The Coronavirus and Mental Health.

So, we're in the midst of this pandemic and there is so much information on the virus itself and the importance of social distancing and staying at home to contain it's spread.  Of course I think that any measures taken to reduce the spread of this are necessary, but I do worry that the mental health issues associated with this isolation, for everyone and not just the mentally ill, aren't being addressed as much as they maybe should be.

We are social creatures, aren't we?  We need people and the groups around us (family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.) to provide needed benefits - most importantly, meeting our emotional and social needs.  And since the isolation (both physical and emotional) and distancing we need to practice for at least the next couple of weeks is in place, I believe we are going to suffer mentally because of it.

Isolation and loneliness are 2 big concerns right now, particularly for the elderly and those who are already experiencing these issues.  And, I do believe we will see even more of an influence of these now.  You can be isolated and not lonely, and lonely and not isolated, but for many, these 2 things go hand in hand.  Choosing to be alone, and enjoying that time, is much different than being forced into isolation!  And people choose to be 'alone' among 'groups' often times anyway.  Going to the store, getting to the library, working out at a gym.  These might be done 'alone' or by yourself, but there are still people around who you can interact with to a degree.  Home-bound isolation is a different thing.  People can go from alone to lonely pretty quick in this circumstance.  Take a look at this article published in 2019 on social isolation which states:

There is..."evidence linking perceived social isolation with adverse health consequences including depression, poor sleep quality, impaired executive function, accelerated cognitive decline, poor cardiovascular function and impaired immunity at every stage of life."  "In addition...(it was) found that social isolation increases the risk of premature death from every cause for every race...".

Obviously, this is for more long-term isolation, but the implications are clear.  Isolation has a huge consequence on people and their health.  

Families are also suffering.  My mom lives by herself and has a very active social life.  With so many fears of the virus regarding the elderly, mom and her friends have cancelled their weekly activities.  I know this is going to affect her mood, and I worry she'll go out to a store or something, just to be around people which can put her at risk.  As much as my sis and I tell her not too, she's very stubborn.  Since I was in Florida for a week and flew out of Tampa which is a 'hotbed' of the virus, I don't want to be around her just in case I have the virus without showing signs yet.  So, we are isolated from each other too.

My sister is worried about her grandchildren as well, and looks forward to seeing them often during the week.  Missing out on that interaction is hard for all of them.  Plus, one of my nephews has a serious condition which could require medical attention at any time.  How scary that hospitals might be over-run and medical attention is delayed.  Not being to be around our families is a great hardship for so many! 

And then you add other factors into the mix:  fear, anxiety, stress, confusion, helplessness, and powerlessness to name a few.  We all, I think, are feeling these to some degree.  As much as the news upsets me regarding all of what's happening right now, I don't want to stay away from it either since I need information to keep myself and family safe!  It's a Catch 22!  The news makes us more stressed and fearful, but the info provided is important! 

Anytime you see stress increase, you see a greater likelihood of domestic violence and child abuse.  Will this time increase the already huge numbers of victims of family violence?  And, we know that high levels of stress can cause physical sickness (high blood pressure, heart disease, etc.).  Furthermore, the stress isn't going to end after the isolation is lifted.  Businesses are losing customers or closing down for a period of time, and economists are saying we'll suffer a strong recession which will continue this stress for an extended period of time.   And, I know that stress over money is one of the BIGGEST stressors a couple faces in their relationship. 

I really worry that for the mentally ill, these issues can exacerbate their conditions.  Making anxiety disorders worsen, depression to deepen.  Also, will counselors or behavioral health centers stop seeing clients?  Will meds get filled on time?   Will AA and NA meetings be able to continue? Then what about people who are schizophrenic and have paranoid delusions?  Will this worsen their thinking with all of the conspiracy theories circling around right now? 

Finally, I also wonder how our world, our own society, will be changed because of this time.  Will we continue more isolating behaviors out of fear another virus could be around the corner?  Will people start getting more and more of their needs met through non-contact ways such as social media?  Will students, who have never taken online classes but are now forced to work online for at least a couple of weeks, find the classes to be more convenient and our on-campus students numbers decrease?  Will people become disgusted with society because how some are behaving, and come to see society as a more dangerous place than they had perceived it before?  The questions are endless.

