MHM #8: 7 Signs You’re Seeing the Wrong Shrink

07/25/2019 Laura Becker Comments 2 comments

Welcome to MHM #8! Mental Health Moments are shorter posts with practical tips, suggestions, and other helpful things. I’m on my fifth psychiatrist since 2004, and I’ve seen many more during my hospitalizations. There are some great men and women in this profession who care about their patients and go above and beyond their duties for our mental health. But there are also some doozies out there that should be avoided at all costs. Picking out a pdoc randomly from…

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TMS: Week Three

10/22/2018 Laura Becker Comments 0 Comment

So, I just started week three of TMS today, and I have to say – I feel great! How often do you say that? “I feel great!” If you’re anything like me, it’s not very often. But I’m here to say that it is possible, even if you don’t think so yet. “SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER” I started feeling better after only four sessions; I had number 15 this morning. Last week, I felt pretty good, but today I’m noticing an even…

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TMS: Weeks One and Two

10/16/2018 Laura Becker Comments 0 Comment

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash Hello, fellow Warriors! You might have noticed that I’ve been MIA the last couple weeks. That’s because my old nemesis, depression, has come for a visit and settled right in. In my last post, I said I was feeling better. That was true – I was no longer suicidal and thought I was headed back to feeling “normal” (whatever that is). Alas, it was not to be. I should have known, since I was so down before…

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An Update

09/30/2018 Laura Becker Comments 0 Comment

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always know what I’m feeling. And, as well-versed as I am with depression in general and my own experiences with it in particular, it can still sometimes sneak up on me. Well, it did. IT’S BAA-AAACK I noticed it four days ago, after my experience at the hospital. The day after, I felt okay for a while, but then I started feeling depressed. It wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t the most depressed…

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My Trip to the Hospital T/W: Suicide

09/28/2018 Laura Becker Comments 4 comments

Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash Well. The last 72 hours have been very interesting. If you read my last post, you know that I’ve been exhausted. And that can be a dangerous time for anyone dealing with a mental illness. Even though I write about depression, anxiety, and addiction (as well as life in general), and I sometimes have my shit together, I am not immune to emotional relapses. Nor am I immune to overwhelm, stress, or crises. In the last…

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Depression and Intrusive Thoughts

07/27/2018 Laura Becker Comments 0 Comment

**T/W – SUICIDAL THOUGHTS** (T/W = Trigger Warning) Well, it’s been about two weeks now, and I’m still feeling depressed. Actually, it’s getting noticeably worse. My fears that it won’t go away on its own (even after discontinuing the Wellbutrin), I’ll have to quit tutoring, and have to do TMS again are all looming on the horizon. Not to mention all the related issues. I have little interest in doing anything; my ability to focus and concentrate have gone…

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Is Depression a Choice? (T/W)

07/21/2018 Laura Becker Comments 0 Comment

**Today’s post is a little different. Consider it an Open Letter to those who think depression and other mental illnesses are a choice and that we can just ‘snap out of it’.** Most of my friends are really good people. In fact, that’s a prerequisite if you want to be my friend. They are open-minded, thoughtful, fair-minded, and they don’t judge. (Yes, people like that really do exist!) However, I do occasionally run into someone who is judgmental and…

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What to Look For in a New Psychiatrist

05/07/2018 Laura Becker Comments 4 comments

Finding a good doctor can be difficult. Finding a good pdoc (psychiatrist) even more so. Once, while I was in a psych unit, the doctor there told me that my wife “would end up in a nursing home” because she has MS. I cannot tell you how much that upset me – and her! MS is not a death sentence, nor does everyone end up in a wheelchair needing care 24/7. I saw him once at his office after I…

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ECT: A Cautionary Tale

04/19/2018 Laura Becker Comments 6 comments

I have been living with severe depression for 35 years, since I was 14. It has been a massive, exhausting, demanding burden for the vast majority of that time. I’ll spare you the details – for now – but suffice to say that my life has not turned out the way I expected it to. Although I’ve been able to accomplish some goals – marriage, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, a mostly-fulfilling career in social services, a move to California –…

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I Almost Took My Life Because I Was Misdiagnosed and Not Getting the Right Kind of Treatment; or, Sit Back and Get Comfy, ‘Cause This One is Kinda Long…

12/19/2017 Laura Becker Comments 3 comments

Diagnoses are very important. If you have any doubts about this, all I can say is: YOU BET YOUR ASS THEY ARE! You know what’s even more important? The correct diagnosis. That determines what your options are for treatment, managing symptoms, plugging into community resources, etc. But when you allow your diagnos(es) to become your identity and rule your thoughts and actions, then it’s less like a diagnosis and more like a label you slap on yourself. The limitations of…

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Depression Warrior

On Surviving Depression

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