Journey Beyond Survival

Oh My Blog Award Sugar Award Creative Writer Happy 101 Honest Scrap Beautiful Blogger Sunshine Award Funky 5 Meme!!!

gender, specialty,  diagnosis, talk, insurance, cost Mental health can be scary.  I know that I want it to fade into the background and go away.  Reading this, I know that it is easy for everyone else to think that it is priority 1 for me to take care of my mental health.  I even know this.  It does not  make  it so to  know  it is so.  Take your concerns to specialized professionals.  I'll help break it down into manageable bits for the traumatized mind. First off, I gather what I want and need for this person to do.  Sometimes I find it needs to actually be two people.  Psychiatrists (prescription pad) cost a lot.  Many of them do not do talk therapy.  They are good for diagnosis as well as tweaking medications.  Doctors can handle a lot of meds. I would not use a General Practitioner for diagnosis of a mental health issue, nor for initial prescription.  It is easier, and it is available.  H...

regression I BEFORE pulled up to stand walked with walker turned while walking with walker fed herself with both hands pincer grasp both hands ate dirt ate hair ate sand like it was sugar ate all table foods 15 words spoken 15-20 sign language words crawl up and down 20 stairs AFTER no fine motor skills in hands compulsive movements with hands (touch hair slap downward) 2 sign language word adaptations all liquids thickened to 'nectar' consistency all solids ground to stage three baby food consistency crawl two stairs up not down at all walked with two hands held cruised along furniture 4 oz maximum tummy capacity feeding 9 times a day 1 1/2 hours apart while awake regression II BEFORE crawled thirty feet walked to fatigue two hands held loved whole milk 1/4 tsp laxative in her nectar thick liquids had thunder thighs cruised furniture in both directions with incentive (insert evil Jillian laugh) ate from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup ground up table foo...

Postpartum Psychosis after 7 months of intensive breastfeeding with Chickadee who had-unbeknownst to me-pervasive low tone and an unproductive suck. I talked with 5-10 people about something possibly being wrong with Chickadee, but no one believed me. Who wants to be right about that anyway? Bipolar NOS was my diagnosis upon leaving the psychiatric hospital on April 1, 2008. Yes, that's right. April Fool's Day. The allusion was painful. A close relative-as I've talked about-has bipolar I and has also experienced psychosis. My identity will always be guarded for their sake as well as the others in my family that confide their difficulties in me. Rett Syndrome became a part of our family on July 28th, 2009. Many, many, many tests and doctors preceded that. My daughter Chickadee had many horrifying things happen to her.

I also emailed a guest poster on Peanut Gallery Speaks and bugged her about how to find a professional. She was nice enough to write back and also said I could quote her here: "If you want therapy -- someone to talk out problems with -- you probably don't want a psychiatrist (a medical doctor with speciality in psychiatric issues) because they are really, really expensive. Many don't even do therapy. However, if you just need medication, a psychiatrist is what you need. A couple ways to find someone is to go to your regular doctor, your GP, and ask who he or she would recommend. You can also call your insurance and ask who they will cover. This will give you some leads. If you already have medication and you're happy with it, you can ask your GP to contiue prescribing it. However, if you want to tweak things a bit (try something new, change dosage) I would not recommend the GP as they have less experience with those specific mediations. As for therapy, again I'd...

self guided,  referral,  written prescription There are several ways to get an appointment with your selected professional.  The first is google.  I have never ever had any luck with google, or any online internet search engine in finding a mental health professional.  My best bet is locals I trust.  Try your clergy, or call social services.  Most hospitals have a list as well because they are constantly dealing with mentally ill in the ER.  This is my favorite place to  abuse   enlist the help of my General Practitioner.  They have a list too. Here is where it can be difficult.  Write down a script to reference.  Pretend you are a professional if it helps.  Don't expect to get everything solved with one phone call.  If ever you feel like yelling, exploding, throwing the phone or other understandable reactions put the phone down.  Talk to the "ones that got yo back" and take a break. Next would be ge...

Therapist , Social Worker,  Psychologist If the concerns are that you need help working problems out, consider a therapist.  Working up the list it would usually proceed to a social worker and to a psychologist for talk therapy. If the need is medicinal you have a few more options to consider General Practitioner, Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatrist These professionals don't invest a great deal of time in talking.  They are concerned with biochemistry and how it is affecting your mental health.  Efficiency is paramount, and they use discerning questions to be able to identify any warning signs.  They also monitor bloodwork and make sure that the thyroid, liver and kidneys are still healthy. Sound important?  It is!  Being on lithium myself means that my liver and kidneys are taking a huge hit for the team.  As I said earlier, I was on an anti-depressant instead of an anti-anxiety.  It might have still happened, but I doubt it.  I expr...