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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Mental Health Mondays: Letter to My Bipolar

Photo by Needpix

 

To my Bipolar, (also known as Manic Depression);

I HATE you!!!

Actually, that's not true:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being MANIC!!!

It's a high: I feel like I can do ANYTHING!!!

It's like being the Tasmanian Devil.  I'm running in circles and I'm bouncing off walls.  My mind is racing, I'm talking at top speed and am even more comprehendible than normal.

BUT...

Isaac Newton said that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." He also said, "What goes up must come down."

For me, depression is much worse and occurs much more often than mania.  I think a lot of this is due to how Cerebral Palsy effects my body.  It zaps my energy and exhausts me.  Most of my life is lived in slow motion and it feels like I'm constantly chasing after something that I will never, never be able to catch.

In addition to depression, I also struggle with other emotions and have emotional outbursts;

This leads to shame and guilt;

Which leads to hearing my inner voices;

Leading to self-harm;

Leading, leading, leading down the rabbit hole.

Until SMACK

You hit rock bottom and once you climb back out of the rabbit hole...

The cycle starts all over again.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE

LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

Christianity and Mental Health - Part 2

There are many different theories and beliefs on mental health; in fact there are probably as many different opinions on mental health as they are types of mental illnesses themselves. Mental health has been around as long as life itself.  (I dare say Cain probably suffered severe when God abandoned him to the wilderness because he killed his bother).  Elijah (1 Kings 19:4), David (Psalms) and Job ( he has his own book) all suffered depression.
  
When we see that some of our biblical heroes, and even some of the biblical villains we love to hate like Saul and Nebuchadnezzar,  suffered with mental health issues.    It eases my mind some to know I'm in great company/
  
Solomon tells us in  Ecclesiastes 1:9`

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

Many Christians, however, project a negative image onto Christians who admit that they struggle with their mental health.  Many people are made to feel like they don't believe in God, they don't have enough faith or they are made to feel like the struggle with mental health a sin.  Some Christians are made to feel like ashamed if they admit they have mental health because there are afraid of the backlash.  I've seen people being brow bested by well intended Christians who think that if the person would just "get religion" the will be healed. 

I can remember times when I was growing up and some people would see my physical disability and would say; "Bless your heart, I'll pray for you."  Now, don't get me wrong, MY God is a HEALING God, but if I don't get healed is doesn't my faith isn't strong enough or that I'm being punished for  something.  In fact , in my case at least, I think God allowed me to be physically disabled and someone who struggles with mental health, to give Him glory  and to show what a life can look like even though it may look to be damaged by others.

My ultimate prayer is  that the church and Christians  gain understanding of people who are struggling with their mental issue it is hard to understand; because it is so personal.  Unless you're the one struggling with mental health, or you're EXTREMELY close to the person who struggling with their mental health, you can't get it.  For me, at least, I can not describe my struggles with my mental health.  Their are no words, even though it makes total sense to me at the time.  When I try to express it out loud , it sounds just as illogical to me as it does to others.  But logic and mental health don't always go together.

SELFISHNESS V. SELF CARE

Growing up I had this idea that as a Christina its was a sin to be selfishness,  Ironically, looking back I realize I was probably the most selfish person EVER.  My selfish, irrational behavior reaped chaos and havoc throughout my childhood home and has continued in our home today; I'm embarrassed to say you know the adage "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"  This so true!  I set the tone for The Barrett's Home Sweet Home.

I have suffer from bipolar depression and perhaps some other mental issues since I was little.  We think some of this is due to a chemical imbalance due to caused by the brain damage I suffered as birth.  I've always kind of use my actions the  are caused by my bipolar to get my way.  It's a cycle.  I want to say (and has said) I'll change, but soon as the next problem happens, everything goes.

It's taken me my whole life to realize that acting like this is part of my coping mechanism.  It gives me control of some sort, where much of my life is out of my control.  But when I lose control of my control, well; let's just say the woman's scorned fury has nothing on me.

This is where Self Care enters in.

When I think of self care, I tend to think that I need to take each thought captive and realize that every thought doesn't need to be expressed.  I need to rem, ember to take a deep breath and think before I speak.  I need  to give myself permission  to take a break; to step out of the situation to gain a clearer perspective.  I need to pray and try to see things through other's eyes if I need to.  I need to pray for myself, because if I can't truly love and pray for myself, how can I love and pray for others?