Self-Reflection Crucial to Mental Health

By Neil Mastellone Co-Author: Jeanie Mastellone

Self-reflection is something most people resist doing. The reason is obvious, we are afraid of what we might see about ourselves. Nonetheless, it is only through honest self-reflection that we can hope to heal and ease our mental and emotional pain.
The more selfish and controlling we become, the more unwilling we are to be wrong, and the less willing we are to self-reflect.
Honest self-reflection is necessary in order for a person to make substantial positive personal changes that will minimize inner pain and reduce negative behavior and destructive experience. True mental health hinges on honest self-reflection and positive change.
* If you struggle with finding the truth about yourself, rest assured that discovering that truth is always possible. The search will be simple, if your intention to accept negative truths about yourself is sincere. Any resistance to seeing the whole truth about yourself will block you from consciously becoming aware.
* Do you like yourself? Do others like you? If you have ever wished you were different, you should know that, at any time, you could choose to be different.
* If the truth about your self makes you feel small, it is past time to start making different choices. Nothing raises a person's self-esteem like a string of truly right choices.
* Are all of your smiles sincere? How frequently do you find yourself going along to get along?
* Unfortunately, most people's self-reflection is limited to looking in a mirror. Does that include you?
* What are you not doing that you know you should be doing?
* How often have you failed because you reactively chose to fail?
* Do you dig deep, give it all you have, come from behind, and never give up? Do you only act that way on a sports field?
* If your actions contradict your words, then, you are choosing to be a hypocrite.
* How many times have you refused to say, "Thank You" when knew you should have?
* Are you basically a "taker?" Have you ever given freely without any strings attached?
* Do you ever wish you could make the shift from becoming to being?
* What are you avoiding dealing with the most? That is what is probably hurting you the most.
* Is your eye on the donut or on the hole? How much time and energy do you invest in petty, trivial, and meaningless activities?
* Are you being true to your heart?
* When someone says, "Be yourself!" what do they mean?
* Which best describes you: open or closed, sincere or insincere, giving or taking, loving or selfish?
* Do you tend to dwell on things you want, but do not have?
* One of the saddest phrases you could utter is, "It might have been if only I had chosen differently."
* The true measure of your life is in how many hours you spent expressing true love and actual truth to the people around you.
* How many "necessities" are you attached to?
* Do people consider you emotionally nourishing or emotionally draining?
* How many of your own mistakes have you chosen to run from?
* Do you deal with feeling alone by throwing yourself into situations with others, or do you deliberately seek solitude? Either way, do you still feel alone?
* "I will." "I won't." Who decides for you?
* One measure of your character is what you would refuse to do when there is no chance you would be found out.
* Two extremely common irresponsible lies are "I could not help it," and "I did not realize I did that."
* Do you foolishly believe that the smarter you are, the better you are? Do you pretend to know more than you actually do?
* How much good do you bring to life?
* If you were granted three wishes, would your wishes reveal how selfish you are choosing to be?
* Every one of your selfish urges has a story to tell. It usually turns out to be a tragedy.
* Is it not true that you know exactly the kind of person you should be?
* Whom do you allow to control you? For what reasons?
* Do you usually play the victim when you perceive yourself as being controlled?
* When you attempt to control the people close to you, what are you trying to gain?
* Have you ever allowed yourself to get in touch with your negative drives to control, to see under them, and discover to whom, and to what they relate to and why?
* Do you selfishly control in basically angry or basically fearful ways?
* How often do you act out of meanness, vengeance, or hate?
* What practical benefits do you get from controlling your everyday situations and interactions?
* Why don't you go against what you feel driven to do, but know you should not be doing?
* What are your favorite rationalizations, the ones that help you make your most wrong choices seem right?
* Do you usually allow yourself to consciously feel the guilt and other negative emotional effects of a wrong choice when you make it?
* Is your attention usually on discovering the right thing to do in a situation, or, typically, is your attention kept on what you want or do not want?
* In what area of your life do you compromise the most? With whom do you compromise the most? To gain what? How do your compromises make you feel?
* Do you seek to give people what they want? Why?
* When a compromise seems to make things better, is it because all the parties are getting what they want from each other?
* Are you willing to distinguish the difference between your selfish ideas of what is right and what is actually right?
* How firm are you in your opinions of what is right or wrong?
* Are you willing to stop controlling your mind and perception long enough to discover what is truly right in any given moment?
* Who decides what you will or will not think, feel, say, and do?
* When you make a selfish choice, what do you usually tell yourself?
* How many times have you convinced yourself that you did not have a choice in a situation?
* Can you always make a choice to be nice and express love? How often do you not make that choice? With whom does that usually occur? Why?
* How willing are you to risk being rejected or ridiculed for making what you know is a right choice?
* Why is it easier to see and focus on another person's wrong choices rather than your own?
* Why do you resist consciously knowing your deepest intentions, thoughts, and feelings? Do you think you can?
* How honest are you with yourself about how you really are? How honest are you with others? Do you recognize the key lies you believe as lies? What are some of them?
* Do you know what your deepest fears are?
* Do you have the courage, when appropriate, to share personal negative truths about yourself with your significant partner?
* Do you refuse to be vulnerable unless those with whom you are interacting are first willing to be vulnerable?
Well, if you turned up any personal negatives, therein lies what should become your the top priority on your "To Do" List.

