The Mental Health thread - depression, bipolar, ADHD, you name it

[binaryhermit]

To be honest, I'm not sure of my diagnosis. The last time I was in the hospital, they said paranoid schizophrenia with depressed mood, whereas my regular psychiatrist (who has shown the inability to properly write a prescription for the right drug and the right dose for the right duration of time) insists I'm just bipolar 1. I know for a fact that there's depression and some form of psychosis (yeah, I see and hear things. but it's not l*that* bad by seeing/hearing things standards) going on somewhere in my messed-up mind and probably have some sort of anxiety thin g going on. I'm currently on celexa, trileptal, depakote, and rispedal and have been on haldol, zoloft, and ativan.

EDIT: And I forgot to mention that I formerly was on cogentin because the haldol made my legs move without me actually trying to move them

[halloween]

I have thought about that light but since I also have crazy hormonal mood swings that have been under control with my depo shot I'm going to see how this winter goes without a light thingy. I've started doing yoga and meditating again on a somewhat regular (not every day) schedule and I need to not let my motivation wane as the light does.

[theimage13]

I've started doing yoga and meditating again

Did you have to do anything to get your mind in the right place for that? For me, it was an easy choice to go to yoga classes once I saw that my gym offered a free one after work once a week. But I stopped going pretty quickly because I couldn't get my brain to shut the hell up. I wasn't focusing on my breathing or the instructor's directions the entire time (I was paying attention, but in and out). I stopped going after just a few visits because I'd only leave feeling even more frustrated than when I started - because of my failure to be able to get to the right mental place.

[halloween]

Did you have to do anything to get your mind in the right place for that? For me, it was an easy choice to go to yoga classes once I saw that my gym offered a free one after work once a week. But I stopped going pretty quickly because I couldn't get my brain to shut the hell up. I wasn't focusing on my breathing or the instructor's directions the entire time (I was paying attention, but in and out). I stopped going after just a few visits because I'd only leave feeling even more frustrated than when I started - because of my failure to be able to get to the right mental place.

Don't give up! It's all about practice- you can't expect to be able to shut your mind up right away. We spend all our lives letting our mind run wild, we can't expect to know how to reverse that right away. I just kept going to yoga until it clicked. If there's any frame of mind you have to be in for yoga, is one of motivation and forgiveness. You can't be hard on yourself for not being able to do something that you've never done before. Like asking yourself to...I don't know, start pole vaulting successfully after never even going for a jog! Going "in and out" is a great start, eventually I found myself being more "in" than out because it's all about training. With all things, I also noticed in myself that if I neglect it, it becomes harder for me to stay focused. Another meditating technique I try is to simply bring my awareness to my breathing during any point of the day with the goal of becoming aware and more deliberate of every thought and action. Granted, I remember to do this maybe twice a day for only a few seconds but it's better than nothing!
Anyways, I've noticed it does wonders for managing any needless anxiety that crops up now and then.

[Baphomette]

I'm currently on celexa, trileptal, depakote, and rispedal.

I'm very surprised your doctors have put you on both trileptal and depakote. They both essentially do the same thing. And if your doctor is insisting you have bi-polar disorder rather than schizophrenia, why is s/he prescribing risperdal? Have you considered seeing a different psychiatrist?

[binaryhermit]

I'm very surprised your doctors have put you on both trileptal and depakote. They both essentially do the same thing. And if your doctor is insisting you have bi-polar disorder rather than schizophrenia, why is s/he prescribing risperdal? Have you considered seeing a different psychiatrist?

I don't really have a choice in the matter, having to go through the shitty-ass local sliding scale clinic sucks. And as I understand it, risperdal also has a mood-stabilizing effect along with its anti-psychotic effect.