Mental Illness: Myth - You can just “get over it.”

The “get over it” myth is perhaps the saddest and most disturbing of all the myths. The myth lies in the idea that people can just use will power to “battle” through it or otherwise “become” better.

From a talk* given by Elder Alexander B. Morrison:

Some there are who, in their lack of understanding and empathy, mistakenly believe that the mentally ill just need to “snap out of it, show a little backbone, and get on with life.” Those who believe that way display a grievous lack of knowledge and compassion. The facts are that seriously mentally ill people simply cannot, through an exercise of will, get out of the predicament they are in. Anyone who has witnessed the incredible, well-nigh unbearable pain of a panic attack knows full well that no one would suffer that way if all that was needed was to show a little will power.

I think that sums it up nicely, but I wanted to share the first of several stories that were given to me by victims of mental illness. This story comes from a person that is close to me who suffers from severe social anxiety disorder:

For most people, standing on the porch enjoying the weather is a happy experience. For me, it is a daily test of endurance. It involves a racing heart beat, quickened breath, mental preparation, and sometimes - often - it involves failure.

I have severe social anxiety disorder and am bipolar, and the world outside my home is a very scary place for me. I was diagnosed about five years ago, and it still rules my life in many ways. It takes constant effort - pushing my limits so that I don’t slide in my ability to handle life outside my safe place (my home).

My current project takes place each evening on my porch. I started out at 30 seconds and have progressed slowly to 90. Ninety seconds seems an eternity out there on the porch where everyone is free to look and laugh at me. “What is she doing?” ” She is so ugly!” “She is so fat!” Feelings of not being good enough, not being “allowed” to enjoy this world I live in overwhelm me for those 90 seconds. I feel hot as if I’m under a spotlight. My face flushes and palms sweat. I busy my hands with a cell phone or a button on my shirt or anything to seem like I don’t care that I am being judged. All of this is as real to me as a pin prick and the resulting blood loss. In reality there may not be people looking and laughing and judging, but in my mind they have names and faces and are very real indeed.

If will power were all it took to avoid feeling the way this person feels, wouldn’t she have “willed” it?

The truth of the matter is that mental illness is a disease just as diabetes, cancer, or heart disease are diseases. Mental illness is a biological disorder caused by some of the following conditions (Note: there is some disagreement on these causes, but this is what I subscribe to):

• Over- or under-production of necessary chemicals.
• Malfunctioning or damaged chemical receptors.
• Biological triggers that alter chemical makeup.

Just as we can’t expect someone with the flu to perform at maximum potential, it is equally unfair to expect someone with a mental illness to do the same.

For me, this was the real shift in my thinking and understanding about mental illness. Before understanding and accepting this principal, I had long believed that mental illness could be overcome by willing it because I didn’t recognize it as a biological condition. And because of that belief, I spent the first few months of my wife’s post-partum depression battling with her will power instead of treating and dealing with the causes. That almost ruined us, and it would have been my fault.

I personally believe this myth arises from the difficulty in spotting and recognizing symptoms in the mentally ill. With common illnesses such as the flu, there are obvious, debilitating symptoms such as fevers, vomiting, dizziness, and so on. You can look at some one and see they are sick, and because you have probably been sick too, you can sympathize with them. With mental illness, however, you can’t always see that nor can you always sympathize. Looking at my wife, all I saw back then was an emotional wreck that just needed to snap out of it, and that is far too common for most people. Even when she was diagnosed, I had difficulty comprehending what she was going through because I had never experienced that. To the untrained eye, it is just difficult to recognize the seriousness, and uncontrollability, of the symptoms. To the unfamiliar, it is just difficult to understand.

The myth is that the mentally ill can just get over it. The truth is that when you learn how to think your way out of a cold, you can logically and honestly tell a mentally ill person to “get over it.” Until then, will power just isn’t going to work.

