There are so many mental health issues to suffer from:
OCD
ADHD
PTSD
Anxiety
Dementia
Depression
Bipolar
Schizophrenia
Eating Disorders
etc etc etc etc etc...
I think that people who say they don't have a little of one of these don't know they do
How can you not have a little
of one or two of those?
Take dementia - is it forgetting things?
When is dementia, amnesia?
As you can tell I am no doctor
but there seems a connection
Can you remember you had amnesia if amnesia is about forgetting things?
Where do your memories go to if you loose them?
They say it's like computers when techies say the file is there
the file maybe there
only the computer has lost the link to it
think of a book with an index but with no page numbers!
But, symptoms of amnesia include more than memory loss
they include confusion - loosing your memory is going to leave you confused!
You have lost the ability to recognise familiar faces or locations
later - after recovery
people typically have no memory of their amnesia - which given it's nature you would expect
but dementia!
when does memory loss become dementia?
Come on we've all had that thought!
symptoms include asking the same questions over and over again
not knowing you're doing it
getting lost in places you knew well
having trouble following recipes or directions - wait a minute
I get these problems all of the time!
...don't you?
does that mean I have dementia?
It's difficult isn't it!
What if you hear voices in your head?
What if the voices in your head are real
well; at least you think they're real!
and how do you know they're not?
What if it's not just you chatting away to yourself? - what do you mean you don't talk to yourself in your head constantly!
I do!
So what if I hear someone else's voice in my head - sort of interject?
I haven't by the way!
Professionals call hearing voices 'auditory hallucinations'
An 'hallucination' is something you see
taste
smell
or hear
that other people cannot
so - are they not there then?
If you hear voices
in your head
this means you hear something that other people cannot!
I think it is a good thing you cannot hear the voice in my head - it wants locking up sometimes
and would be of you could hear it!
but it is difficult and it is a fine line
They say 1 in every 8 people in the world lives with a mental disorder
does that mean the other 7 from every 8 are not living with anything?
...I don't think so!
There are so many mental disorders going around
we all must have a little of one or two of them - mustn't we?
Aren't a lot of us prone to feeling down?
Isn't that a little bit of depression?
Aren't a lot of us a bit obsessive about certain things
Isn't that a little bit of OCD?
don't we all forget things?
Is this the start of dementia
well probably not!
Mental disorders involve significant disturbances in thinking
in emotional regulation or behaviour
so what causes disturbing thoughts?
Thoughts you perhaps shouldn't have?
Intrusive thoughts can occur due to various factors
like during periods of anxiety
stress, depression, trauma
or other underlying mental health conditions
one or two of which I reckon we all have a little of
is it self-perpetuating?
They may be due to imbalances in brain chemistry
or environmental stress or learned thought patterns.
Take OCD
What is an OCD person like?
Who are they?
Are they different from you or I?
It's not that simple
OCD is intrusive
people with OCD may have obsessions or compulsions
or both
obsessions could be repeated thoughts
urges or mental images that are intrusive and unwanted
they make most people anxious
so there you go again - if you think you have OCD you might have anxiety too
to a certain level
then your illness might develop
your basic OCD might develop into a fear
a fear of germs or contamination
a fear of forgetting
misplacing something
loosing something
and then you're back round to thinking you have dementia!
Round and round and round!
Now
I'm no expert
and I am not trying to belittle mental health
I have experience in the subject
my Mum died of Altzhiemers
it was horrible to watch
an intelligent women
a teacher
a perveyor of knowledge - completely loosing all of hers
to the point where she didn't know who I was
I suffered with depression for many years
brought on partly by her death
she was in her early 50"s
it is a real thing
anyone who thinks they are clear of it needs to be aware
it could be around the next corner
at any level
my Mum's death sent my Dad off the rails and into hospital
luckily he came through it and is still with us at the age of 91
but...
it - is - real!
and
it - is - out - there!
and it could come knocking on your door at any time
remember - people with a mental illness aren't just feeling a bit pissed off
feeling a bit grumpy
and in need of cheering up...
No!
they are unwell and need various levels of support
...it is so true to say
but please
take this away with you
"be nice to people,
because you don't know what real hell they are going though!"
Thank you
