Mental Health and High Stress
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: NC
Posts: 662
Mental Health and High Stress
My mom has been going through chemo for breast cancer. I have moved back home so that I can clean, cook, keep her company/keep an eye on her and just overall be the daughter she deserves after being a heroin addict for so long. I have never been so grateful for being almost a year sober as I have as when I heard the news and knew that I would be able to be there for her completely.
I have bipolar type 2 disorder, treatment resistant depression and anxiety- so just because I have a strong recovery doesn't mean the work is done there. I love my addiction doctor, my psychiatrist, and my substance abuse counselor and I am so lucky my mom is in a position to fly me back and forth once a month to see my doctor and do my monthly counseling and psychiatrist appointment (finding a great doctor that you trust is so important). When I found out the news that my mom had cancer I talked to my team of doctors and decided that tweaking my medicines was a good idea.
I now take 5 medicines (I used to be so anti medicine) and I have be completely stable no matter what news we get. I am able to be there for my mom and help her with everything she needs and I have never been so grateful for having such an amazing team of doctors.
There is never a point in time where counseling is not needed or a waste of time. Having a doctor you trust and that is great as his/her job is invaluable- if you are not 100% happy with your doctor please keep looking- there are great doctors out there. Also, do not limit yourself to a certain number of medicines or resist trying certain categories of medicines (everyone winces when I say I take an anti-psychotic, a mood stabilizer, anti anxiety, and anti depressant). Lastly, it is normal to need to tweak your medicines during different events and times in your life, just because you need to change a dosage, change a medicine, or add a new one does not mean you are not stable or mentally healthy, it just means certain things are not working as well as they used to.
Don't sell yourself short; you should trust your doctor. Part of trusting your doctor is being willing to try new medicines or changing dosages. Of course it is important to listen to your body and do your research, but trust is a a necessity- at least for me.
I have bipolar type 2 disorder, treatment resistant depression and anxiety- so just because I have a strong recovery doesn't mean the work is done there. I love my addiction doctor, my psychiatrist, and my substance abuse counselor and I am so lucky my mom is in a position to fly me back and forth once a month to see my doctor and do my monthly counseling and psychiatrist appointment (finding a great doctor that you trust is so important). When I found out the news that my mom had cancer I talked to my team of doctors and decided that tweaking my medicines was a good idea.
I now take 5 medicines (I used to be so anti medicine) and I have be completely stable no matter what news we get. I am able to be there for my mom and help her with everything she needs and I have never been so grateful for having such an amazing team of doctors.
There is never a point in time where counseling is not needed or a waste of time. Having a doctor you trust and that is great as his/her job is invaluable- if you are not 100% happy with your doctor please keep looking- there are great doctors out there. Also, do not limit yourself to a certain number of medicines or resist trying certain categories of medicines (everyone winces when I say I take an anti-psychotic, a mood stabilizer, anti anxiety, and anti depressant). Lastly, it is normal to need to tweak your medicines during different events and times in your life, just because you need to change a dosage, change a medicine, or add a new one does not mean you are not stable or mentally healthy, it just means certain things are not working as well as they used to.
Don't sell yourself short; you should trust your doctor. Part of trusting your doctor is being willing to try new medicines or changing dosages. Of course it is important to listen to your body and do your research, but trust is a a necessity- at least for me.
sending love xx
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: West Tn
Posts: 3,043
Adeline, you have once again beautifully articulated the reality of mental health issues and the answers.
I don't expect AA to cure depression and anxiety, and I don't expect Big Pharma to cure my alcoholism.
I don't expect AA to cure depression and anxiety, and I don't expect Big Pharma to cure my alcoholism.
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