“Have you watched TV programs like Downsize Me? I really enjoy watching this! People who lead unhealthy lifestyles are given a ‘lifestyle makeover.’ They usually end up losing weight and finding more happiness by the end of the show. Obviously they do make great strides over the two months they are being followed by the cameras, but I often wonder how many of these people go back to their old unhealthy ways once the TV cameras have left…”
Mental Health Best of the Web
by the Bitter Animator at
My Medicated Cartoon Life
“This is something that has been on and off for quite some time. I think I may have even
blogged about it at some point but I’ve long forgotten. I probably meant to but didn’t.
At some point, it’s time to give up.
I’m right, aren’t I?…”
Mental Health Best of the Web
I read a Psych Central post a few days ago “Hating the Illness Not the Afflicted”. The context was alcoholism but it struck a chord with me.
It took me years to learn a valuable secret for coping as a caregiver. I wish someone had let me in on it earlier – it would have saved hours of frustration, bitterness and resentment. I would have seen myself as a wife and not just a caregiver for a lot of this time.
The secret is simple to understand but hard to live out – you have to separate the illness from the person.
Why simple? When James is being totally unreasonable and horrible, I pause for breath and think about the big picture. Is he sick? Is he like this when he is well? Is this consistent with his true character? Is this the man who I married? Asking these questions helps me to see what is really going on.
It’s hard. When he is irritable he is very hurtful. I want to take the bait and yell back – to let my anger fly and exact my revenge. It’s difficult to let things go through to the keeper, ignore his needling and concentrate on the sickness. It’s hard to forgive and move on when I’m hurt.
And it’s hard to not take it personally. It’s hard to overlook the way that our lives have changed to accommodate his illness. It’s hard to think that bipolar will never go away.
But it’s also simple. I direct my anger at the illness and that leaves me free to love him and build our relationship. It’s simple to forgive when I know that he doesn’t act this way when he is well. It’s simple when I remember that James is a person with bipolar, he is not Bipolar itself.
Separating the illness and the person. That has been my secret to being a caregiver and a wife and managing well.
by Dr. Michael Breus at WebMD
“If you’re a short sleeper, which is technically defined as someone who gets fewer than 6 hours a night, are you living well off that brief sleep?…Well, if you think you could use more sleep time, you’re probably right. And science continues to reveal what sleep deprivation can do to us (other than make us tired and cranky)…”
Mental Health Best of the Web
from the blog “The Diet Dish” by Tara Gidus
“The science on the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids is strong and seems to be getting stronger every day. But people I talk to are often confused as to where the best source of omega-3 is and how to get it. So here is my omega-3 101 lesson.”
Mental Health Best of the Web
The Finding Optimism blog is written by a sufferer of mental illness, not a medical practitioner. Information in the blog is of a general nature and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The advice of a qualified health professional should be sought for any questions regarding a medical condition.
© 2009 Finding Optimism. All Rights Reserved.
Mands 17 May 2009 @ 11:41 pm
Hi
Thank-you for this post… it helped me to remember that I need to love myself (all the time) and realise that I am not the anxiety and depression I struggle with. I need to love myself even when I am behaving unlike my usual self ;o). Like my husband often says to me, ‘Mands please be gentle with yourself, and I wish you would love you like I love you.’