For truly new perspectives and insights about the psychological dimensions of our humanity, our most influential relationships, and the roots of our earliest reactions which are the roots of our disorders and dysfunctional behavior patterns, visit http://www.upfrontpress.com/
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Common Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

By Sean M Reed

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that causes severe mood swings. This disorder is also known as manic-depressive disorder, and can affect men and women of all ages. People who have been diagnosed with this mental health issue often experience extreme shifts in mood, vacillating between periods of depression as and feelings of euphoria. This disorder can be very disruptive and makes it extremely difficult for the sufferer to enjoy a balanced lifestyle. Fortunately, bipolar disorder can be controlled with a combination of prescription medication and psychotherapy.
If you think you or a loved one is experiencing the symptoms of bipolar disorder, set up a consultation with a psychotherapist in your area. A professional and experienced psychotherapist can conduct a comprehensive mental health evaluation and create a treatment plan that will make it easier to get through each day without extreme shifts in mood.
Classifications
Researchers and medical professionals have classified bipolar disorder into several subtypes. Each subtype has its own set of noticeable symptoms, but it can be difficult to tell which type an individual falls in to based on symptoms alone. A psychotherapist will need to analyze the individual's behavior patterns over a certain period of time to determine the specific type of disorder the individual has.
The different types of bipolar disorder are:

• Bipolar I disorder - the individual experiences severe mood swings and has difficulty finding and maintaining a job, keeping up with school and studies, or building and maintaining healthy relationships. Sufferers may also experience cyclical episodes of full-blown mania and severe depression.
• Bipolar II disorder - less severe than Bipolar I but common symptoms include an elevated mood, sudden mood changes and less-severe forms of mania.
• Cyclothymia - a milder form of bipolar disorder where the cycles of hypomania and depression are not as severe

Range of Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Since bipolar disorder symptoms can be so extreme, sufferers may experience several different and mood states over the course of a day, a week or a month depending on the severity of their condition. Those who have had it for years without any psychotherapy intervention may experience more intense and consistent mood swings than those who are undergoing counseling or taking certain medications.
Symptoms of depression and hypomania typically occur separately, but some people do experience "mixed episodes" when they have both at the same time.
Symptoms of bipolar disorder on the depressive side include:

• Extreme fatigue
• Loss of interest in daily activities
• Feelings of sadness and hopelessness
• Chronic pain
• Problems concentrating
• Suicidal thoughts
• Low appetite or an increased appetite
• Poor performance at work or at school

Symptoms of bipolar disorder on the euphoric side, or "manic phase" include:

• Inflated self-esteem
• Extreme optimism
• Increased physical activity
• Increased drive to achieve goals
• Spending sprees
• Inability to concentrate
• Delusions
• Frequent absences from work or school
• Risky behavior, including reckless use of drugs or alcohol
• Poor judgment
• Rapid speech

Get in touch with a psychotherapist if you or someone you know is experiencing the symptoms of bipolar disorder. A professional psychotherapist can help to determine the type of disorder you or the individual has, and develop a treatment plan that will keep the disorder under control.

A psychotherapist can help you or a loved one determine what the issue is when suffering from a mental health disorder. To find a doctor near you, go to  http://www.locateadoc.com.

Is Depression Built in Stages?

