group of clinicians trained to do so. Psychological testing require years of training that involves not only how to give the tests, but also how to score and integrate the test information with clinical interviews, background information, knowledge of personality theory, human development and research.

The title “psychologist” can only be used by someone who has completed the above training and has then passed both national and state licensing examinations. Informally, a psychologist may be referred to as a “therapist,” “counselor,” or “clinician.” However, these are more general terms that can be used by other mental health professionals who are not formally trained and licensed psychololgists.

Social Workers

Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW’s) hold Masters degrees. Their training consists of typically 2 years of graduate school and 1-2 years of internship. LCSW’s assess, diagnose, intervene and treat individuals, families and groups with psychosocial problems. They will frequently partner with a psychiatrist if they feel medication should be part of the treatment protocol.

Mental Health Counselors

Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC’s) hold Masters degrees in counseling. They have completed 2 years of graduate training and 1-2 years of work experience under supervision. LMHC’s provide counseling to individuals, families and groups. They, too, will partner with a psychiatrist if they feel medications might be included in the treatment protocol.

 

[herbavore]

yeah, I would skip the psychiatrist and go for a psychologist or a therapist. Research different kinds of therapy (there are so many!) and if one sounds particularly promising, then look for a therapist or psychologist that subscribes to that method.

 

[China Rider]

thanks for the info

I already know many effective therapeutic activities

to me a therapeutic activity is when my mind completely escapes reality and is focused on something healthy for a lengthy period of time

i'm sort of hoping to talk to someone who can tell me something that will turn on the light in my head and literally change my life...a therapist?

 

[herbavore]

^for me the most transformational (life changing) has come from reading and not from a therapist. I have just started seeing a therapist for a limited time (due to finances--no insurance coverage) and I was very specific with him about what I wanted to work on. I'm hopeful.

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

I found that talking to a therapist helped me realize things, nothing life changing, but enough for me to realize why I behave in certain ways.

After taking the RDOS Aspie quiz that neversickanymore posted in another thread I'm starting to wonder. I never thought that I had any Aspergers traits (although i am friends with a number of Aspies) but reading through that quiz I realize how much it does apply to me. Should I bring it up with my doctor/psych and go through an evaluation? Or should I just continue to live as I always have and not address it at all?

I know that if it's never been a problem in the past I shouldn't worry too much, but it'd explain a lot of my behavioural mannerisms.

 

[China Rider]

when I finally get around to going, i'm definitely coming prepared with a list of things I want to talk about

it's not a lecture, can't just show up and have information spoon-fed to me

in regards to this forum, i'm curious to why self harm threads are in here and not the dark side

I realize i'm just a regular BL'er, but I envisioned this forum as a place to discuss mental health, not to read about people in life threatening crisis...personally i'm very uncomfortable reading that kind of stuff(even reading just the thread's subject) and explains why I never posted in the dark side

again, not complaining or requesting any change, just curious

 

[FnX]

Been feeling in a really dark place for a few days, trying to float on top of the water but feels like I'm drowning so to speak. I don't know, my mind is just blank, I sit there and just stare, unable to concentrate on anything or go to the kitchen to do something but soon find myself just standing there not having a clue why I'm there. It's like, so many little changes in the past week or so, people visiting for a few days leading to the dog to change his behavior and stuff, which usually means increased barking and always have to do something about that to respect our neighbors. Then everything just starts feeling chaotic and I cram into my little shell with complete social withdrawal as a self-mechanism, unable to do anything, eat properly, sleep properly... except during few moments of 'pulling myself together' every now and then which exhausts me tremendously.

I wish I could say it's just the ebb & flow of my life, but figuratively speaking sometimes it feels like it's generally leaning more and more towards the ebb side of things while the flow just isn't what it used to be and part of me fears it never will. Feels like I constantly have to put more and more effort in things over the years, but it could be that my memory is a bit selective when looking back at past and thus my memories of how everything used to be are sort of distorted.

Oh man, seasonal depression... just wouldn't want to deal with this right now at all, and why does it have to be spring of all the seasons? Works every time like a clock-work too. I guess summer would be worse though.