So, what do I think we can do to lessen some of these effects?  Here's my list:

1. Stay on a schedule.  Get up at a regular time, have a daily plan with meals, work, etc. and structure your time accordingly.  
2. Get outside!  Sidewalks, parks, hiking trails...none of these are closed and being outside, and especially around nature, can be comforting and uplifting.
3. Do some cardio!  Those of us with depression know that cardio actually increases the production of endorphins and neurotransmitters, and improves sleep too!  All of this can help alleviate feelings of depression!
4. Keep connected to family and friends.  This is a great time to use social media for connection (but be careful, too much social media use can backfire...particularly with so many loud opinions being broadcast!).  Also, instead of calls or texts, video chat for a more personal experience.  
5. Help others.  Reach out to your older neighbors and let them know you are willing to run errands for them or get their refills picked up.  Let them know you are around if they need something done!
6. Tackle yard and house chores.  I'm going to use some of my time to get my darn closets cleaned out and then get my yard all raked for spring.  Things I have trouble finding time to do!  Put these chores on your calendar to keep you on track!
7. Take breaks from work.  Working remotely, as some of us are doing, is very different than being in an office or around students.  Make sure you take breaks from the computer often, and don't try to do 8 hours of work in 3 just to get done!  Spacing out your time can help relieve the tediousness.
8. Try a new hobby.  You don't need to go to the store to get a pencil and paper...watch a youtube video on drawing and see what you can do!  Or, if you have some supplies (paints, crayons, glue, yarn, fabric), learn to crochet or knit...watercolor...decoupage!  
9. Give yourself a break!  This is important...being around kids, family, etc. in a close environment can be stressful, and taking a short walk, nap, or just a time-out might help with these situations.  
10. Keep your kids structured and engaged as well.  There are so many places publishing free content for kids right now, and doing these activities together can be fun!  Here's a great website to give you some activity ideas, and then a fun e-learning site with a ton of lessons.  And, take a look at this:  

There are so many questions we have...and not a lot of answers.  But I do believe these issues are going to have a huge impact on everyone's mental health, and possibly worsen those already dealing with an mental illness.  Let's all take care of ourselves and families the best we can, and reach out if we need help.  Stay healthy and safe and if you have any other ideas to share, please comment below!


Kristi xoxo

When to Tell?

So, I have a bit of a 'date' today.  I've been chatting with this guy I met online and we're meeting for a snack and drink at a downtown eatery this afternoon.  I'm not sure what I feel about it...this dating thing is still so new to me!

After my 3 divorces (!), I subsequently married each man I saw afterwards.  There was really no 'dating' around!  And, my life was different then.  Or at least it felt different.  I hadn't been diagnosed bipolar yet, and was still very much pretending in my day to day life.  Obviously, the bipolar affected my relationships, but I think it was because I didn't have that 'label' yet, I still had more confidence in what I brought to table with these men than I do now.  Hmmmm...I wonder if others feel like this?  Once that label is stuck on, all of a sudden you see yourself differently?  As a bit more less than?

I need to be better at doing this.  I'm adding this to my 'goals' of the year.

Anyhoo, after hubby 3 (Ron) and I divorced, I was involved with a man for 3 years.  VERY bad at the start with a lot of abusive behaviors, cheating and abandonment happening; better the 2nd year but still with issues; and much better the 3rd year.  Better enough I thought we were in a place that was strong enough, and moving ahead well enough, I could take some time for myself to get me back to where I needed me to be.  This didn't set well with him though, and last Oct., I walked in on him (naked!) with another woman in what was supposed to be 'our' apartment, just like my house was 'our' house as well.  (I also think there was someone else there, but I guess that's not the point.  THEY didn't come out of his bedroom screaming at me to leave!  All while using the furniture I provided for US!  DRAMA!!!!).

