Mental Health ~ Sleepy

 

Before I go any further, I owe my Mama a HUGE apology for all those times I wouldn't let her sleep!!!

I love to sleep; like I could sleep 24/7...REALLY!

The medicine I take for Bi-Polar.  They make me sleepy.

Friends and family are quick to ask/say.  "You should stop taking so much medicine."

Are YOU MY doctor???

Truth is, I do take a lot of medicine.  It helps me cope and not go too far off the deep end.

Not everyone with mental illness can be treated the same way:  Some people are helped with meds, some are helped with counseling and some people need both.  I have a chemical imbalance.  So, while talking is good; I do need the medication to stabilize me.  

So, it's a trade-off.  Do I want to be stable or do I want to sleep a lot?

UHM, I think I'll choose...SLEEP!!!

Thankful Thursday- = Linda

 LINDA

My friend Linda passed away on Sunday.  She

was part of our "crew". We hung out in activities and ate lunch together ~ ok,. so there's not much to do in a nursing home.  She was a sweet Christain lady.  She'd only been sick a couple of months; she had Demetria and had really gone downhill the last few weeks. 

It is really sad to watch someone who is close to you fade away so quickly.  I am glad, for her sake, that she didn't linger and have to suffer like so many of the residents here do.

I know that having a disability and living in a nursing home, I'm probably going to have to say goodbye to many of my friends; perhaps more than other people will~especially people my age.

There are some people that will be harder to lose than others ~ I just pray they don't have to szuffer

About Me Tuesday: Why I Went to a Nursing Home

Photo by Clipart Library 

When people find out that I live in a nursing home, they ask WHY?

The 2nd question is Why isn't your family taking care of you?

When we got married, Barrett and I both knew that sooner or later I would need more help than he could give me.

I told him that I wanted it to be my decision to go into a nursing home.  I didn't want him or Dalton of Bobbye to have to make that decision.

People say Your family is supposed to take care of you.

Bryan still has a while before he retires and in-home health  cxare costs more than we can afford.  Plus, if I need something, he's always there for me.

DALTON AND BOBBYE ARE WAY TOO YOUNG TO HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR MAMA!!!

Photo by i.pinning.com

Mental Health Mondays: My Definition of My Mental Health

 

Photo by PNGTREE

According to the  Mayo Clinic

Mental health is the overall wellness of how you think, regulate your feelings and behave. Sometimes people experience a significant disturbance in this mental functioning. A mental disorder may be present when patterns or changes in thinking, feeling or behaving cause distress or disrupt a person's ability to function. A mental health disorder may affect how well you:

• Maintain personal or family relationships
• Function in social settings
• Perform at work or school
• Learn at a level expected for your age and intelligence
• Participate in other important activities

Cultural norms and social expectations also play a role in defining mental health disorders. There is no standard measure across cultures to determine whether a behavior is normal or when it becomes disruptive. What might be normal in one society may be a cause for concern in another.

That being said, I think most people have their own idea of what mental health is.  Now I'm not saying that a diagnosis isn't important; it is VERY  important!!! However, each mental illness affects the patient differently.  I am Bi-Polar, and my sister (this is just an example) is also Bi-Polar.  I get depressed and manic to the point of crying, yelling, and pulling my hair out.  She goes on a wild girl's night out one night;  she's bouncing off the walls and the start of the night and crying (to the point of sobbing) into her beer at the end of the night. Her symptoms occur for 2 or 3 days a month, whereas mine occurs for a couple of weeks a month.

Ok, this example is a bit extreme, but you get my drift...

The point is, I know what my mental illness is.  I don't why  I'm  Bi-Polar or why I react the way I do when  I have a  Bi-Polar episode, but I know what it means to me.

This is also true about my Cerebral Palsy.  I don't why it happen or why my body reacts to the CP, but I know my definition of what CP means to me.

It is very important to be aware of any illnesses we have.

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Thankful Thursday: Nurses and Techs

 

Photo by PNGTREE

None of my caregivers will probably never see this, but...

Health care has definitely changed over these last few years.

Nursing homes have a very high turnover rate; always have and always will.

Times are tough.  Most places are having to hire agency staff in order to have enough staff to take of us.  Most agency workers do their job; some of them very well, but most of them are missing that personal connection,

But, then you get excellent techs and nurses who do take that extra care to make you feel loved and cared for.  They treat you like a...like a real person.

Thank you for giving us the care we need.

One Word - Regret

 

 

Photo by SEEK PNG

What do you regret?

Many (not all) of our regrets are rooted in sin.  Many are also related to bad choices we make.

We think that little white lie we told someone can't hurt them.  

We all make choices; most of our choices affect other people.

We all want to believe that we make the right choices; we do the right things.

Most of us do not plan on hurting our loved ones, but we all do in one way or another.

If we take a chance at doing something or having a relationship with others; we risk the chances of regret.

So, do we invest in bubble wrap and all stay in our perspective corner so we don't get hurt?

That's no way to live.  What kind of life is that?

So, do we take the chance or invest $14 for bubble wrap?

S

Mental Illness;; Other's Connecting or Control

  

 There are many people with mental health issuess have family and friends who think  they know and understand their issuses.   Most of the time they don'tt.

My issues change from day to day.  It's different than it was 5 or 10 years ago.  Used to, my isusess came to visit around the same time my Aunt Flo did.  Evan after I had my hystorectmy, I was still following the same clock

Hpwever, as I've gotten older, I'm' having more emotional espidoes.

There are also becoming moew serve.

Others think that's a reason of why and when your mental issuses "strikes". 

I think this occurs for a couple of reasons; I think they want to make a "connection" with their loved ones.

But, I also think people yerning to be in "control".  If you are in contol, you don't have feel resposible for your loved one mental health issues. You can't conrol  When, where or why a mental health isusse occurs, amd that DRIVES people crazy; especially for those who are "TYPE A".

Unfortunately, you can't control a mental illnes any more than you can control other illness.