Why is it so Hard for Us to Recover from Being Suicidal?

By David L. Conroy, PhD

Combat veterans, sexual assault survivors, and other victims of trauma are vulnerable to a condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People with PTSD suffer from a range of symptoms that interfere with their capacities to enjoy normal life.

People who suffered suicidal conditions, particularly conditions that were chronic, recurrent, or included one or more attempts, may also be victims of PTSD. According to its definition, PTSD may result when a person suffers an event or situation that is outside the range of normal experience, exceeds the individual’s perceived ability to meet its demands, and poses a serious threat to the loss of life.

Suicidal people meet the formal criteria for PTSD. Severe and prolonged suicidal pain is not something that most people suffer. People in suicidal crises feel that they are at the breaking point of what they can cope with. Since 30,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States, it is a condition that poses a serious threat to the loss of life.

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Writing about Trauma Can Produce Health Benefits

By Jane Collingwood

It’s well established that talking about traumatic incidents with a therapist, supportive family or friends can be therapeutic, producing improvements in psychological and physical health. People who open up about traumatic events they have experienced have been found to benefit from a variety of health improvements, including improved mood, lower rates of infection, and lower blood pressure. And it has been established that not talking about traumatic experiences is associated with poorer health outcomes.

As helpful as talking about trauma maybe, it is often difficult for the victims to discuss it. Particularly difficult traumas, such as sexual abuse and rape—events which victims frequently perceive as shameful—make victims more vulnerable to poor health, including chronic diseases and headaches. Useful alternatives to talking about trauma are available.

Scientists have studied whether writing about trauma might be as effective as talking about it. Typically, this type of study asks trauma victims to participate in a structured writing task where they are encouraged to write about the thoughts and feelings associated with their trauma for about twenty minutes a day, three to five days a week. Several studies of this type have produced similar results, finding that written disclosure of emotional reactions to trauma leads to a wide variety of positive health consequences.

Scientists are unsure how this works. One possibility is that writing about traumatic experience serves as a stress release, decreasing the overall level of bodily stress that victims carry and thus reducing their vulnerability to diseases brought on due to chronic stress.

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Psychological Growth from Extreme Trauma

By Rick Nauert Ph.D.

People who survive an extreme traumatic experience may rebound and experience personal growth. In fact, individuals may savor a higher level of personal strength and function.

This position statement, provided by a University of Buffalo researcher and expert in the effects of horrifying trauma may calm fears of lifelong stress after an event such as 9/11.

At the heart of the findings is a surprisingly optimistic conclusion: Most people recover well following devastating events, and even among those who struggle with the experience, many of them can find some benefit from the experience, despite the negative effects of the event in their lives.

“Even when people go through a horrible life-threatening event, or endure huge losses and very difficult circumstances, many of them actually find some positive aspects to the experience and are able to grow from it,” says Lisa D. Butler, associate professor in UB’s School of Social Work, whose multiple studies on the trauma following 9/11 and other severely disruptive life events have been published in numerous professional journals, including the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

“That does not negate the pain of what they have been through or the lingering effects in their lives, by any means,” Butler says. “But there is room for some positive changes as well.”

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Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Disorder

By Rick Nauert, Ph.D.

A recent study finds bright light therapy can ease bipolar depression in some patients.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic studied nine women with bipolar disorder to examine the effects of light therapy in the morning or at midday on mood symptoms.

“There are limited effective treatments for the depressive phase of bipolar disorder,” said Dorothy Sit, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and the study’s first author. “While there are treatments that are effective for mania, the major problem is the depression, which can linger so long that it never really goes away.”

The study is published in the journal Bipolar Disorders.

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12 Ways to Make Friends

By Therese Borchard

I was really sad to read that so many readers don’t have four friends whom they could ask to compile lists of positive qualities in order to star a self-esteem file. It seemed that almost one-fourth of the comments on the message board of my “Video: My Self-Esteem file” pointed to the sad reality that many people are without a large group of friends.

Although I have experienced almost every other symptom of depression, I have been able to, for the most part, escape loneliness–except for those months when I couldn’t describe my thoughts and feelings to anyone because they were so ugly.

I think that I have been blessed with so many good friends throughout my life not because I’m so popular, but because I’m really nosy and I lack many of those social graces and proper boundaries that a polite person has.

In the first five minutes of meeting someone, I usually cover my entire psychiatric history. That can be good and bad. It works those afternoons like yesterday when a mom approached me and said, “You look so calm with your children,” and I laughed out loud and said, “I don’t think so, I’m just heavily medicated.” We talked for another hour and covered what meds we were taking, our dosages, what doctors we see, what psych wards we had visited, how long our menstrual cycles last, and what we tell other people with regard to our mood disorders: me … everything, her … nothing.