*I tried to find the copy of Elder Alexander Morrison’s talk, but I couldn’t. I also didn’t look very hard though. If you want to see it in full, I suggest searching LDS.org for “Mental Illness.” It should pop up fairly close to the top. I’ll be referencing his talk numerous times throughout this series.

I’ll also point out that I was fairly liberal with condensing the text of his talk since I wanted some very specific information from the talk for my powerpoint presentation. Since I’m pulling the text for this series from that powerpoint, I’m using the condensed text I created. The full talk is well worth the read and covers each of the myths I will address over the next few posts.

How to wake up in the morning

One more off topic post before returning to the mental illness series….

Katherine has taken up a seriously painful way to wake me up in the morning. I often end up on my stomach towards dawn, and Katherine likes to climb in to bed and then jump on my back. Several months ago she was light enough that it didn’t bother me. Now though, it feels like having a sack of concrete dropped repeatedly from a great height.

So you might ask what her favorite bedtime story is. Why it’s Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop! of course.

Olympic Memories

I wanted to take a break (short one) from the mental illness topic and do something else. It’s Olympic season, and I can’t think of a better thing to do with my time right now. I LOVE the Olympics.

I was talking with a friend about the Olympics, and we started dancing down Memory Lane with our favorite Olympic memories. Here’s a brief list of my favorite Summer Games memories:

• Greg Louganis (sp?) hitting his head on the diving board. Greg Louganis IS the Olympics for me. I most distinctly remember watching him and idolizing him as a kid. That hit was burned into my memory.
• The womens gymnast team in Atlanta, 1996. That final vault with the one-legged landing… Easily one of the greatest sport moments of all time.
• Michael Johnson scorching the competition in the 200 meters. I ran the 400M through out high school, and I have a strong appreciation for the speed and talent that speed runners have. Watching him fly through that race and completely crush the world record was an absolute treat.
• Gail Devers. Need I say more?
• A former memory was watching Marion Jones in track (Athens, 2004), but her drug scandal has pretty much erased the pleasure of that memory.
• Thorpe with his earth shattering swims.
• And of course, Bob Costas. If you see Bob Costas, you know you are watching the Olympics.

And this Olympics is certainly marking my mind with fond memories…

• Artemov (sp?) of the U.S. mens gymnastics team on the pommel horse. Has anyone every flown with such speed and grace?
• Walsh and May-Treanor of the womens beach volleyball team.
• The 400M IM finals with the mens swimming team was easily the most exciting two minutes in swimming history.
• And of course, Michael Phelps. I love the Visa commercial where Morgan Freeman narrates several images of Phelps swimming. During the commercial, Freeman keeps providing evidence of how Phelps is just human. His last comment is that Phelps is not a dolphin, but if you squint your eyes just so….

It’s been a great Olympics (despite the accusations against China), and I look forward to more memories.

What are your favorite Olympic memories?

Mental Illness: Statistics

The following is a list of statistics largely pulled from information provided by NAMI. Other sources include organizations with special interests in mental illness.

• Many doctors and medical professional do not accept mental illness as “real.”
• One in four adults and one in ten children will experience a mental disorder in any given year.
• Depression is the leading cause of disability in developed countries.
• Thirty-one percent of all homeless people suffer from mental illness and addiction disorders.
• Half of all lifetime cases begin by age 14; 75 percent by age 24.
• Most mental illnesses remain undiagnosed for decades after the first symptoms appear.
• Victims of mental illness die an average of 25 years earlier than non-victims. The majority of these deaths are from treatable conditions.
• More than 90 percent of people who attempt suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder.
• Fifty percent of high school students with mental illness drop out of school. This is higher than any other demographic group.
• Mental illness affects 1 in 5 families.
• The World Health Organization reports that four of the top ten disabilities in developing countries are mental illnesses.
• By 2020, WHO reports that depression will be the leading cause of disability worldwide for women and children.
• Depression strikes women twice as often as men.
• Mental illness costs the US an estimated $100 BB annually mostly from lost productivity.