By Hari Nath

Depression, in simplistic terms, is the situation of being in a state of sadness over a lengthy period of time. Of course, it is already mentioned that this is a simplistic definition, because if it were that simple; the world would have been a happier place to live in for many people with depression! Depression is not something similar to a cold or a headache. It is not something that appears quickly and goes away as quickly.
Symptoms are not exclusive
Depression is a deeply rooted psychological malady that is difficult to understand in simple terms. Of course, people who have depression do exhibit a few common symptoms like sadness, listlessness, anxiety, moroseness, disinterest in matters of daily living and the like; but so do normal people. We all experience what may be called a bad day in office (not literally speaking though, because we should include home too here).
Difficult parameters
So, how is a person who has depression different from the rest if these symptoms and behaviors exist in all kinds of people? It is said that depressed people are in this state of mind over a long period of time. But how long? That should be the defining parameter. The medical profession is not clear if a person who has been through a low for a couple of weeks should be called a depressed person and be bracketed with someone who has been though it for a couple of years. And how does it feel to 'graduate' from the two-week period to the two-year period? Is the behavior the same over this period of time, or it is graded? These are the real challenges psychiatrists encounter while treating people with depression.
Some stages
Based on the pace at which depression builds up in a person's mind; medical science usually classifies depression according to the following stages:
o Major;
o Manic or bipolar;
o Dysthymic;
o Cyclothymic;
o Postpartum;
o Seasonal.
What are these stages for?
These are what may be called the various phases, but we have to be clear about what these stages really mean: These are more of a frame of reference for doctors than something that is irrefutable. This is certainly not a watertight compartmentalization of the condition. There is no reason to believe that one could be less treatable or more severe than another.
For whose benefit?
These gradations are made to give doctors a kind of benchmark with which to approach the problem. To the patient himself, absolutely no difference is made. A person with chronic depression has more things to worry about and feel down than to estimate the stage he is in. For the patient, his family and the lay public alike; there is no serious sense out of these stages. They do serve a limited, academic purpose, which is to help doctors slot the patient and use as an assessment tool, nothing more; nothing less.

What is Schizoaffective Disorder?

By Julie Fast

Bipolar Disorder Symptoms plus Schizophrenia Symptoms equals Schizoaffective Disorder.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding Schizoaffective disorder.  This is probably because schizophrenia itself is so hard to understand when you only have knowledge of bipolar disorder.
What is the difference between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia?
There is a big difference between bipolar and schizophrenia. Bipolar is a mood disorder where a person has trouble regulating their emotions. It's episode, which means it can come and go- some people have chronic symptoms as I do- others can literally go for years without an episode. For example, my former partner Ivan who has bipolar I (one) went 12 years between manic episodes. Stress is often a factor in when a person has episodes. Bipolar disorder can definitely have psychosis- but it is not usually chronic. And most importantly, psychosis with bipolar almost always comes with other mood swings such as psychotic depression or psychotic mania.
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder which means its main symptom is psychosis. People with schizophrenia can be chronically psychotic or experience episodes, but the psychosis is persistent if a person doesn't get medication treatment.
Both illness are difficult to treat- but schizophrenia is more difficult as there is not enough information on how it affects the brain- which means the medications are more limited.  Bipolar treatment focuses on mood stabilizer medications where the focus for schizophrenia is antipsychotics.
What is Schizo-Affective Disorder?
The schizoaffective disorder diagnosis means that a person has bipolar mood swings along with discrete psychosis. In other words, the psychosis can be present with mood swings, but it can also exist alone.  This is not the case with bipolar where the psychosis almost always attaches itself to a mood swing. This is why is why a different diagnosis is used for people who have the symptoms of  bipolar combined with the more chronic psychosis of schizophrenia.  Schizo affective disorder is naturally much more difficult to treat than bipolar.  But there is hope as new medications come on the market and the illness is more researched and understood.