A success!

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Therapy and Lifestyle Changes

Classic psychotherapy does not help most patients with bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, many newer approaches are proving to be very useful. Trained mental health professionals can:

• Educate patients about bipolar disorder and its treatments
• Help them comply with drug regimens
• Monitor the patient’s on-going status
• Intervene early in manic and depressive episodes to reduce the severity of the attack

In addition, trained professionals can help patients:

• Adjust to the reality of the illness and understand the negative consequences of mania — particularly important for patients who consider their mania to be positive, creative, and exhilarating
• Cope with feelings of guilt and remorse that occur after manic episodes
• Deal with feelings of imperfection and despair

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Marijuana Success Stories: #2 – Depression

By Anonymous

I am writing this because I believe it is important to get as much information as possible regarding medical marijuana use out into society, so that we can begin (it’s really sad we’re not there yet) to change public perception.  I am a 32-year-old music teacher, athletic coach and professional musician.  I am married and I have two children.  I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

My primary reason for using marijuana is to deal with symptoms related to periodic bouts of severe depression.  My mother is diagnosed bipolar, and her father was also.  Incidentally, his mother, my great-grandmother died by committing suicide.  It is likely she also suffered severe depression and it would appear that it is at least partly a genetic characteristic.

I was first diagnosed with clinical depression while I was in high school at approximately age 14.  But I am certain that my feelings and symptoms began at puberty around age 11.  At the time of my diagnoses I was adamantly opposed to the use of marijuana or drugs of any kind.  I was then and am now a competitive endurance athlete and saw it as being in opposition to that endeavor. Read more

8 Ways to Help Your Bipolar Loved One Cope

By Therese J. Borchard

Depression and bipolar disorder are often family diseases.

Everyone sharing a kitchen and a bathroom is affected. In fact, in his book “Understanding Depression,” J. Raymond DePaulo Jr., M.D., writes that “depression … has a much greater impact on marital life than rheumatoid arthritis or cardiac illness. One study found that only severe forms of cancer affected a family as adversely as depression or bipolar disorder.”

My manic depression could have easily wrecked my marriage and my relationships with my two children. Instead, we emerged as a tighter, stronger unit. How? Here are eight ways Eric, my husband, helped me cope – tips for families on how, exactly, to hang in there with a loved one who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

1. Educate yourself.

I remember the afternoon of my first severe panic attack. I phoned Eric at work as my breath grew shallow and my heart pounded as if I were having a heart attack. I was sure I was dying. As soon as he walked through the door, he stared at me suspiciously. My limbs were in place, and I seemed to be functioning just fine. What was the problem?

“You don’t understand,” I explained. “I thought I was dying! It was the most frightening experience I have ever had.”

What convinced my spouse that my bipolar disorder was an illness, not a weakness? Tons of research. The reams of paper that I printed out and asked him to read. The psychiatric evaluations he witnessed. The group therapy and family sessions he attended and the conversations with other spouses of persons with bipolar disorder.

Education is always the starting point because until a spouse or daughter or friend of a manic-depressive understands the illness, it is impossible to say and do the right thing. Do your own research by going online to National Alliance of Mental Illness or to Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, or by doing a Google search of the words “bipolar disorder”.

2. Learn how to talk to your loved one.

Eric doesn’t say much when I’m clutching tissue paper, crying my eyes out. And he’s hesitant to speak when I’m manic (not that I would let him get in a word). When I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, he reminds me why I need to. And when I’m revved up, he’s the voice of reason telling me why a spontaneous trip to New York isn’t smart.

Anna Bishop, wife of blogger James Bishop (findingoptimism.com) has some wonderful advice for the loved one of a manic depressive on what to say and when:

When James becomes ill he turns into a different person. I say goodbye to my husband, so to speak, and hello to bipolar James. In a depressive episode he becomes highly irritable and usually itches for a fight. Early on he will often make comments to bait me. “All I do is work, work, work, to support your lifestyle and your precious social group.” You can imagine what a red rag to a bull that comment is.

At this point I have 2 options:? 1. Take the bait, have a messy fight and accelerate his downswing, or? 2. Grit my teeth and say “it’s the illness speaking”. If I can do that then I have a much better chance of diffusing the situation. A comment like “You sound stressed about work – let’s talk” has better results and sometimes can even stop the mood swing.

