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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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Let’s talk about mental health. Not the kind of mental health where we are having a glum day or two and all it takes is a nice quiet Calgon bath, a few hours of peace and things are back to normal for awhile. I am talking mental health issues that take a lifetime to deal with. The kind that often times people like to be “hush” about.
I am not one of those people.
I know there are groups of people out there that think mental health issues are all “in our heads”. Medication is unnecessary and people just need to take control of their lives. And hey, that is okay. If that is what people want to believe, if that is what gets them through the day, then more power to them.
But it hasn’t worked for my family or myself. I personally have found better living through pharmaceuticals, and no, not the Timothy Leary variety. I mean prescription medication, prescribed by a medical doctor, coupled with counseling, that treats mental health issues or chemical imbalances.
I would like to say that I came to accept this easily, but it would be a bold-faced lie. I hated the fact that I had to deal with these problems and hated worse that I faced a lifetime of medication. But, with encouragement from friends and family, coupled with the desire to raise my family responsibly, I had to look at it in different light. Doesn’t a diabetic have to follow a regimen of medication, along with counseling on how to eat in a manner that will make the treatments effective? So why am I any different?
Try explaining this to a child. A child who happens to be a teenager. Being a teen is tough enough, without having to deal with these issues.
I held my breath through years of having two of my children being treated for ADHD, hoping that neither of them would end up with my mood disorder. But genetics won that fierce battle and now I have a teenager who is dealing with the intricacies of finding the right medicines and dealing with the strong emotions, the ups and downs.
Her journey is just beginning. Her good days are starting to outnumber her bad, but sometimes the bad ones are just over the top. Today happened to be one. She feels deeply and is so compassionate, but learning how to use those to her best advantage, well, is a challenge she will have to face. She is strong, so I have no doubt she will come out ahead.
Our mental health may be a formidable foe, but well armed we can take it on.
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