We haven't 'talked' since then...he refused (es) to speak to me on the phone and blocked me from everything except e-mail.  So, when I needed to communicate with him regarding my things and all, it was only through this means.  (Why is it that the person who has cheated, is the one who acts like the victim?  Am I the 'bad' guy?  For walking in?  For not realizing what he was feeling?  For not doing enough?  As an empath whose feelings run VERY deep, which is common in bipolar, I blame myself for most things anyway).

Not long ago, he e-mailed that he had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).  I had always known there was something wrong.  We knew he had PTSD from his 3 deployments in the Middle East (and this is why I forgave him so much and took him back so many times...he was traumatized from his time in the Army.  I understood this).  During that first year, I thought he had Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), but the BPD really does make more sense in terms of his patterns in relationships (not just ours).  He wanted me to know this to explain himself in terms of how he acted and what he did in our relationship.  And I did appreciate this.  It gives me much more understanding of everything that happened.  (And yes, I still have feelings for him.  Feelings run deep in me.  He's the one who lost feelings for me.)

ANYHOO...here's the thing:  I saw us as BOTH "damaged".  BOTH mentally ill.  I didn't have to pretend in front of him.  He understood, or I thought he understood, my illness as well as I tried to understand his.  It was kind of like we were 'matched' in terms of these 'bad' disorders.

I did date a lawyer for a month or so around Christmas, and at first it was going really well.  I thought this might be something lasting.  Then, we had our first argument and he was just mean!  Not mentally ill.  Just mean!!

So now I'm meeting this guy today.  And here's what I struggle with and really think about:  what man would want to take on this woman with bipolar?  AND, when do you tell them you have this?  Obviously, not on a first date!  I'm not that open!!  BUT, not after a dozen either.  And, since I am really open about it...on Facebook, here, Tedx Talk, etc., someone could dig a bit on me and find out for themselves.  Then what?  Hmmmm...

That's a fine line when you think about it.  You want to be candid in sharing who you are, but you also want them to get to know you as a person, before the issue of a mental illness is brought forth.

Why is it that if I had diabetes, this wouldn't be an issue at all?  But with mental health, it's like a shame you have to hide until the time is 'just right'!  Like you have to figure out when to drop this 'bombshell!'  Because that's what it is:  a bombshell that could break anything you might have built to that point.

When this DOESN'T happen, that's when we'll know the stigma against mental health has been shattered.

I'm not ashamed to have this illness.  It's just what I have.  But I guess I am ashamed of how others see it.  Crazy.  Unstable.  Nuts.  Bipolar has a bad rap.  And I understand why.  It's a toughie.  One that is going to cause issues at times, but that doesn't mean it has to define the relationship as a whole.

I'm going to tread lightly with this.  If I like this guy (and I don't know...I'm really not that excited for this.  I'm more dreading it than anything but like my son says, if you don't want to be alone forever, you have to get out there) I guess I'll just have to use my own judgement on when to tell him.

And maybe, I need to think about how I see myself.  I use the word damaged.  But is that fair to me? Does that mean I see others with mental illness as being damaged?  (Actually, I don't.  Just me!) It's true that my brain is actually "damaged" in that it doesn't work like other brains.  Hello?  Mental illness!  But am I less than because of that?  I FEEL like that.  But is it actually TRUE?  I don't know.

Kristi xoxo

Can we start the conversation?

Ever notice how anxious some people get when the subject of mental illness comes up?  It's funny to me how people throw around words and say things like "She's so anorexic...eat something girl!"  Or, "God, how bi-polar!"  Or even, "Yea...people who have that are crazy!"  THEN, you tell them you have a mental illness.  And all of a sudden, things change!  "Oh...I didn't mean YOU!  I meant...you know...other people who are 'really' sick!"

Hmmmmmm...

So I have bi-polar.  Not self-diagnosed; really diagnosed...neurologist, psychiatrist, etc.!  And I say that because it's almost fashionable to have this now!  Someone feels good one day, and not so good the next, and suddenly BAM!  They think they are bi-polar.  Nope.  You're just experiencing the highs and lows of life.  And that's good!  You don't want this brain disease which is what it really is.  MRI's show differences between bipolar and normal brains, and take a look at this: 

"A new study shows that the blood of bipolar patients is toxic to brain cells and may affect the connectivity ability of neurons. ... Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and complex mental illness with a strong genetic component that affects 2% of the world population."  