3. Make some rules.

You know all the fire drills in primary school you prayed would happen during the math pop quiz? All those times the school administrators rehearsed what, exactly, would happen in the case of an emergency? Families of bipolar persons need them as well: a plan of action for those times when the bipolar person is sick.

In order to design such a strategy, the manic depressive and her loved one must compile a list of symptoms – like the smoke and burning smell of that make-believe fire in the third grade-and what action should follow them, like “call the doctor.” Each family will have a different list of symptoms and a different model of recovery, because no two illnesses are exactly alike.

Eric and I have agreed that I will call my doctor after two consecutive nights’ sleep under five hours, or after three days of crying spells. A friend of mine told me that he and his wife have agreed that she will see her psychiatrist if she hasn’t gotten out of bed for three days.

4. Plan for emergencies.

As part of the above plan of action, you should consider what should happen when the bipolar person is very ill. “When you are dealing with a disease that has the potential to become life-threatening, the last thing you want is an improvised response to an emergency situation,” writes Francis Mark Mondimore, M.D. in his book “Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families.”

Part of your plan should include a list of people who you can call for help. Of course, it is recommended that the bipolar person be working closely with a psychiatrist, and that he know how to get in touch with the psychiatrist after hours, and in case of emergencies. It’s also a good idea to know which hospital the psychiatrist works with, or if the doctor will work with any hospital in the area. Ask friends, doctors, and family members for their recommendations about hospitals and mental-health practitioners.

Also, the red tape of insurance issues is often too overwhelming to process at the time of the emergency, so get familiar with the details of your medical insurance coverage for psychiatric illnesses right now. Know the terms of hospital coverage, especially, and how much the patient is expected to pay out of pocket for various services.

5. Listen.

“When people are talking,” writes Rachel Naomi Remen, “there’s no need to do anything but receive them. Just take them in. Listen to what they’re saying. Care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it.”

When I think back to the days when I was very ill, crying and shaking at the dinner table and at preschool functions with the kids, no response was as appreciated as when someone simply listened. Suggestions came off as condescending, even though I know they were meant to be helpful. Advice was annoying. Many times I just needed to be heard, to be validated.

Don’t hesitate to say nothing because silence often speaks the most loving message.

6. Go gentle.

I can’t count all the times I have tried Eric’s patience with the reckless highs and debilitating lows of my bipolar disorder. When I get fired up and want to sign up for 60 new activities – not to mention losing my car keys, cell phone, and purse – it’s difficult for him not to get annoyed. But because he places my exasperating behavior in the proper context of an illness, and sees them as mere symptoms of a disease – rather than careless and self-absorbed actions – he is better able to go gentle with me.

Moreover, a little kindness and gentleness toward your loved one-especially at those times that you feel incapable of affection and care- goes a long way to aid recovery.

7. Laugh together.

Humor heals in so many ways. It combats fear, as it loosens anxiety’s death grip on your heart and every other living organ. It comforts and relaxes. And recent studies indicate that humor also reduces pain and boosts a person’s immune system.

“Laughter dissolves tension, stress, anxiety, irritation, anger, grief, and depression,” says Chuck Gallozzi of personal-development.com. “Like crying, laughter lowers inhibitions, allowing the release of pent-up emotions. After a hearty bout of laughter, you will experience a sense of well-being. Simply put, he who laughs, lasts. After all, if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. Remember, a person without a sense of humor is like a car without shock absorbers.”

Humor also aids communication, and if there is one thing besides education that is absolutely essential for a healthy relationship with a bipolar loved one it’s good communication.

8. Get support for yourself.

Caregiving is draining. Even when you are protecting yourself with the armor of regular sleep, healthy meals, and essential time-outs from your sick loved one, caring for a person still takes a toll on your physical and mental health.

“It can be exhausting to live with a hypomanic person and frustrating to deal with a seriously depressed person day after day,” says Dr. Mondimore. “The changes and unpredictability of the moods of someone with bipolar disorder intrude into home life and can be the source of severe stress in relationships, straining them to breaking point.”

That’s why you need support as much as your loved one. You need to talk to people who have lived with a manic-depressive, and be validated by their experiences. Spouses and family members of bipolar persons should consider therapy for themselves, as a way of processing all the stress. You may also benefit from checking out support programs for spouses and loved ones of the mentally ill, like National Alliance for Mental Illness, that are available today.

How to Manage Your Medications

People who have bipolar disorder usually take many pills every day. Here are ways to make sure you take the right pill at the right time, and learn what you should know about your medications.

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How to Know when to Call Your Psychiatrist

As you continue toward stability, there may be times when you need to call your psychiatrist to set up an extra appointment or even page your psychiatrist for an emergency, but how do you know when?

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