When I presented this information to my ward, the only question I could think to ask was, “What do you think?” Everyone just kind of sat there not knowing how to respond. Well, what do you think?

Personally, I was dumbfounded that mental illness is this prevalent and costly. I remember asking why something this big was so ignored and hidden. I think a big part of it is that mental illness has a stigma about it. For some reason, people are scared to talk about it or deal with it publicly, and can you blame them? One of the people who contributed her story (Laura) specifically requested that I withhold her full name, and she wasn’t the only one. In my own family, I have several relatives who suffer from varying degrees of mental illness ranging from severe bipolar and OCD to relatively mild social anxiety, and many of them were nervous about sharing their stories in case someone found out it was them. Of all the statistics, this is the most distressing to me.

It’s unfortunate that people are unsure of their ability to talk about their illness in beneficial ways. There is a great deal of misunderstanding, myths, and even fear regarding mental illness, and this is truly a situation where education and information leads to understanding, respect, and growth for both the victim and others. I feel very blessed that my family has chosen to be largely open about mental illness. It helps that my parents are trained NAMI representatives and that my father is a licensed counselor (guidance counselor). But that is not how it is throughout most of the world.

So, once more, what do you think?

Next Post: I plan on talking about some of the suggested causes of mental illness and other basics. This is a controversial topic with lots of misunderstandings, theories, and misconceptions. As I pointed out at the start of this post, many professionals have strong disagreements about causes and treatments. I look forward to your opinions and thoughts.

Mental Illness: Introduction

I wrote briefly about wanting to do this, and I’ve finally found the time to start. To give a brief introduction, I was asked by my bishop to present a lesson on mental illness to the adults of my ward as a fifth Sunday lesson. As I went through my materials, I found a host of things I wanted to talk about; so much that I think the best way to do this is as a series of posts. Appropriately, this one is simply an introduction.

Many professionals remain surprisingly unconvinced of some of the causes of mental illness and hold fast to the “get over it” treatment that is so dangerous and harmful. This professional attitude has trickled down creating a general attitude among the masses that makes mental illness taboo. How unfortunate. Mental illness is certainly a sensitive topic, and as we talk about it, please keep that in mind. I plan on sharing many experiences from family, friends, and acquaintances to showcase specific points and ideas.

Objectives

Simply put, I have three objectives in doing this:

1. Convince you of the reality of mental illness.
2. Provide information that will help you deal with mental illness on personal, familial, and community levels.
3. Provide resources for seeking help.

To be even simpler, I hope to help you see mental illness for what it is: an illness.

My connection to mental illness is storied. A simple count shows at least six close family members and friends who suffer from some form of mental illness, and if you count extended family and friends, that number quickly grows. If you are an average person, you have a family member or close friend who suffers from a mental illness. In fact, NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) reports that 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 10 children will experience some form of a mental disorder in any given year.

Think about that for a minute.

What other illness of such magnitude is kept so hidden and closeted as mental illness? And why? Sobering, isn’t it?

Types of Mental Illness

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but this is a fairly good start to the most common mental disorders. For the purposes of classification, I have combined similar disorders into categories.

• ADD and ADHD. Characterized by attention disorders and hyper-activity.
• Bipolar. Characterized by significant mood swings from deep depression to extreme highs (also called manic episodes). These changes typically occur quickly in a cyclical nature.
• Major Depression and Dysthymia. Perhaps the most recognized mental illness, depression is shown in deep, enduring emotional lows with no highs. The closely-related dysthymia is manifested as what might be best called a shallow emotional low where the sufferer stays in a funk for long periods of time often lasting in excess of six months. Where the depressed person will have occasional highs, a person with dysthymia will never have a high point.
• Eating Disorders (e.g., Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia). Most people are familiar with eating disorders, but many fail to recognize that these disorders include binge eating, emotional eating, and so on.
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. This disorder manifests itself in varying ways but is caused by a stressful event (war, death, and so on). This is extremely common among veterans of war.
• Schizoaffective Disorder and Schizophrenia. These disorders are psychotic disorders. One of the commenters (see comments) noted that schizoaffective disorder is related to schizophrenia but also includes manic episodes.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is a depressive disorder common to northern and southern parts of the world where winters are long and dark.
• Panic Disorders (e.g., Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This is a very common set of disorders marked by an inability to work in social situations. These disorders often have triggers that cause an episode.
• Suicide. I believe very little needs to be said.
• Tourette’s Syndrome. A disorder that commonly appears in the form of seizures, muscle spasms, and, far less common, inappropriate speech behaviors.
• Addiction Disorders. Disorders marked by an increased measure of risky behaviors.