Even when I was a little girl, I felt different.  Like there was a flaw people could readily see in me, even as young as kindergarten.  I didn’t really understand how to interact with my peers like I saw others do, and there was something inside of me I couldn’t explain but could feel.  Other kids could brush things off but I was always so emotional.  

In the 3^rd grade, I completed a story called “All About Me.”  There are a couple of tells I wrote, that in retrospect showed whispers of a mental illness.  One was the question:  What do you wonder?  While other kids wrote “Why the sky is blue” or “Why giraffes have spots”, I wrote: “I wonder why I’m alive.”  Another question asked what confused me, and I wrote “When 2 or 3 people are talking at once.”  There was just too much going on in my head for any voices to be heard.

High school was tough for me. There were so many things that would go through my mind, that at times I thought I was going crazy.  Like a blender full of fruit and ice, on full blast, but without a lid.  I was just all over the place.  To feel like I had some control over my life, I started dieting, and developed anorexia nervosa within months.  When my boyfriend broke up with me my junior year, I crashed my car into a tree because the emotions were too overwhelming for me to process.   

Decades later, after my 3^rd divorce (!), a few things happened.  I still loved my ex-husband and missed him terribly.  My mentor and friend from the community college where I teach passed, and I got involved in an abusive relationship.  At the same time, my nephew was killed on the USS McCain, a man started harassing,  threatening, and stalking me for which I was being blamed, and I had surgery for precancerous cells.  This was too much for me and I broke down.  

Before this, I never really 'believed' in nervous breakdowns.  Now I do.  I started cutting myself pretty badly.  I stopped eating.  Stopped showering.  Attempted suicide. Finally after working with doctors and counselors, I was  diagnosed with bi-polar and the "me" inside myself began to make sense.  The emotions, the roller coasters, the busy head, the bad decisions, the impulsivity, the confusion, the hyperactive behavior, the obsessive/compulsive behavior, the out of control spending, everything.  

Being diagnosed was such a freaking relief!  I knew I had something, and even though I am a Professor that teaches Psychology, I COULD NOT admit that something as serious as bi-polar was in me.  I didn't want it.  I tried to fight against it all my life, and because of that, I lost husbands, friends, and even family members at times.  How could anyone understand me, if I couldn't understand myself?  

So, am I all better now?  Ha!  Nope.  Not at all.  I'm in the process of changing meds and will be seeing a psychiatrist in a couple of weeks.  My meds aren't as effective, but mood stabilizers have caused me suicidal ideation in the past.  We're not sure what to try.  Some meds that are out there now have such terrible side effects.  It's almost a process of weighing which is worse??  The depression or losing muscle coordination?  The mania, or having the compulsion to cut myself?  I know side effects are so different in people, but psychotropic meds truly are scary.  Hello!  They are working in your brain!

I see a counselor every week, and she asked me yesterday how I've been able to function all these years like I do.  I've been teaching for 25 years, and raised my son.  And here was my answer to her: "I've had too!"  I didn't have a choice!  I was the one that usually was a main support in my marriages, and there was never a question of me having to work.  And, I'm single now, and my future is dependent on only me.  My retirement that I have to keep working towards for a few more years.  

But here's the thing:  people don't see the struggle on the inside, when you are presenting what you need to do on the outside.  Simple as that.  There are days I force myself out of bed to face the day.  I collapse when I get home from school because I'm exhausted and I need to take my meds.  When I wake up from that nap, I usually feel terrible.  And it takes me a long while to get myself up again for the evening.

Working out helps with some of this...but can also feed (no pun intended!) into my eating disorder.  

SO...I created this space for all of us. And any of us.  We can talk about mental illness here with no judgement.  No stigma.  We can be ourselves.  We can take off any masks we wear and be genuine.  I'll always listen.  And I thank you for doing the same with me!  :)

Kristi xoxo