Re-distributed: Maybe you should just present yourself as yourself sort of? Without necessarily bringing it up at all, unless you feel it's kind of not getting addressed, but it should come naturally to the psychologist if the traits are obviously showing in your behavior. I remember when I had my psych evaluation quite a few years ago, I hadn't even heard of Asperger's and when the psychologist told me she saw me as one right off the bat I was quite surprised, later on I was thinking that if I knew about it and brought it up by myself, I would never know her true opinion without me tainting it by bringing it up. Later I think I took a similar test on the internet like those and, well I suppose the traits fit then seeing I scored something like 146 of 200 for aspie and under 50 of 200 for neurotypical, I can't remember the exact numbers anymore, I think I'll take it again to see if I've changed since I can't bloody sleep anyway.

Got me thinking about personality tests in general, anyone else done the Myers-Briggs Type indicator (MBTI)? I personally found it to be rather accurate, consistently giving me the same result (INFP) ever since ages ago I started taking the test in various places online when I was 14 years old. Felt like I learned something about myself and don't we all want to learn more about ourselves? Okay I admit I'm just curious as to what kind of results other people around here get . Think we could have a thread dedicated for it too if enough people are in to it, seems to me that many have their own types of personality tests they seem to prefer.

EDIT: Might as well provide an actual link to the test, seems like it's become some kind of commercial hit so it can be hard to find a decent free test http://psychology-tools.com/myers-briggs-type-indicator/ and remember as it says, try to answer the questions the way you are, not the way you would like to be seen as others.

 

[ParappaTheRapper]

!Peace and Love!

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

I'm getting reminded more and more recently, how removed I am from any kind of time semblance. I have no sense of what day it is usually and I just realized I have a calender on my wall (right in front of my face when I walk in the door) that I managed to forget about. Looking at it now it's still on December. I've managed to forget about this for 5 months, and it's not like I hadn't been using it as I have written on it up to March (it's a 2012-2013 calender). If it's not mentioned at least once a day I'll easily forget what month it is. I miss a lot of appointments and forget I've organized to do things with people until they remind me.

FnX - I've been to my psych once before but that was mainly to get my anxiety properly diagnosed and me put back on medication for it. So I haven't had a proper session with her yet. I might just do as you suggested and present myself as I am without mentioning anything and see what she has to say.

 

[herbavore]

FnX, I'm sorry that you are having to go through that. I have these two short poems that I carry in my purse and I have no idea whether or not you will get anything out of them, but here they are:

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry


and,

Late Prayer

Tenderness does not choose its own uses.
It goes out to everything equally,
circling rabbit and hawk.
Look: in the iron bucket,
a single nail, a single ruby -
all the heavens and hells.
They rattle in the heart and make one sound.


~ Jane Hirshfield
from The Lives of the Heart


I hope for everyone here today, peace and acceptance, gratitude and feeling.

 

[FnX]

Herby: I really like the first one, it gave me a sense of calmness and made me remember not to burden myself with so much worry, which can be at times like these a hard thing to remember. For some reason the humanity seems to shun our natural, inner wildness. It seems to me that it is often something many of us try to eradicate from ourselves in the name of 'civilization', forgetting in the process what it truly means to be free...

Somehow, the latter made me think of William Blake's Auguries of Innocence.

It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

 

[spork]

Got me thinking about personality tests in general, anyone else done the Myers-Briggs Type indicator (MBTI)? I personally found it to be rather accurate, consistently giving me the same result (INFP) ever since ages ago I started taking the test in various places online when I was 14 years old. Felt like I learned something about myself and don't we all want to learn more about ourselves? Okay I admit I'm just curious as to what kind of results other people around here get . Think we could have a thread dedicated for it too if enough people are in to it, seems to me that many have their own types of personality tests they seem to prefer.

EDIT: Might as well provide an actual link to the test, seems like it's become some kind of commercial hit so it can be hard to find a decent free test http://psychology-tools.com/myers-briggs-type-indicator/ and remember as it says, try to answer the questions the way you are, not the way you would like to be seen as others.

I'm an INFP as well and find it interesting how I've taken the test numerous times throughout various times in my life and it always comes up the same. It's interesting stuff for sure. INFPs unite!!

 

[mrflowers00]

the voices i hear tell me to steal and kill people and myself

 

[herbavore]

Do you think that those voices could be saying that you have much to feel angry about and that your anger wants your true attention?

 

[mrflowers00]

idk