Some are surprised by several additions to this list such as eating disorders, suicide, and addictions, but would it surprise you to know that 90% of all people who attempt suicide are mentally ill? Would it surprise you to know that many mentally ill people express their illness through the symptom of addictions? And remember, addictions in this case is not necessarily an addiction to alcohol or tobacco, but rather dangerous addictions (like alcohol and tobacco aren’t dangerous) such as risk taking, drugs, sex, and so on. And of course eating disorders are mental illnesses expressed through dangerous eating behaviors.

Let’s put this in perspective…. I currently live in Provo, a town of around 105,000 people (U.S. Census 2000). For the sake of argument, let’s say 100,000 people in Provo.

• ADD affects 180 MM people worldwide. That’s equal to 1,800 Provos.
• Tourettes affects 60 MM people worldwide. That’s 600 Provos.
• Anxiety disorders of all kinds affect roughly 1.1 BB people worldwide. That’s 1 out of every 6 people or 11,000 Provos.
• Depression affects 300 MM people worldwide (3,000 Provos).
• 6.6% of Americans will attempt suicide annually, and 10% of them will succeed.

And these numbers are based only on current diagnosis rates, not undiagnosed cases. And this is probably a very good place to stop. The point of all this is that mental illness is not only real, but it surrounds you.

The important think to remember is that whether you are a victim or not, you do have choices you can make and there is always help.

Next Post: Mental Health Statistics

*NOTE: All statistics throughout this series were derived from NAMI or NAMI-provided resources unless otherwise noted. I also worked closely with my father (a licensed counselor) and other professionals to gather materials and information. While I consider myself an educated and informed person on this topic, I am not an expert (yet).

Katherine’s what?!?!?

Courtney is being pregnant. It’s really hard to say it as anything else. Not that we are distressed by the pregnancy. On the contrary we are most pleased and excited. Having said that, though, we do have one very distressing announcement: Katherine is pregnant.

Katherine is our three-year-old daughter, and she has apparently become somewhat jealous of Courtney’s pregnancy. She went in to her room one day and returned a few minutes later with her shirt bulging conspicuously. She happily announced that she is pregnant with a Baby Horsey Pony. Most interestingly, the baby appears to be somewhat related to her favorite blanket as we could see portions of said blanket sticking out from beneath her shirt.

Katherine refuses to disclose the due date.

I suppose as the grandfather of this coming Baby Horsey Pony, I can only be pleased. Sure, I’d like to find the father and beat the crud out of him, but I’ll try to hold in my natural response until after the arrival of the baby.

After all, we shouldn’t upset Katherine in her delicate condition….

What a summer…

I keep meaning to write. I especially keep meaning to post the sections from my lesson on mental illness, but this summer is eating me alive. I thought I had a slow time coming up, but our tenants (we rent our mother-in-law apartment) announced their departure at the end of August, and we have a lot of work to do before we turn around and rent it out again. That on top of everything else we are doing just really eats the day. In fact, this is the first time aside from a brief moment this morning when I’ve been able to do stop and think. Here’s what we are doing:

• Total re-paint of the apartment. The apartment was a dark color, and it just didn’t really work. We once had the same color upstairs, but we have a lot more natural light and it worked well. Downstairs? Not so well. We are painting it a rich toffee brown with accents of light brown.
• Adding baseboards. This is one I’ve wanted to do for awhile since it makes everything look so nice and fresh.
• Moving our shed. The old owners built a shed in the back yard. It’s not a bad shed, but they put it right in the middle of the lawn. It made the yard look tiny. We (that means five of us) spent all of yesterday moving it about 80 feet to the very back of our parking area. Not counting the hornet attack (who knew there was a hornets nest right there anyway!?!?) and ripping the flooring out of the shed, I’d say it was a successful move. And the yard looks so much bigger which is the perfect segue into the next project…
• Sodding the back yard. We’ve given up on doing anything this year with our front  yard, so we are going to sod our back yard. Now that our tenants are gone (taking their dog with them), we can reclaim the back yard as our own. We’re going to sod it all and build a private area for us with a bench, fire pit, and BBQ. We’ll eventually put in a privacy fence as well to separate the yard from the parking lot next door.
• Last but not least, we’ll be cleaning the carpets. It seems like I’m always cleaning a carpet. Between kids, dogs, tenants moving in and out, and just normal life, I think I spend more time cleaning the carpets than any other maintenance project.

And all this reminds me… I’ve still got to finish painting downstairs.

What a summer….

Dave’s Gardening Corner: First Fruits

I forgot to mention this precious story from a week or so ago.

We pulled our first fruits from our garden; a couple peppers. We thought that we had planted two jalapeños for Courtney, but we quickly noticed that one of them was distinctly not a jalapeño, and we had only minimal ideas as to what it was. Naturally, we decided to figure it out by doing the obvious thing–We took a bite.

We have pretty good evidence that it was a Serrano.

On the Scoville heat index for peppers, your average jalapeño comes in at about 5,000 heat units. The Serrano comes in at around 23,000. Courtney, a big fan of hot foods, sat on our front porch, hands hung limply at her sides, mouth wide open, sucking oxygen. I even took a little bite. Man.

First fruits….

God’s License Plate

In just another act that tells me that the world has conspired against me, we lost our windshield earlier this month to a well-placed rock off a truck. To be honest, I can’t even tell you which one since the hit was so low on the windshield that I didn’t notice it until the crack exploded across our windshield a while later. We tried to save the windshield by painting over the crack with clear nail polish, but to no avail. The crack, now around 3-feet long, has cost us the windshield.

I started calling for replacements, and I unfortunately found out that since our car uses the increasingly more common rain-sensing technology for automatic wipers, the replacement glass is going to run us close to $750. That’s a pretty big chunk of change. I called our insurance and our deductible is $500, so we are going to be out at least that much.

Courtney asked if the windshield could be covered under a warranty. No; that kind of damage is considered an “act of God.” Apparently God drives a rock-throwin’ 18-wheeler…. It’s too bad that Gary Larsen isn’t drawing the Far Side anymore because that has the ring of a great comic. And it also begs the question: If God drove an 18-wheeler, what would his license plate say? Bumper stickers?

So many possibilities.

Because it needs to be said

The storm is rolling in, the smell of a forest fire is violent in the air, and I just put Katherine to bed in her new toddler bed. And Courtney’s taking a bath.

And it’s raining for the first time in several months.

So where am I? Some times, some things just need to be said, and this is one of those times. I’m happy.

I just tucked Katherine in for what seems to be the third time tonight (she wanted a graham cracker), and I told her “love you baby pony horsey” yet again (I don’t think I could ever say it too much or too often). And it just needs to be said. I’m happy.

Over the last three months, I decided that if anyone has a right to complain in this world, I’m certainly qualified. I can’t begin to tell you all that has happened, but between the house, a funeral, the pregnancy, and a lay off, I really think I’m allowed. I’m happy.

And I think it started with a real simple action this morning. I helped a neighbor move, and afterwards one of the guys who helped just took the time to make my life important to him. It’s real easy to see only my problems despite the troubles we all face, and now? I’m happy.

So sometimes it just needs to be said.

I’m happy. Happier today than I was yesterday, and tomorrow better still.