JULIE A. FAST, best selling author of Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder and Get it Done When You're Depressed is a critically acclaimed six-time author, national speaker, and sought after expert in the fields of bipolar disorder and depression. Julie was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder in 1995 at the age of thirty-one, after she had unknowingly lived with the disorder for over fourteen challenging and chaotic years. She regularly experiences mood swings, especially depression and uses the same treatment strategies she writes about in her books in order to continue her outstanding success as an author- even while struggling with bipolar disorder daily. Julie thrives on helping people with bipolar disorder (and those who love them) manage mood disorders so that they can live well in spite of the illness. To learn more about effectively managing bipolar disorder visit: http://www.bipolarhappens.com

5 Surprising Things About a Spouse With Bipolar (That the Doctor Never Told You)

By David E. Oliver

There are many issues you have to deal with when you are trying to cope with a spouse with bipolar disorder. There are some issues that your spouse's doctor told you about; however, there are some things that the doctor never told you. In this article, we will discuss 5 surprising things about a bipolar spouse that the doctor most likely didn't tell you.
Following are 5 surprising things about a spouse with bipolar that the doctor never told you:
1. They can reject you.
When your spouse with bipolar is in a manic episode, they can have all kinds of grandiose ideas, thoughts, and plans, and they expect you to go along with them. If when you don't, they will reject you. If they do this, don't take it personally - it is just part of their bipolar disorder. They believe that their irrational thoughts and plans are totally rational, and they just expect that everyone else thinks so, too, so they believe that everyone should go along with them, and will reject anyone who doesn't. When your spouse with bipolar is in a depressed episode, they may reject you because they just want to be left alone. Again, don't take this personally, as it is part of their bipolar disorder.
2. They can fight over nothing.
Many people erringly believe that manic episodes are always of the happy kind; however, that isn't always true. In many cases, mania can be manifested in agitation and irritation. Then it can cause your spouse with bipolar to fight with you, many times over nothing (or at least nothing that you can put a finger on). It may be over something you did or didn't do; however, many times you may not know the exact cause for your spouse's picking
the fight with you. The best thing you can do is to walk away from the fight and just not engage in it, hoping that they will not continue it on their own. If this is not possible, or if they follow you, then just stay calm and don't fight back, and try to end the fight as quickly as possible.
3. They can lose interest in sex.
It may come as a surprise to you when your spouse with bipolar loses interest in sex, but this is actually a very common problem among people with bipolar disorder. In many cases, it is because loss of interest in sex is one of the side effects of bipolar medication, so this may be what is affecting your spouse. Another reason that could have to do with their medication is weight gain. They may have decreased self-esteem because of the weight they've gained because of their bipolar medication, and thus have less interest in sex. However, one of the biggest reasons why someone with bipolar disorder would lose interest in sex is that they are depressed, as with depression comes a decrease of interest in those things that were pleasurable to the person before the depression.
4. They can change moods at the drop of a hat.
One of the basic features of bipolar disorder itself is the extreme mood swings, and your spouse's doctor probably told you about that; however, he/she probably didn't tell you how quickly those mood swings can take place. Your spouse with bipolar may be perfectly fine one minute, and then be totally "off" the very next minute. It could be that something "triggered" them into the mood swing. One of the biggest triggers is stress, so you need to watch out for that, and try to keep their environment/life as stress-free as possible for them. For some people with bipolar disorder, this quick changing of mood swings is a type of bipolar disorder called rapid cycling bipolar disorder.
5. They can kill themselves.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) states that up to 20% of people with bipolar disorder will kill themselves. That's 1 in 5 people! A frightening statistic. What this means to you is that your spouse with bipolar may very well get into a bipolar depressive episode so deep that they begin to feel so totally helpless and hopeless that they threaten to commit suicide. If they do, you need to be prepared. The most important thing is that you take every single threat of suicide seriously. You just never know when they might actually go through with it.

David Oliver is the nation's leading experts on helping and supporting a loved one with bipolar disorder. You can get learn about many of David's little known, yet effective strategies to cope and deal with your loved one's bipolar by click here.

