Mental Health

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