Prodromal Schizophrenia

By Martin K James

Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental sicknesses that affect people in many parts of the world. The disorder is normally associated with breakdown of thoughts and being emotionally irresponsible. In many cases, an individual suffering from schizophrenia has delusions, hearing hallucinations and can also be paranoid. Later on the patient becomes socially and occupational dysfunctional. The disorder starts during the age of young adulthood and continues to the whole life of the patient. However, it is worth noting that schizophrenia patients have a shorter lifespan. Their lifespan is shorter by 0.3% to 0.7% when compared with that of normal persons.
Individuals suffering from schizophrenia lack contact with reality and they normally see and hear things that are not in existence. They tend to speak in strange ways and they always feel insecure with imaginations that they are being watched and someone might harm them. This makes patients of schizophrenia to isolate themselves and consequently become irresponsible people. They even refuse to eat or even bath and change their clothes. In some societies, people believe that people with schizophrenia are possessed by demons and consequently they are discriminated by their families and societies.
Schizophrenia is believed to be as a result of genetic, psychological, social, neurological and environmental factors surrounding the patient. According the psychological analysis of recent cases of schizophrenia, some of the modern lifestyles and recreational styles such as drug abuse have contributed greatly to worsening of the condition of patients suffering from this mental disorder. Economic challenges such as financial instability and unemployment are also making many young adults to develop Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia occurs in stages that continue advancing if no medical measures are taken. However it is worth noting that the disorder is more severe if it developed during the young age of an individual. The first stage of the disorder is the prodromal stage. This is the early stage of schizophrenia. At this stage it is not possible to diagnose schizophrenia since the symptoms are not specific. The next stage is the acute stage where the patient starts developing specific schizophrenia symptoms. This is the active stage of the disorder and the patient after some time the patient advances to the residual stage of schizophrenia has which similar symptoms with prodromal stage.
Although the disorder is chronic it does not mean that individuals suffering from schizophrenia cannot help recover from their illnesses. Research shows that with adequate support from the family members and community members, individuals suffering from schizophrenia can do things by their own and live responsible lives. All that they need is adequate counseling and medication. The condition is easily treatable if it is realized in the early stages when little damage has occurred in the brain.
Therefore parents should be very observant in order to determine when their children are developing schizophrenia so that they can give them the necessary therapy, medication and support. In order to check whether a person is developing schizophrenia, it is important to monitor whether the person like staying alone, he/she is motionless, irrational reasoning, speaks in a strange manner, over sleeping or lack of sleep and poor hygiene. When an individual develops the above symptoms, he/she is likely to develop schizophrenia. It is therefore important to visit a psychiatrist in order to seek further clarification and take the necessary medical measures.

Schizophrenia can be very difficult in the early stage and we do all we can to help you and your close ones by providing as much information as possible.

Mental Illness: The Impact of Stigma

By Sue Shotan

It is no secret that mental illness is surrounded by stigma. There are numerous negative terms used to describe people with mental illness; many of these terms are used in everyday conversation. We are so familiar with them in fact, that most people have no idea that they are furthering the stigma by using them.

Think about some of these common terms: crazy, nuts, wacko, psycho. We use these terms to describe people, ideas, events, etc. but also to label those with legitimate medical conditions. By referring to people this way we casually toss them into a group without really trying to understand them, or their illness.
The fact is that 1 in 4 American adults can be diagnosed with a mental illness in any given year. That's 25% of the adult U.S. population. Chances are you know someone who has a mental illness. Studies have shown that those with mental illnesses can recover faster and better with the support of family and friends. Even so, many people choose to hide their disorders from even their closest family members, co-workers and social circles. Why? Because of stigma.
Stigma makes these individuals feel ashamed of their disorder, fearful of how people's perceptions of them may change. They even fear knowing themselves; which is why it often takes people so long to seek treatment for a mental disorder. When terms like "crazy," "nuts," "wacko," etc. are so predominant, you can see why someone with a diagnosis would be fearful of revealing it.
In this way, stigma hurts an individual already dealing with the pain of a mental illness. But the impact is far greater than just the individual. If stigma prevents someone from seeking help for a mental illness, their illness may become worse. This can affect their family life, job or school performance, and social network. Left untreated, a person may lose their job, family and friends. An astounding number of homeless individuals suffer from mental illness. There are high levels of mentally ill individuals in jails as well (on mostly non-violent charges).
In our society, stigma has an enormous impact. At best, it can cause someone to have to suffer silently with their mental health problem. At its worse, it can cause job loss, family disruption, homelessness and incarceration. Both extremes are unacceptable.
There are many things we can all do to eliminate stigma and create a healthier community. First is to become educated about mental health and the disorders that affect so many people. Stigma often arises from misconceptions and fears. Second is to eliminate negative slang terms. Use "people first" language i.e. "a person with schizophrenia," instead of just "crazy." By learning about mental illness and being respectful of those with these common medical conditions, we can make huge progress towards eliminating stigma.

Sue Shotan is a mental health advocate and educator working in collaboration with community partners to help eliminate stigma, promote awareness, and help improve the lives of those living with mental illness. Sue is currently partnering with Connee Gorman, LLC, a mental health education company, to provide mental health education in the Midwest. Please visit http://www.conneegorman.com to learn more.